Christie's

Christie's is an internationally recognised auction house that specialises in the sale of fine art, jewellery, watches, wine, and other high‑value collectibles. The company conducts live auctions both in person and online, providing a platform for private collectors, institutions, and dealers to acquire and dispose of rare objects across a variety of categories. Its core service revolves around expert valuation, cataloguing, and marketing of items to a global clientele seeking unique and investment‑grade assets. Christie's operates through a network of salerooms and representative offices that facilitate pre‑sale viewings, client consultations, and post‑sale logistics. The firm’s reputation is built on deep specialist knowledge, rigorous provenance research, and the ability to attract consignments of museum‑quality works.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Christie's maintains a prominent footprint in the international art market, regularly handling sales that contribute significantly to the annual turnover of the sector. The 2024 cyberattack on its website forced the house to rely on a temporary bidding platform lacking online capability, yet critical auctions continued through in‑person and telephone participation, which accounted for nearly half of its annual revenue during the disruption. This incident followed a earlier breach that exposed sensitive client artwork location data, highlighting vulnerabilities in its digital infrastructure. Despite these challenges, Christie's has persisted in delivering major sales events, underscoring the resilience of its traditional auction channels. The organisation remains privately held, with no publicly disclosed parent or subsidiary structure detailed in the available sources.