Jamie Doward
Online war is set to break out when Christie’s announces later this year that it will hold auctions over the Internet, putting it in direct competition with Sotheby’s.
Two weeks ago, Sotheby’s, the world’s oldest international auction house, revealed it was to develop an Internet trading arm for art, antiques, jewellery and collectibles. The company said it was investing more than $25- million developing its Internet division.
Over the past two months, speculation about Sotheby’s Internet plans helped double its share price. But now Christie’s is hitting back.
Christie’s CEO Christopher Davidge said the company planned to “broaden its base of services” by holding auctions on the Internet. Christie’s stressed that it would also authenticate works put up for online sale and provide estimates of their worth.
The Internet’s true value will become apparent when online dealing is made available to the public later this year, with Sotheby’s selling parts of a baseball collection.
Christie’s, which has been analysing the potential of online auction sales for the past 18 months, has yet to announce how much it is spending on its Internet arm.
ENDS