الخميس، 30 أبريل 2009
Christie's Jewels Sale Sees Dubai Wealthy Shrug Off Econ Woe
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Jewelry belonging to legendary Egyptian singer, Umm Kulthum, sold for $118,000 at a Christie's auction in Dubai Tuesday night in a sign that the emirate's economic woes haven't crimped the excesses of its wealthiest millionaires.
An Indian multi-strand pearl and turquoise necklace sold for $80,500, well over its estimated price of $15,000 to $25,000. The buyer was a private Middle East collector who wished to remain anonymous.
A cultured pearl and paste festoon brooch, a gift to the singer from the late Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, sold for $30,000, well above its estimate of between $3,000 and $5,000.
Egyptian singer, songwriter and actress Umm Kulthum, known as the Star of the East, died in 1975.
The lots belonging to the singer were among more than 120 watches and pieces of jewelry offered at the Christie's Jewels and Watches Dubai Sale.
In total, sales reached just over $4 million with 45 out of 46 watches at the auction selling for $1.2 million.
The highlight of the sale was a kite-shaped 5.01 carat diamond pendant, which sold for $194,500 to a Middle Eastern private collector.
The highest selling watch was a platinum manually-wound tourbillon wristwatch by A. Lange & S??hne which sold for $146,500 against a pre-sale estimate of $120,000 to 180,000.
"Buying was selective but nearly three-quarters of the value of the sale was bought by Middle Eastern buyers, an encouraging sign of the developing jewelry and watch market in the region," said David Warren, director of jewelry for Christie's Middle East.
To tap a growing appetite for luxury goods in places such as the United Arab Emirates, Christie's is holding a series of sales featuring its most desirable offerings.
The auction house will hold an International Modern & Contemporary Art Sale in Dubai Wednesday evening, which will showcase 150 lots of Arab, Iranian, Turkish and Western art. The event, which will also offer a selection of works by Saudi Arabian artists for the first time, follows a $40 million sale of Middle Eastern art and jewelry last October.
Christie's was the first international auction house to have a permanent office in the Middle East, opening in Dubai in 2005. Since then, it has held four auctions in the region with more than $118 million of sales.
The number of Middle Eastern buyers at Christie's auctions globally has risen 400% since 2004. Mideast buyers now rival Russian buyers in terms of sales.
An Indian multi-strand pearl and turquoise necklace sold for $80,500, well over its estimated price of $15,000 to $25,000. The buyer was a private Middle East collector who wished to remain anonymous.
A cultured pearl and paste festoon brooch, a gift to the singer from the late Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, sold for $30,000, well above its estimate of between $3,000 and $5,000.
Egyptian singer, songwriter and actress Umm Kulthum, known as the Star of the East, died in 1975.
The lots belonging to the singer were among more than 120 watches and pieces of jewelry offered at the Christie's Jewels and Watches Dubai Sale.
In total, sales reached just over $4 million with 45 out of 46 watches at the auction selling for $1.2 million.
The highlight of the sale was a kite-shaped 5.01 carat diamond pendant, which sold for $194,500 to a Middle Eastern private collector.
The highest selling watch was a platinum manually-wound tourbillon wristwatch by A. Lange & S??hne which sold for $146,500 against a pre-sale estimate of $120,000 to 180,000.
"Buying was selective but nearly three-quarters of the value of the sale was bought by Middle Eastern buyers, an encouraging sign of the developing jewelry and watch market in the region," said David Warren, director of jewelry for Christie's Middle East.
To tap a growing appetite for luxury goods in places such as the United Arab Emirates, Christie's is holding a series of sales featuring its most desirable offerings.
The auction house will hold an International Modern & Contemporary Art Sale in Dubai Wednesday evening, which will showcase 150 lots of Arab, Iranian, Turkish and Western art. The event, which will also offer a selection of works by Saudi Arabian artists for the first time, follows a $40 million sale of Middle Eastern art and jewelry last October.
Christie's was the first international auction house to have a permanent office in the Middle East, opening in Dubai in 2005. Since then, it has held four auctions in the region with more than $118 million of sales.
The number of Middle Eastern buyers at Christie's auctions globally has risen 400% since 2004. Mideast buyers now rival Russian buyers in terms of sales.
Jewelry labeled "lead free" exceeded limits, state says
The state Department of Toxic Substances Control announced Tuesday that six Southern California companies were selling jewelry with lead levels far exceeding California's legal limits.
Labels on some of the jewelry, the agency noted, claimed that the products were lead free.
"Lead is a toxic metal which does not belong in jewelry," said Maziar Movassaghi, acting director of the agency. "The fact that items are mislabeled as lead free is extremely disturbing."
Most of the tainted jewelry was imported from China, the agency said.
In children, lead exposure can cause neurological damage and learning impairment. In adults, it's associated with cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, as well as memory loss.
A 2007 state law limits the amount of lead in children's jewelry to 200 parts per million or 660 ppm, depending on the component used. The law now covers adult jewelry as well.
Yet the state agency found more than 30 pieces of lead-tainted jewelry in the six locations. Wooden angel pendants sold at one firm were made of nearly three-quarters lead. A turquoise stone pendant necklace also contained extremely high levels of lead, as did medallions and crosses, which some people press to their lips while praying.
The state's testing mirrored similar findings by the Center for Environmental Health in Oakland. Between November and March, it purchased jewelry from 23 retailers, and found that six sold products violating
the state's lead-in-jewelry laws. The Oakland group said it also notified Longs Drugs four times in the past six months that it was selling lead-tainted jewelry in California; however, the state agency also found jewelry with excess lead at a Longs store in Northridge.
Mike DeAngelis, a spokesman for Longs, said in an e-mail that after the state Attorney General's office contacted the chain in March about the tainted jewelry in its Northridge location, "we removed the product from our store immediately." DeAngelis didn't respond to questions regarding Longs' policy for screening products sold in its California stores for excess lead.
The toxic substances control agency said consumers wishing to test products for lead can purchase testing kits at most hardware stores. Any product found to exceed state levels should be returned to the place of purchase.
Labels on some of the jewelry, the agency noted, claimed that the products were lead free.
"Lead is a toxic metal which does not belong in jewelry," said Maziar Movassaghi, acting director of the agency. "The fact that items are mislabeled as lead free is extremely disturbing."
Most of the tainted jewelry was imported from China, the agency said.
In children, lead exposure can cause neurological damage and learning impairment. In adults, it's associated with cardiovascular disease and certain cancers, as well as memory loss.
A 2007 state law limits the amount of lead in children's jewelry to 200 parts per million or 660 ppm, depending on the component used. The law now covers adult jewelry as well.
Yet the state agency found more than 30 pieces of lead-tainted jewelry in the six locations. Wooden angel pendants sold at one firm were made of nearly three-quarters lead. A turquoise stone pendant necklace also contained extremely high levels of lead, as did medallions and crosses, which some people press to their lips while praying.
The state's testing mirrored similar findings by the Center for Environmental Health in Oakland. Between November and March, it purchased jewelry from 23 retailers, and found that six sold products violating
the state's lead-in-jewelry laws. The Oakland group said it also notified Longs Drugs four times in the past six months that it was selling lead-tainted jewelry in California; however, the state agency also found jewelry with excess lead at a Longs store in Northridge.
Mike DeAngelis, a spokesman for Longs, said in an e-mail that after the state Attorney General's office contacted the chain in March about the tainted jewelry in its Northridge location, "we removed the product from our store immediately." DeAngelis didn't respond to questions regarding Longs' policy for screening products sold in its California stores for excess lead.
The toxic substances control agency said consumers wishing to test products for lead can purchase testing kits at most hardware stores. Any product found to exceed state levels should be returned to the place of purchase.
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