Christie's

Christie's has been selling since 1766, and its European activity concentrates in three flagship hubs — London, Paris and Geneva — with regional galleries and representatives elsewhere. The calendar is built around named seasons and single-owner collections rather than a steady weekly rhythm.

What you can buy

• 20th and 21st century art, the largest of the seasonal series.
• Old Masters and 18th-century decorative arts.
• Jewellery and watches, with Geneva as the traditional centre.
• Handbags and luxury accessories, sold as online series.
• Musical instruments and memorabilia — guitar collections have their own London sales.
• Asian art, run as concentrated weeks.

How the bidding works

Sales are either room auctions with live online bidding or online-only series running over one to two weeks. Catalogues, estimates and condition reports are published ahead of each sale, and for major consignments the works tour between locations before selling — which is the practical way to see something in person without travelling to the sale city.

What to check before you bid

Confirm the sale city before you bid: London, Paris and Geneva mean three different tax, export and payment regimes, and Geneva in particular has its own rules on moving goods afterwards. Estimates on collection sales carry a provenance premium that will not follow the object into a later resale. For anything requiring an export licence — old paintings, some instruments — the licence timeline, not the shipping, is what delays collection.