A new collaboration has been recently announced between Sotheby’s auction house and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. According to Sotheby’s, the auctions will feature some of the best items that the company has to offer, including top-quality jewelry, fine watches, and cutting-edge automobiles. The ambitious project aimed at the Gulf collectors and international clientele will involve a series of exclusive sales held as part of Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week. Auctions will take place from December 3 to December 5.
Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week will be organized at The St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort and will involve a curated program of events culminating in a flagship auction sale. The planned auction will coincide with other prominent events, including the Formula One Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi Finance Week, and the Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit 2025, all designed to attract the international public.
In other words, the selection of pieces will generally cater to the particularities of the local market and the luxury investors’ tastes. One of the highlights of the event will be a private collection of exclusive watches and jewelry, valued at approximately $20 million, which is considered to be one of the largest to reach the art market in decades.
The UAE is not the first Gulf country that attracts the famous auction house. Earlier this year, Sotheby’s launched an outpost in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. After settling in the iconic Al Faisaliah Tower, designed by Norman Foster, Sotheby’s auction house launched its first sales in February 2025. Such expansion in the Middle East may be a strategic response to the global art market slowdown the previous year, which forced the company to resort to downsizing. Current efforts to achieve global outreach and appeal to the growing number of affluent art collectors from the Gulf region may help the company diversify its markets and expand the client base.
Christie’s, another famous auction house, is also eyeing the Middle East as a promising market. The company has recently acquired a license to operate in Saudi Arabia. Christie’s is behind the most staggering sale in the history of the region and the global art market in general. In 2017, it sold da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for $450 million. The masterpiece, however, has not appeared at the exhibitions since 2017 and is believed to be stored away from the public eye.
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