Your Auction Adviser

Auctions are no longer about the $20 million Picasso, Monet or Warhol. They also go beyond the everyday eBay transaction.

As you read this, you’ll uncover the world of auctions for unique decorative art, multi-million dollar classic cars from the mid-20th century, exquisite wines to stock your cellar—and, of course, luxury homes from all over the world.

In this special series, Mansion Global will guide you through these various types of auctions, giving the tips and insight you’ll need to know before making your bid.

At the end of June, 18 luxury homes from Mexico to Manhattan hit the auction block as part of a summer portfolio sale by Concierge Auctions. Properties ranged from a 6,000-square-foot, beachfront Casa Bellamar near Los Cabos, Mexico, to a Battery Park penthouse in the Ritz-Carlton Residences in lower Manhattan. The bidding was primarily done via the company’s online app.

“People really appreciate the app,” said Laura Brady, the president and founder of Concierge Auctions, which works with properties in 17 countries...READ MORE

When a Basquiat painting sold at Sotheby’s this spring for $110 million, the art world went wild. With fine art prices continuing to climb, the decorative arts look like more and more of a solid proposition—just a few weeks later, a pair of late-19th-century Louis XVI-style gilt-and-patinated bronze figural torchères sold for $75,000 (from an estimate of $20,000–$25,000). The media didn’t go quite as crazy, but it hammers home the value and significance of decorative arts.

Indeed, furnishing a home is far more exciting when you expand your shopping parameters to include buying decorative arts at auction. It’s perhaps the finest and most fun way to enliven your interiors, adding beauty and a sense of history to your personal, lived-in space...READ MORE

When it comes to buying superyachts, most buyers go the traditional route—buying from a broker and/or directly from a well-known company with years of experience in the yachting world. But sometimes, and especially in tougher economic times, and during softer yachting markets, auctions become another way to sell boats...READ MORE

For classic car aficionados, some of the most coveted wheels are Japanese models from the 1970s and 1980s.

Plus, "Ferraris from the ‘50s are always desirable," said Gordon McCall, a classic and vintage car auction expert and director of motorsports at the Quail Lodge and Golf Club in Carmel Valley, California, who spent over a decade as a specialist at Christie’s and five years with Bonhams Motoring Department...READ MORE

When the hammer went down on Helmut Fallmann’s second bid on a lot of limited-edition bottles of Tuscan wines, his cellar increased by eight bottles, while his bank account decreased by $22,000.

Mr. Fallmann, an Austrian technology entrepreneur, flew to New York City this spring to participate in Ornellaia’s Vendemmia d’Artista, a charity auction in its ninth year that commissions artists for special-edition bottles. This year’s edition, organized by Sotheby’s, took place at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and included a reception and gala dinner...READ MORE