The dress worn by Kate Winslet in “Titanic” was sold at auction for $330,000 in 2012. by Kate Winslet in “Titanic.” In the classic film, Winslet donned the red-and-black outfit when Rose saw Jack on the ship for the first time. 1)
An Hermès Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Diamond Birkin 30, decorated with diamonds totaling 10.23 carats, made history at the Hong Kong Christie's auction in May 2017 when it was sold at a cost of over £293,000 (around $378,074). 2)
Audrey Hepburn's personal “Breakfast at Tiffany's” script sold for $811,615 in 2018. Other artifacts owned by Hepburn were also auctioned in the Christie's auctions, such as a blank dial phone and a “My Fair Lady” operating script. 3)
In 2015, Julien's Auctions sold a set of drums belonging to Ringo Starr for $2.2 million at an auction. According to ArtNet News, more than 200 Beatles played with the popular Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl drum kit between 1963 and 1964. 4)
The most expensive camera in the world sold for $2.8 million at an auction in Vienna, Austria, in 2012. The camera was a 35mm Leica film model, one of just 25 that was manufactured for testing in 1923. It was thought that just 12 of the unusual camera models existed in 2012. 5)
Marilyn Monroe's “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” robe was the most costly dress ever sold at an auction; it sold for $4.8 million in 2016.
At Julien's Action in Los Angeles in November 2016, Ripley's Believe it or Not! bought this renowned outfit. During a fundraiser function with the Democratic Party in May 1962, Monroe donned the famous gown. 6)
A Chinese vase sold at a Sotheby's auction for $9 million in 2020 spent the last 50 years in a pet-filled European country home.
The vase was built in the mid-18th century for the Chinese Qianlong emperor. It had previously been bought for $56 (about $530 in current dollars, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) at another Sotheby's auction in 1954. It was named for the person who possessed the Harry Garner Vase before its auction in 1954. 7)
An online auction of Stradivarius violin from the 18th century sold $15.9 million, which profited from disasters after the tsunami and earthquake in Japan in 2011. The BBC said that the violin was manufactured in 1721 and formerly belonged to Lady Anne Blunt, Lord Byron's granddaughter. 8)
A Patek Philippe watch was auctioned with the proceeds benefiting research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy at the Christie's Auction in Geneva.
In the Grandmaster Chime model, the $31 million Patek Philippe watch broke the previous record for a retailer's watch, a $17.7 million Rolex, originally owned by Paul Newman. 9)
Marie Antoinette's necklace, which was sold at Sotheby's 2018 auction for $32 million, was the most expensive pearl ever sold.
The pearl used to belong to a diamond-studded pendant of the former Queen of France, according to the insider producers Rob Ludacer and Alyssa Pagano's account. 10)
“Sleeping Girl” by American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein sold for over $44 million in 2012. The painting was sold in 2012 at the Sotheby's auction in New York for his 1964 work Sleeping Girl. It was originally displayed, among other museum displays, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. 11)
A 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO sold for $48.4 million at a Sotheby's auction house in August 2018, making it the most expensive automobile ever sold at auction. 12)
The Oppenheimer Blue was sold for $57.9 million in 2016 and is the most valuable blue diamond in auction history. The 14.62-carat diamond was named as a “fancy bright blue” by the Gemological Institute of America, after its former owner Sir Philip Oppenheimer, a leader in the diamond business. It was sold in the Christie's auction in Geneva. 13)
In 2017 at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong, the Pink Star diamond became the most expensive diamond sold at auction when it sold for $71.2 million.
The 59.6-carat Pink Star diamond was the largest ever rated in the Gemological Institute of America's “flawless fantastically bright rose” diamond category. 14)
Jeff Koons' sculpture “Rabbit” sold in May 2019 at a cost of $91.1 million dollars, setting the record for a living artist's most expensive piece ever sold at the auction. In 1986, Koons developed the steel sculpture, known as “Rabbit.” In the past, Koons held a record for his sculpture “Balloon Dog (Orange),” which, according to the New York Times in November 2013, sold at an auction for $58.4 million. 15)