40 years of Sotheby’s® competence, prestige and innovation

Sotheby’s® conducted the historic auction of the Duchess of Windsor’s jewels on the banks of Lac Léman in 1987. Highly competitive bidding from across the globe raised a total of over 50 million dollars, five times more than Sotheby’s® pre-sale estimates. Sotheby's® had indelibly made its mark globally.

By the late 1980’s anything seemed possible as prices raised in auctions drew intense media interest. In 1988 Sotheby’s® went public for the second time, and in 1989 auctions of Impressionist and Modern Art in London and New York raised a staggering 1.1 billion dollars.