The Dupuis Fine Jewellery Auctioneers Important Jewels auction will be held Sunday, June 11 at the Windsor Arms Hotel in Toronto.
As Toronto prepares to host a blockbuster sale of fancy baubles, Caitlin Agnew suggests a new generation of bidders is poised to keep gavels dropping
When eBay rose to popularity in the late 1990s, it revolutionized the re-sell industry, offering anyone with a PC an instant platform to sell goods to a global market. Two decades after going live, the online auctioneer faces stiff competition from fellow disruptors like Facebook, but also a more established rival: the live auction.
Since 1986, Toronto's Dupuis Fine Jewellery Auctioneers has hosted a bi-annual sale. From the beginning, president and founder Ron Dupuis travelled across Canada in search of rare, valuable pieces in need of a new home. "The majority of our consignors are older people who just don't have that lifestyle anymore," says Dupuis vice president Duncan Parker, who notes the spring event on June 11 will feature more than 400 lots (a 6.47-carat diamond ring by Van Cleef & Arpels and a rare fancy green 1.33-carat diamond pendant/ring – pictured above – are each expected to fetch six figure bids). "In many cases, they've offered them to their children and grandchildren who say they don't really dress up like that," says Parker. "Fortunately, there are other people who do." Dupuis usually sells 70 to 80 per cent of its lots.
Parker reports that the industry's digital evolution has actually had a positive effect on traditional houses, attracting larger, broader audiences with online bidding methods and live streaming. Still, nothing matches the energy of being in the room as the gavel drops. "It's theatre – it's entertainment," says Parker. "There are people who come to the auction for no other reason than just to see it happening."
It's that type of excitement that could make live auctions an attractive way for millennial consumers to shop. For a demographic that prioritizes spending money on experiences over material things, live auctions offer a more thrilling way to acquire a piece with a unique and authentic back story.
"Every auction I've been involved in at Dupuis has at least one item that gets a round of applause as it finishes," says Parker. "It's an item that just keeps going and going and going and no one knows where it would stop. And when it stops, it was fun, it was entertaining, and it genuinely gets a round of applause from the crowd because it went for six times what anyone expected." Happy bidding.
The Dupuis Fine Jewellery Auctioneers Important Jewels auction will be held Sunday, June 11 at the Windsor Arms Hotel in Toronto.
THIS WEEK'S STYLE HAPPENINGS
- All-American clothing brand Gap has launched a new video project celebrating diversity and authenticity. The directorial debut of stylist Edward Enninful (now the editor-in-chief of British Vogue), Bridging the Gap features appearances by Adwoa Aboah, Christie Brinkley, Priyanka Chopra, Wiz Khalifa, Alek Wek and more, each singing Boney M.’s Sunny. For more information, visit www.gapcanada.ca.
- Looking for more information on the green beauty industry? Guelph and Waterloo-based retailer The Truth Beauty Company is hosting True Beauty Talk on June 8, an all-day event to connect green-beauty enthusiasts with brands and media. Held at Toronto’s Baro Lounge, it will feature an expert panel that includes entrepreneur Indie Lee, makeup artist Sheri Stroh and tech wiz Lily Tse from Think Dirty. For more information, visit www.truebeautytalk.com.
- Calling all magpies — Toronto jewellery label Biko is hosting its annual summer sample sale. Held June 8 at designer Corrine Anestopoulos’s downtown studio (174 Spadina Ave.), shoppers will find her signature metallic pieces deeply discounted. For more information, visit www.ilovebiko.com.
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