Hammer time

1. The Mediterranean Blue Diamond

A gemstone so ‘fancy’ it earned its own world tour before sale, the mesmerising Mediterranean Blue 
Diamond sold in Geneva in May for US$21.5 million. At 10.03 carats, the Fancy Vivid Blue cushion-cut gem is exceptionally large for such a rare blue hue and became Sotheby’s most expensive jewel sold in 2025. The dramatic bidding was done in about two-and-ahalf minutes, snapped up by a phone bidder before the hammer fell.

2. François-Xavier Lalanne's Hippopotame Bar

A life-size hippopotamus-shaped bar is surely a household item coveted by many, as proven by 
the record-breaking auction of François-Xavier Lalanne’s giant copper Hippopotame Bar. The glorious one-ofa-kind item sold for US$31.4 million in December, the highest price paid for the artist and for any design object sold at auction.

3. Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave Off Kanagawa

Probably Japan’s most instantly recognisable image, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa was sold at auction in Hong Kong for US$2.8 million – almost three times its high pre-sale estimate and the most for a woodblock print by the artist at auction. The 1831 woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai depicts a monumental wave cresting over boats with a view of Mount Fuji in the distance.

4. Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer

The November auction of Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer was pure saleroom drama: 
a 20-minute bidding battle at Sotheby’s new Breuer Building that landed at US$236.4 million, setting a new house record, becoming the most expensive work of modern art ever sold at auction, and the second-highest artwork price ever achieved at auction. It more than doubled Klimt’s prior auction record (US$108 million) by a staggering margin.

5. 1994 McLaren F1

The ultimate trophy car – Formula 1 technology distilled into a road-going icon. This example, the 
14th McLaren F1 ever produced and originally owned by a member of the Brunei Royal Family, sold in Abu Dhabi in December for a record-setting price of US$25.3 million, the highest paid for a McLaren F1 at auction.