A brand new auction house will hold its first sale tomorrow, November 22, at the exclusive Bulgari Hotel in Dubai and online.
Eluxum is the creation of 24-year-old entrepreneur Aysha Al Meer, who left behind the family’s Kuwait-based engineering business for the oil and gas industry to study in San Diego, California.
According to an interview with Emirates Woman, it was during her college days in the United States where she developed a lust for premium handbags, which she turned into an ecommerce business sourcing rare and hard-to-find luxuries for a circle of connoisseurs and collectors.
Her trading circle now stretches from the West Coast of the United States to the Middle East, her clients’ interests have expanded into fine watches and the creation of an in-person auction in Dubai is a step up in her ambition to bring her community together for exclusive events.
Eluxum has 46 lots for its inaugural sale, around half are watches, the remainder are handbags.
The auction is obviously aimed at a high net worth audience, with the majority of estimates considerably north of $100,000.
Handbags — mainly from Hermes’ Birkin and Kelly collections — are more in the $25,000 to $50,000 range.
A headline act in the watches line-up is a steel-on-steel, olive green dialled Patek Philippe Cubitus being sold, of course, with a full set of box and papers and an estimate of $110,000 to $150,000.
A Richard Mille RM35-03 Rafael Nadal limited edition is the most expensive piece crossing the block with a pre-sale estimate of $450,000 to $500,000.
An Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 41mm Japanese limited edition of just 15 pieces is the most expensive of five APs with a pre-sale estimate of $270,000 to $330,000.
Ms Al Meer’s eye for what women want may have influenced her curation of a number of interesting ladies’ watches including a like-new 2019 candy pink Richard Mille RM 07-01 in ceramic with a full diamond dial. It has an estimate of $220,000 to $250,000.
There is a preview for the auction taking place today at the Perpétuel Gallery in Dubai.
The auction is being promoted by Anish Bhatt, of AKA Watchanish on Instagram, and the influencer will also be in control of the gavel for the sale.