Sotheby’s Closes Its Inaugural Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week With $133 Million in Sales

Following the record-breaking November auctions that achieved $1.173 billion across the Modern & Contemporary marquee sales in New York and the HK$688 million ($88 million) from Japan’s Okada Museum of Art auction in Hong Kong, Sotheby’s closed its inaugural Collectors’ Week in Abu Dhabi with a strong $133 million total. Across multiple auctions and private sales at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, a cross-category offering of luxury watches, handbags, high-performance bicycles, collectible cars and blue-chip real estate attracted robust interest—unsurprising in a region where luxury demand is accelerating at exceptional speed. The Gulf Cooperation Council luxury-goods market was estimated at $15.02 billion in 2025, with a projected rise to roughly $24.36 billion by 2030. The United Arab Emirates is one of the two leading markets, expected to be worth $8.5 billion in 2025, immediately following Saudi Arabia, where Sotheby’s earlier this year staged its first-ever auction in the country totaling $17.3 million across 117 lots in a cross-category sale held in Diriyah near Riyadh.

Although the final total generated by Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week came in shy of the roughly $150 million estimate, the auction rooms were full; there were white-glove outcomes in jewelry, watches, handbags and cycling; and record-setting bids abounded. The success of the sales is more evidence of the Gulf’s accelerating buying power, especially when the material is best-in-class and strategically positioned.

Despite the appeal of a tax-free stage, it wasn’t just local participation driving results. Bidders from 35 countries joined in, with nearly a quarter from the U.A.E. Almost a third were under 40, echoing recent data that Millennials and Gen Z are now the engine of the collectibles market. In a statement, Sotheby’s CEO Charles F. Stewart called the week a “historic chapter” for the company in Abu Dhabi—an opening act with clear long-term ambitions.

The star of Collectors’ Week was undeniably the 1994 McLaren F1, which achieved $25.3 million after a tense exchange between four bidders in the room and on the phones. The automotive category as a whole, strategically timed to coincide with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, surged to $84.7 million and setting a new high-water mark for any collector car auction staged in the Middle East. The sale also offered the chance to become an honorary member of the McLaren Formula 1 Team by acquiring the 2026 McLaren MCL40A ahead of its unveiling; the car climbed to $11.5 million after a three-way bidding war.

The most cinematic lot of the week was a waterfront estate in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, one of two marquee real estate listings marking Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions’ Middle Eastern debut. Listed at €35 million, the Côte d’Azur property has 680 square meters of living space framed by 0.72 acres of gardens and a 60-square-meter pool house with sauna and hammam. It ultimately sold below estimate at $20.1 million, a reminder that even dream properties are not immune to buyer discipline.

Far more heated was the bidding for Jane Birkin’s Le Voyageur, a one-of-a-kind black Hermès Birkin owned by the legendary actress and star, offered just months after Sotheby’s record-breaking $10.1 million sale in Paris of the Birkin prototype. After more than ten minutes of competitive bidding and applause as the hammer fell, Le Voyageur soared to $2.9 million against its $240,000-440,000 estimate, becoming the second most valuable handbag ever sold at auction, surpassed only by Birkin’s 1985 original. One of four Birkin bags gifted to the actress by Hermès after the 1994 sale of her prototype, the bag bears a silver inscription by Birkin reading “Mon Birkin bag qui m’a accompagnée dans le monde entier.”

Jewelery and watches also delivered standout results, achieving a white-glove sale. Leading the category was a four-piece Patek Philippe Star Caliber 2000 set, which fetched $11.9 million, becoming the second most valuable watch ever sold at Sotheby’s and confirming continued strength in the market. The result followed the auction house’s new record in New York for Audemars Piguet’s “Grosse Pièce,” which sold for $7.7 million over a high estimate of $1 million.

Another star of the sale was The Desert Rose, a unique 31.86-carat diamond blending sunset-like tones of pink and orange. Described by the auction house as the “largest fancy vivid orangy pink diamond in the world,” it drew five determined bidders and soared to $8.8 million (est. $5-7 million), setting a new auction record for an orangy pink diamond after an almost 20-minute bidding battle.

Additional highlights included a Tiffany & Co. sapphire and diamond ring from the 1930s, which surpassed its high estimate after fees to sell for $596,900 (est. $350,000-550,000), and a Boucheron emerald and diamond ring that sold near its high estimate at $508,000 under guarantee. A Rolex “Oyster Albino” Daytona from 1971 sold just shy of its high estimate for $952,500 (est. $500,000-$1 million). Across the Precision & Brilliance: Prestigious Jewels & Watches from an Important Private Collection sale, many lots performed above expectations, often exceeding or doubling the high estimate, confirming strong demand in the region and globally.

Reflecting growing enthusiasm for cycling in the region, Sotheby’s also offered four rare high-performance bicycles from legendary Italian manufacturer and four-time Tour de France winner Colnago. All lots sold successfully, largely through online bidding, within or above estimate. The top lot was a Y1Rs Raw Carbon bicycle ridden by Tadej Pogačar on this year’s iconic Mont Ventoux stage of the Tour de France. Estimated at $20,000, it climbed to $190,500, more than nine times its high estimate, setting a new auction record for any bicycle.

Crowning Collectors’ Week was the debut of “Icons,” Sotheby’s first-ever non-selling exhibition of some of the most expensive masterpieces ever handled by the auction house, with nine works shown in Abu Dhabi before traveling to the company’s new New York headquarters at the Breuer on December 13, where it is set to become a holiday season attraction. The museum-grade exhibition helped solidify Sotheby’s popularity, drawing more than 5,000 visitors to the exhibitions and accompanying masterclasses over the week and shifting the auction house’s role from market hub to cultural destination.

“This week has been so rewarding, enabling us to further deepen our connection with collectors in the region and share our passion and expertise for what we do—hosting an incredible night of auctions was the cherry on top,” Katia Nounou Boueiz, Sotheby’s Head U.A.E. & Deputy Chairman, Middle East, said in a statement. “We felt that powerful energy and cultural pull directly reflected in the number of visitors to our exhibitions, especially our Icons presentation, which was one the most important fine art exhibitions ever staged outside of a museum in the Middle East.”

More in Auctions

• In New York, Sotheby’s Repositions Itself as a Cultural Destination

• A $30.2 Million Fabergé Egg Commissioned by the Last Czar of Russia Sets a New Auction Record

• The $10 Million Hermès Problem: Estate Planning When Luxury Collectibles Outpace the Art Market

• The Most Watched Auctioneer in the World Isn’t Who the Industry Expected

• Sports Art Has Carved a Market Niche But Rarely Makes It into the Museum Canon