My first auction

I think this was the first auction that I've attended. I'm not including the auctions for charity that take place at school and I'm also not including silent auctions.
I thought for my first foray into the auction world, I should go with something pretty splashy. Thus, I attended Waddington's - An Important Auction of Dresses from the Collection of Diana, Princess of Wales.
This past Wednesday, I wrote of attending the viewing to suss out the situation and to see the dresses in person. I'd actually seen them before, back in 2007 when I visited Kensington Palace and they were on display there. Still, they are beautiful and looking at evening gowns isn't too hard on the eyes.
At the preview, I chatted with two of Waddington's staff. In my previous post, I talked about the sincerity and welcome that one gave me. Enough to dismiss an reservations about attending the auction the following night. The other staffer was pleasant enough, but when I
chatted with her about the history of the dresses and the consignor, it seemed a little bit more forced. Maybe it would have helped if I had done my homework. Turns out the consignor, Maureen Dunkel had decided to part with the dresses (partly) because she's facing bankruptcy. While I don't doubt this fact, I'm not completely willing to think ill of her like some of the online accounts seem to want you to do. It's good press, right? I was told that the timing of the decision coincided with the announcement that Will and Kate were engaged and that Maureen thought that this chapter with Diana is ending as Will and Kate's chapter is starting. The date of the auction had apparently been decided prior to the announcement of Will and Kate's North American tour.
The venue of the auction was rather simple. Waddington's is moving to a new location soon, so as a first time attendee, who knows if the current room is usually a little bit more refined, but I doubt that's the case. I suppose simple and understated isn't a bad thing.
That seemed to be the theme of the entire night. Sauf les robes and some well dressed attendees, it was a pretty tame night.
The 14 lots came and went and all but one went under or at the bottom end of the estimates. The "Travolta"-dress went for $800 000. This price, however, does not include the commission and taxes, which means that buyers will be paying about 30% more than their bidding price.
Duncan McLean acted as the auctioneer for the night and at times seemed to be pleading with the bidders to get in the action. Most bidders (if not all - I couldn't tell for sure, because the bidders were
ridiculously discrete and I wasn't seated at a good vantage point to see who was doing what) were in attendance or at least had someone doing their bidding for them through the phone. There was a table set up with phones and computers for Waddington's staff to take bids from those who were not in attendance, and although each time I looked over, they seemed to be whispering into their phones, I didn't see any hands waving.
Of course I don't know for sure how many people were actually there to observe. Obviously, I had no intent in bidding, and I could gather that there were many other people there in the same mindset. I did see a couple folks who had evidence that they were registered bidders, but again, if they were getting in on the action, they were doing it very subtly.
There was lots of press and media presence. It seemed like it was a big deal. And there was media coverage leading up to the event as well, but I wonder why they didn't go for the estimates. And I wonder if Waddington's is disappointed with the turn-out or final prices. Mr. McLean made comments about how short the auction was and how the prices were a steal.
Of course I don't know who ended up with the dresses and for what purpose they bought them, but maybe we'll find out in due course. Perhaps a museum will acquire one/two/a few or maybe someone will just enjoy seeing the dress(es) in their closet.
The mystique. The intrigue!

So the auction was a neat experience. No crazy bidding wars at this one, but there are more auctions to come, so maybe I will experience a frenzy of bids at a future event. There are two this week that sound kind if interesting! There is way too much going on in the city.