2020 to now
See also : Current art Banksy Jewels Blue diamond African diamonds Time pieces Patek Philippe Clocks New watches Watches II OnlyWatch Inventions Computing
2020 A Gift for the Hospital
2021 SOLD for £ 16.8M including premium
In the spring of 2020, in each country, everyone discovers the existence of superheroes, people like you and me, very keen of doing their daily work with perseverance and abnegation : the frontline health staff, which was until then mostly distinguished by the press for social and wage demands.
On May 6, 2020, Banksy hangs at the University Hospital Southampton an oil on canvas 91 x 91 cm, clearly visible to staff and patients. This work incorporates the artist's social humor, but without his usual irreverence. It is the message of hope that people increasingly need, one year after the global expansion of the pandemic.
The work is named Game Changer. This title is descriptive. It features a kneeling kid brandishing his new toy, a Superman-inspired masked nurse flying to our rescue. The outdated toys, Batman and Spiderman, are in the bin. The visual effect is not forgotten. In this freehand painting in black line, the only color is the Red Cross clearly visible on the nurse's uniform.
Banksy promised that this work would be sold to benefit the National Health Service. He keeps his word. Game Changer is estimated £ 2.5M for sale by Christie's in London on March 23, lot 6. At Southampton Hospital, hope will not be lost : a replica has been installed in place of the original.
The lot was offered with a saleroom notice :
"The artist wishes to thank the British Red Cross for authorising the use of the Red Cross emblem in this work. The red cross symbol is restricted by law in order to preserve its protective function during armed conflicts."
On May 6, 2020, Banksy hangs at the University Hospital Southampton an oil on canvas 91 x 91 cm, clearly visible to staff and patients. This work incorporates the artist's social humor, but without his usual irreverence. It is the message of hope that people increasingly need, one year after the global expansion of the pandemic.
The work is named Game Changer. This title is descriptive. It features a kneeling kid brandishing his new toy, a Superman-inspired masked nurse flying to our rescue. The outdated toys, Batman and Spiderman, are in the bin. The visual effect is not forgotten. In this freehand painting in black line, the only color is the Red Cross clearly visible on the nurse's uniform.
Banksy promised that this work would be sold to benefit the National Health Service. He keeps his word. Game Changer is estimated £ 2.5M for sale by Christie's in London on March 23, lot 6. At Southampton Hospital, hope will not be lost : a replica has been installed in place of the original.
The lot was offered with a saleroom notice :
"The artist wishes to thank the British Red Cross for authorising the use of the Red Cross emblem in this work. The red cross symbol is restricted by law in order to preserve its protective function during armed conflicts."
2021 Beeple the New Bard
2021 SOLD for $ 69M including premium
His website says it clearly : Beeple is Mike Winkelmann. He is a graphic designer who produces digital art in the form of short films and concert visuals and complacently offers some animated images under the Creative Commons license.
Beeple uses the most advanced techniques of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. This acquisition of skills did not happen overnight. On May 1, 2007, he made the very clever decision to publish one image per day on the Internet. This visibility obliges him to maintain a professional level in all his experiences.
He never stopped. The 5,000th opus was released on the 5,000th day, January 7, 2021. This set shows a fruitful evolution, in the political sensibility and in the futuristic vision. The characteristic of an artist is to reveal his conception of the universe : Beeple has become a digital artist.
The first 5,000 daily releases were put together as a 21,069 x 21,069 pixel mosaic, which is about 300 x 300 pixels per item. The most current techniques, driven by cryptocurrencies, make it possible to provide a guarantee of authenticity in the form of forgery-proof marks with an NFT protocol in a jpg format.
This unique compilation was prepared on February 16, 2021. Titled Everydays: The first 5000 days, it will be sold by Christie's in an online sale that ends on March 11, lot 1.
There is no antecedent in the history of art and a fortiori in the history of auctions. Bids are in US dollars but the hammer price must be paid in a cryptocurrency defined by Christie's and Beeple, on a wallet address defined in the catalog. The auction fees must be paid separately in dollars.
How much can it be worth ? Christie's responds: "estimate unknown". The auction was opened on February 25. The next day, the starting bid of $ 100 had been covered 120 times, reaching $ 2.4M.
Beeple uses the most advanced techniques of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. This acquisition of skills did not happen overnight. On May 1, 2007, he made the very clever decision to publish one image per day on the Internet. This visibility obliges him to maintain a professional level in all his experiences.
He never stopped. The 5,000th opus was released on the 5,000th day, January 7, 2021. This set shows a fruitful evolution, in the political sensibility and in the futuristic vision. The characteristic of an artist is to reveal his conception of the universe : Beeple has become a digital artist.
The first 5,000 daily releases were put together as a 21,069 x 21,069 pixel mosaic, which is about 300 x 300 pixels per item. The most current techniques, driven by cryptocurrencies, make it possible to provide a guarantee of authenticity in the form of forgery-proof marks with an NFT protocol in a jpg format.
This unique compilation was prepared on February 16, 2021. Titled Everydays: The first 5000 days, it will be sold by Christie's in an online sale that ends on March 11, lot 1.
There is no antecedent in the history of art and a fortiori in the history of auctions. Bids are in US dollars but the hammer price must be paid in a cryptocurrency defined by Christie's and Beeple, on a wallet address defined in the catalog. The auction fees must be paid separately in dollars.
How much can it be worth ? Christie's responds: "estimate unknown". The auction was opened on February 25. The next day, the starting bid of $ 100 had been covered 120 times, reaching $ 2.4M.
2021 Human One by Beeple
2021 SOLD for $ 29M by Christie's
In February 2021 the availability of the NFT technology was the breakthrough long awaited by digital art to appeal the collectors. A mere 7 months later, Beeple demonstrates the compatibility of the physical with the video.
His HUMAN ONE is a seminal work of kinetic aluminum sculpture surrounded with four video walls, the whole in a 220 x 122 x 122 cm wood frame. The endless motion is supported by the corresponding dynamic non-fungible token.
The artist offers the most universal theme of the man in his exploration of space and time. The LED lit monolithic life size character in an astronaut uniform and helmet is endlessly striding in an ever changing landscape fed by a data pool, in a 24 hour day and night cycle.
This artwork may never be finished as a new imagery can be loaded by the artist through the Ethereum blockchain for the use of its owner. It provides a suitable and ever current environment to the lone primordial walking men by Boccioni and Giacometti.
HUMAN ONE was sold by Christie's on November 9, 2021, lot 7A, for $ 29M from an expectation over $ 15M.
His HUMAN ONE is a seminal work of kinetic aluminum sculpture surrounded with four video walls, the whole in a 220 x 122 x 122 cm wood frame. The endless motion is supported by the corresponding dynamic non-fungible token.
The artist offers the most universal theme of the man in his exploration of space and time. The LED lit monolithic life size character in an astronaut uniform and helmet is endlessly striding in an ever changing landscape fed by a data pool, in a 24 hour day and night cycle.
This artwork may never be finished as a new imagery can be loaded by the artist through the Ethereum blockchain for the use of its owner. It provides a suitable and ever current environment to the lone primordial walking men by Boccioni and Giacometti.
HUMAN ONE was sold by Christie's on November 9, 2021, lot 7A, for $ 29M from an expectation over $ 15M.
2021 Bored Apes NFT by Yuga Labs
2021 SOLD for $ 24.4M by Sotheby's
The CryptoPunks by LarvaLabs have opened the way to new entertainment. Incorporated in 2021, YugaLabs adds a social application by which an element is also the digital membership card of a club that offers collaborative actions such as decorating a board.
Two series are starting the new process : Bore Ape Yacht Club and Bore Ape Kennel Club. Each of them is made of 10,000 NFT supported digital images, released on the Ethereum blockchain. The dogs had originally been released for a free adoption.
All of them are unique. As for the CryptoPunks but in a much higher variety and size, all elements match a same matrix. They vary in background, clothes, earring, eyes, fur, hat and mouth for the apes in bust portraits, for a total of 170 traits. For the dogs, clothes, earring and hat are superseded by back, head, neck and feet. Most apes are bored throughout a few variants but rarer expressions from rage to jovial are also included.
A set of 101 of each series will be sold online by Sotheby's on September 9, 2021. The Yacht Club was sold for $ 24.4M from a lower estimate of $ 12M, lot 1. The Kennel Club was sold for $ 1.84M, lot 2.
Two series are starting the new process : Bore Ape Yacht Club and Bore Ape Kennel Club. Each of them is made of 10,000 NFT supported digital images, released on the Ethereum blockchain. The dogs had originally been released for a free adoption.
All of them are unique. As for the CryptoPunks but in a much higher variety and size, all elements match a same matrix. They vary in background, clothes, earring, eyes, fur, hat and mouth for the apes in bust portraits, for a total of 170 traits. For the dogs, clothes, earring and hat are superseded by back, head, neck and feet. Most apes are bored throughout a few variants but rarer expressions from rage to jovial are also included.
A set of 101 of each series will be sold online by Sotheby's on September 9, 2021. The Yacht Club was sold for $ 24.4M from a lower estimate of $ 12M, lot 1. The Kennel Club was sold for $ 1.84M, lot 2.
2021 The De Beers Blue
2022 SOLD for HK$ 450M by Sotheby's
The De Beers Blue, a fancy vivid blue weighing 15.10 carats, is the largest vivid blue made available at auction and the largest internally flawless step cut diamond graded by the GIA. Its stone of about 40 carats has been extracted in 2021 by De Beers in their Cullinan mine.
It is bigger and clearer than the rectangular cut VVS1 14.62 carat Oppenheimer Blue, sold for CHF 57M by Christie's on May 18, 2016. It has the same internally flawless clarity as the cushion cut 12.03 carats of the Blue Moon, remarkable for its 20 second phosphorescent effect after exposure to UV light, sold for CHF 49M by Sotheby's on November 11, 2015.
The step cut, rectangular cut and emerald cut are the best suited to display the perfection of the gem, revealing any defect without pity and displaying the color in its evenly saturated beauty while optimizing the light reflection.
This masterwork of nature and craftsmanship was sold for HK$ 450M by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 27, 2022, lot 1800. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
It is bigger and clearer than the rectangular cut VVS1 14.62 carat Oppenheimer Blue, sold for CHF 57M by Christie's on May 18, 2016. It has the same internally flawless clarity as the cushion cut 12.03 carats of the Blue Moon, remarkable for its 20 second phosphorescent effect after exposure to UV light, sold for CHF 49M by Sotheby's on November 11, 2015.
The step cut, rectangular cut and emerald cut are the best suited to display the perfection of the gem, revealing any defect without pity and displaying the color in its evenly saturated beauty while optimizing the light reflection.
This masterwork of nature and craftsmanship was sold for HK$ 450M by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 27, 2022, lot 1800. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
2021 Patek Philippe Desk Clock
SOLD for CHF 9.5M by Christie's for OnlyWatch
Patek Philippe made a bang in the 2019 OnlyWatch charity auction with the unique example of the model 6300A-010 that fetched CHF 31M. It is derived from the Grandmaster Chime which is the most complicated wristwatch in their catalogue.
To go forward in 2021, the brand cleverly offered a clock that will not invite for a comparison with the 2019 entry.
This item is a modern version of an Art Déco desk clock made by them in 1923 for the demanding customer James Ward Packard which is kept in the Patek Philippe Museum. Henry Graves Jr managed to have a similar time piece. The Packard complicated clock was equipped with a perpetual calendar and moon phases with an eight-day power reserve. It is made of silver with solid-gold feet and inlays.
The OnlyWatch clock is the unique example of the 27001M-01 model. The angular shape with a hinged lid of this 165 x 125 x 76 mm instrument has no equivalent in the modern catalogues of the brand.
It features a perpetual calendar, moon phases, day-night indicator, week-number display and has a power reserve of 31 days and a precision rate of 1 second per day. The case and the cabinet are in sterling silver with vermeil decorative elements and American walnut inlays. In an additional exquisite refinement the dial is in a similar yellow gilt opaline hue as the 6300 of 2019.
The hammer was entrusted to Christie's on November 6, 2021. The Patek Philippe desk clock was sold for CHF 9.5M, lot 41. Please watch the video shared by Watch I love.
To go forward in 2021, the brand cleverly offered a clock that will not invite for a comparison with the 2019 entry.
This item is a modern version of an Art Déco desk clock made by them in 1923 for the demanding customer James Ward Packard which is kept in the Patek Philippe Museum. Henry Graves Jr managed to have a similar time piece. The Packard complicated clock was equipped with a perpetual calendar and moon phases with an eight-day power reserve. It is made of silver with solid-gold feet and inlays.
The OnlyWatch clock is the unique example of the 27001M-01 model. The angular shape with a hinged lid of this 165 x 125 x 76 mm instrument has no equivalent in the modern catalogues of the brand.
It features a perpetual calendar, moon phases, day-night indicator, week-number display and has a power reserve of 31 days and a precision rate of 1 second per day. The case and the cabinet are in sterling silver with vermeil decorative elements and American walnut inlays. In an additional exquisite refinement the dial is in a similar yellow gilt opaline hue as the 6300 of 2019.
The hammer was entrusted to Christie's on November 6, 2021. The Patek Philippe desk clock was sold for CHF 9.5M, lot 41. Please watch the video shared by Watch I love.
2021 Patek Philippe Nautilus
2021 SOLD for $ 6.5M by Phillips
The stainless steel 5711/1A Nautilus self winding waterproof wristwatch by Patek Philippe, launched in 2006, had become a symbol of sport chic for the watch lovers, with its elegantly simple dial design offered in a textured dark blue in the variant 010.
Its huge success with a reported 10 year waiting list had possibly been unexpected for the brand. With an argument of not encouraging speculation, they announced its termination in January 2021. Three months after this astonishing announcement, they relaunched a winning strategy by the release of the 5711/1A-014 with an olive green dial.
The new final steel version of the Nautilus 5711 is now the 5711/1A-018 scheduled to be produced in 170 pieces for celebrating the 170 years of the partnership across the Atlantic between Patek Philippe and Tiffany. The new dial color is the signature Tiffany blue. The markers and hands are in blackened white gold.
The 170 watches will be retailed by Tiffany, with the exception of the very first released example which was sold for $ 6.5M by Phillips on December 11, 2021, lot 1T, as a charity lot for the benefit of The Nature Conservancy environmental nonprofit. Please play the video shared by the auction house.
The Nautilus is also available in pink gold under the reference 5711/1R.
Its huge success with a reported 10 year waiting list had possibly been unexpected for the brand. With an argument of not encouraging speculation, they announced its termination in January 2021. Three months after this astonishing announcement, they relaunched a winning strategy by the release of the 5711/1A-014 with an olive green dial.
The new final steel version of the Nautilus 5711 is now the 5711/1A-018 scheduled to be produced in 170 pieces for celebrating the 170 years of the partnership across the Atlantic between Patek Philippe and Tiffany. The new dial color is the signature Tiffany blue. The markers and hands are in blackened white gold.
The 170 watches will be retailed by Tiffany, with the exception of the very first released example which was sold for $ 6.5M by Phillips on December 11, 2021, lot 1T, as a charity lot for the benefit of The Nature Conservancy environmental nonprofit. Please play the video shared by the auction house.
The Nautilus is also available in pink gold under the reference 5711/1R.
2021 FFC by Journe
2021 SOLD for CHF 4.5M by Christie's for OnlyWatch
The entry by FP Journe for the 2021 OnlyWatch sale was a wristwatch based on the 20 years old Octa Calibre 1300. The hours are displayed by the appearance of the mobile fingers of a blue human hand while the minutes are driven by a rotating disk.
This instrument referred as the FFC Blue is unique, as required by the OnlyWatch rules. The tantalum case has been specially designed for this charity operation.
It is inscribed with references to Ambroise Paré and Francis Ford Coppola.
Ambroise Paré, the 16th century father of modern surgery and prosthetics, had invented a mechanical hand and artificial limbs operated by multiple catches and springs which simulated the joints.
During a dinner in 2012 at Francis Ford Coppola’s house in the Napa Valley, the filmmaker challenged François-Paul Journe to tell time with a human hand in a watch. He later supplied the sketches for the positions of the automaton to display twelve hours with the five fingers. The development of this unprecedented time instrument spanned seven years from 2014 onward.
That Journe FFC prototype was sold by Christie's on November 6, 2021 for CHF 4.5M with no applicable buyer's premium, lot 22.
This instrument referred as the FFC Blue is unique, as required by the OnlyWatch rules. The tantalum case has been specially designed for this charity operation.
It is inscribed with references to Ambroise Paré and Francis Ford Coppola.
Ambroise Paré, the 16th century father of modern surgery and prosthetics, had invented a mechanical hand and artificial limbs operated by multiple catches and springs which simulated the joints.
During a dinner in 2012 at Francis Ford Coppola’s house in the Napa Valley, the filmmaker challenged François-Paul Journe to tell time with a human hand in a watch. He later supplied the sketches for the positions of the automaton to display twelve hours with the five fingers. The development of this unprecedented time instrument spanned seven years from 2014 onward.
That Journe FFC prototype was sold by Christie's on November 6, 2021 for CHF 4.5M with no applicable buyer's premium, lot 22.
2021 Genesis Replicator by Mad Dog Jones
2021 SOLD for $ 4.15M by Phillips
The Genesis Replicator will be sold online by Phillips on April 23, 2021, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by Phillips.
According to its designer and author the Canadian artist Michah Dowbak, aka Mad Dog Jones, Replicator is the story of a machine through time. Up to a recent past it should have been considered as an experiment or as an experience. In the revolution in progress of the digital art, it is an artwork, of an unprecedented design.
It takes the form of an NFT supported Genesis file that generates NFT supported copies in a predefined and limited sequence. By random some copies are lethal, leaving an uncertainty on the total number of the output of this generator.
In his digital work, the artist explores effects of light within a natural or fantastic staging. The basic image of Replicator displays a photocopier in the middle of an office with a night scenery of the Los Angeles skyscrapers.
The features of Replicator are defined as follows on the dedicated website of the artist. It is indeed not so simple. I prefer copying it instead of trying to re-interprete.
According to its designer and author the Canadian artist Michah Dowbak, aka Mad Dog Jones, Replicator is the story of a machine through time. Up to a recent past it should have been considered as an experiment or as an experience. In the revolution in progress of the digital art, it is an artwork, of an unprecedented design.
It takes the form of an NFT supported Genesis file that generates NFT supported copies in a predefined and limited sequence. By random some copies are lethal, leaving an uncertainty on the total number of the output of this generator.
In his digital work, the artist explores effects of light within a natural or fantastic staging. The basic image of Replicator displays a photocopier in the middle of an office with a night scenery of the Los Angeles skyscrapers.
The features of Replicator are defined as follows on the dedicated website of the artist. It is indeed not so simple. I prefer copying it instead of trying to re-interprete.
- One Genesis REPLICATOR NFT is being minted and auctioned.
- There are up to 7 Generations of REPLICATOR NFT’s.
- Each REPLICATOR NFT can create a limited number of "prints", which are NFT’s themselves.
- The time between each print is 28 days.
- Each print will either be a next generation REPLICATOR NFT or a Jammed print NFT, based on contract probabilities.
- Each generation of NFT's will be unique, telling the story of the photocopier through time.
- If a print is a Jam, it can be one of multiple variants, but can no longer create more NFT's.
- Any print created by a REPLICATOR goes to the owner of that REPLICATOR.
- Each REPLICATOR NFT or Jammed print NFT can be resold at any time. If resold on OpenSea, 10% of the proceeds of the sale will go to Mad Dog Jones.
1990-1991 and 2021 NFT www Source Code by Berners-Lee
2021 SOLD for $ 5.4M by Sotheby's
Tim Berners-Lee was born in London to a family of computer scientists. Trained as a physicist and experienced in software, he is hired in 1984 at the CERN, the European research organization in particle physics, based near Geneva, which was a leading user of the Internet in its infancy.
Providing the CERN staff worldwide with an easy access to scientific information would be highly beneficial to their research. In parallel to his professional duties, Berners-Lee conceives in 1989 to join hyper-text to the Internet. He is authorized by his boss to develop this project. His system is complete with all necessary protocols and languages for the texts and their remote access (HTTP, HTML, URL).
It works. This mesh of informations looks like an infinite spider web. Berners-Lee designates in 1990 his HTML browser as the WorldWideWeb. The web software is offered by the CERN to the public domain on April 30, 1993. 'Sir Tim' was knighted in 2004.
Our global computer based civilization was born with Berners-Lee's web. A promising recent development is the NFT, the first protocol able to offer a guarantee of authenticity to a digital file, whatever it is, including artistic and historical.
On June 15, 2021 Sir Tim minted an NFT-supported digital file gathering elements of his invention from the key period 1990-1991. It edits in totality the original 9,555 line source code of the World Wide Web and the user guide in HTML. Sir Tim added a graphic and a video representations of the code and a 2021 letter reflecting about his creation process for that invention.
The Berners-Lee 1/1 file of the www source code was sold for $ 5.4M by Sotheby's on June 30, 2021, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
Providing the CERN staff worldwide with an easy access to scientific information would be highly beneficial to their research. In parallel to his professional duties, Berners-Lee conceives in 1989 to join hyper-text to the Internet. He is authorized by his boss to develop this project. His system is complete with all necessary protocols and languages for the texts and their remote access (HTTP, HTML, URL).
It works. This mesh of informations looks like an infinite spider web. Berners-Lee designates in 1990 his HTML browser as the WorldWideWeb. The web software is offered by the CERN to the public domain on April 30, 1993. 'Sir Tim' was knighted in 2004.
Our global computer based civilization was born with Berners-Lee's web. A promising recent development is the NFT, the first protocol able to offer a guarantee of authenticity to a digital file, whatever it is, including artistic and historical.
On June 15, 2021 Sir Tim minted an NFT-supported digital file gathering elements of his invention from the key period 1990-1991. It edits in totality the original 9,555 line source code of the World Wide Web and the user guide in HTML. Sir Tim added a graphic and a video representations of the code and a 2021 letter reflecting about his creation process for that invention.
The Berners-Lee 1/1 file of the www source code was sold for $ 5.4M by Sotheby's on June 30, 2021, lot 1. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
