The Wealthy Turn to Auctions as Purchases of Watches, Jewelry and Rare Objects Rise

While the overall luxury market is contracting, leading auction houses are experiencing significant growth in sales of luxury items.

Christie’s, the British fine art auction house, reported a 15% increase in luxury sales during the first half of 2026, reaching $539 million. In 2025, Sotheby’s generated $2.7 billion from luxury sales, 22% more than a year earlier. The positive trend continued in 2026, when watch sales at the auction house rose by 64%, while jewelry sales increased by 13%.

Phillips also posted strong results, recording the most successful spring season in the history of the watch market. Its sales exceeded $235 million.

These results contrast with the performance of the traditional luxury market. According to Bain & Company, around 50 million customers left this market between 2022 and 2024, while the number of buyers worldwide fell from 400 million to 350 million. The industry is being affected by high prices and declining purchasing power.

According to the American magazine ArtNews, however, this downturn is not affecting all segments of the luxury market equally. Auctions mainly serve collectors and ultra-wealthy individuals seeking unique items, high quality and objects with a history.

The shift in interest from the primary to the secondary market, where items are resold, is also playing an important role. Customers who once bought directly from luxury brands are now turning to auctions to find vintage jewelry, rare gemstones and watch models that are no longer in production. In some cases, these platforms also offer more favorable prices.

Ultimately, the growth of auctions is not necessarily tied to benefiting from the weakening of the luxury market, but rather to its increasing segmentation. While aspirational buyers are pulling away, wealthy individuals continue to invest in rare objects.