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Meteorites, minerals and diamonds

Once-off collector?s pieces of science and art at SA?s first auction of meteorites, minerals, gemstones and diamonds

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By Gugulethu Mkhabela | May 18, 2018 | Innovative

One of the top 250 auction houses in the world, Stephan Welz & Co. will be hosting South Africa’s first auction of meteorites, minerals, gemstones and coloured diamonds.  First-time collectors, regular acquirers of moveable assets; the local jewellery trade; and those interested in meteorites, gems, mineral specimens, and coloured diamonds, will participate in first-of-its-kind auction on 29 May at Johannesburg’s Killarney Country Club.

 

The part that has us really excited about this auction is the unusual elements of the auction with its inclusion of meteorites. These “remnants of meteors from outer space…have survived the corridor of fire through Earth’s atmosphere and landed on our planet” as extra-terrestrial arrivals. They are, explains renowned meteorite expert Dr Ronnie McKenzie, “treasures from space that can, for the first time, be owned by local collectors .”

 

Members of the public are invited to come through to the Killarney Country Club to view the meteorites and mineral specimens. Everyone is welcome and are encouraged to ask questions and spend some time looking at fascinating objects.

 

There are a few ways you can get involved  if you wish to bid for items on the auction. We spoke to Stephan Welz & Co. art specialist, Luke Crossley to break it down with some tips for first time bidders.

 

 

 

TIPS FOR BIDDING

- Visit the Killarney Country Club on May 29 and register as a bidder. Receive your bidding number, sit in the room and place your bid

- During the viewing, you can register as a telephone bidder. This means that you indicate which lots (lot numbers can be found in the catalogue on the Stephan & co. website) you are interested in. During the auction, a specialist will phone you ahead of the lot and bid on your behalf

- You can also register as an absentee bidder if you are not able to attend and cannot be contacted. For this you would indicate which lots you are interested in bidding on and give the auction house a limit as to how high you are happy to bid. The auctioneer then bids on your behalf against people in the room or on the phone

- There is also the option to watch the auction live online and bid in real time via their collaborating website the-saleroom.com.

 

GENERAL TIPS

All are welcome and there are no obligations (unless you place the winning bid of course)

In movies there are often comedic scenes where someone accidently bids on an items by unintentionally scratching their nose or adjusting their glasses. This is not the case in real life. A bid is placed in the room by raising your bidding number and being acknowledged by the auctioneer.

Specialists are present during the viewing and the auction and can assist with any questions or queries. As some of these items are quite esoteric and fascinating there is a lot to be learned from spending time looking at the items and speaking to the specialists.

The gemstones and fancy coloured diamonds can be viewed by appointment. Visit StephanWelzandCo.co.za for more information.

 

 

Images: Supplied

 

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