Christie's sets Hong Kong auction record

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HONG KONG: Christie's said that its autumn sale had set a new Hong Kong auction record, raking in about 409 million US dollars as buyers snapped up everything from Chinese antiques to a pink diamond.

About 43 percent of the buyers were from the Chinese mainland, a Christie's spokeswoman said, reflecting their growing wealth and increasingly sophisticated tastes.

"This was the largest auction total for Hong Kong," she said.

"It's definitely connected to the mainland (Chinese) buyer -- there is a lot of interest coming from collectors in that region and they have deep pockets."

Rival auction house Sotheby's earlier reported that its record fall sale in Hong Kong raised about 3.09 billion Hong Kong dollars (398 million US dollars), below Christie's 3.18 billion Hong Kong dollar sale this week.

The former British colony has become the world's third-largest auction hub after New York and London, thanks in large part to China's growing political and economic prowess.

Mainland Chinese are regular buyers of the top lots at sales of art, jewellery and wine.

Christie's six-day sale, which featured a vast collection of art, jewellery, wine and Chinese antiques, almost doubled its autumn sale last year.

Among the items sold were a pair of Chinese imperial crane statues, picked up by Hong Kong property billionaire Joseph Lau for about 16.7 million US dollars, while an unidentified buyer paid 23 million US dollars for a 14.2 carat diamond dubbed "The Perfect Pink".

"Demand is absolutely outstripping supply," the Christie's spokeswoman said.

"Some of these (items) are getting more and more rare on the market. So it could be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to buy one."

Sotheby's held a private Impressionist and modern art sale in Hong Kong last month, including several Picasso masterpieces, with works expected to fetch between two million and 25 million US dollars.