“The Collection of Sir Elton John: Goodbye Peachtree Road” will include eight sales in total, a mix of live, in-person auctions and online.
The first in-person sale will take place the evening of Feb. 21, while the online auctions will open for bidding on Feb. 9 and close Feb. 27 and 28.
While the highest-grossing lot overall is expected to be a work of art—Bansky’s “Flower Thrower” triptych ($1 million-$1.5 million)—Christie’s anticipates that Elton John’s Cartier “Crash” watch from 1991 will be the top-selling watch/jewelry lot.
One of the lots in the opening night sale, the 24 mm, 18-karat gold timepiece is signed “Cartier, Paris,” and is expected to sell for $70,000 to $100,000. It was one of only 400 Crash watches Cartier released in 1991.
Elton John’s “The Bitch Is Back” diamond pendant is expected to sell for as much as $40,000. It’s the name of the song he co-wrote with Bernie Taupin and released in 1974.
Also included in the opening night sale will be an 18-karat yellow gold Cartier ring set with a mixed-cut, heart-shaped Ceylon sapphire that has indications of heating (pre-sale estimate $50,000-$80,000); an “exuberant and rare” leopard print Rolex Daytona ($40,000-$60,000); and a diamond pendant necklace that spells out “The Bitch Is Back,” a ‘70s hit for the singer ($20,000-$40,000).
Many more watches and pieces of jewelry owned by the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony winner are part of one of the online auctions, “The Jewel Box,” which will be open for bidding from Feb. 9-27.
His collection includes watches from Cartier, A. Lange & Söhne, Roger Dubuis, Chopard, Franck Muller, and Hublot, as well as jewelry from Oscar Heyman, Loree Rodkin, Munsteiner, Dinh Van, and British designers Stephen Webster and Theo Fennell.
Elton John’s condo, which he bought in the early 1990s, totaled more than 13,000 square feet, as the singer cobbled together multiple units in Atlanta’s Park Place condominium building over the years.
The property sold last fall for $7.2 million.
In an interview with Christie’s, the singer reflected on his time there, and how his growing appreciation for art and photography was the reason he ended up needing more space.
“I have my taste,” Elton John said. “It may not be everyone’s taste but it’s certainly my taste.
“And that’s what my apartment was in Atlanta, it was my man cave full of things I just loved, mementos from everywhere in the world, and things that I got up every day and they all gave me inspiration.”
In the two weeks leading up to the sales, Christie’s galleries in Rockefeller Centre will transform into “specially designed immersive spaces” that offer a “dynamic view” into Elton John’s life, Christie’s Americas Deputy Chairman Tash Perrin said.
“We take immense pride in presenting this multi-category sale, featuring a refined assortment of photographs, artworks, fashion, and costumes—a testament to a man’s eclectic vision, artistry, and impeccable taste,” Perrin said.
The exhibition will be free and open to the public from Feb. 9-21 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Christie’s, 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York.
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