15th May, 2012
Saffronart, the auction house for art and collectibles successfully concluded its 24-Hour Online Auction – ‘The Gentleman’s Sale’ with the first ever online sale of a classic or vintage car in India. The auction featured a selection of luxury and limited edition products including a classic car for the discerning gentleman.
The highlight of the auction was a 1961 Pontiac Laurentian that sold for Rs. 13.42 lakhs following competitive bidding between experienced and new car collectors. A classic piece of 1960s Americana is a hard to find right-hand drive model, the Pontiac is in excellent condition with original manufactured parts and with all its bells and whistles intact. The Pontiac Laurentian comes with a 3.1 liter, straight 6 cylinder engine, three-speed manual transmission with all mechanical parts and components in working order, an odometer reading of a little over 50,000 miles and five brand new Whitewall tires.
The car has been repainted and re-upholstered in the same colour scheme and style as the original, with plush carpeting and with even the door pads having the original colour scheme. The electrical system is an original 12 volt system and the generator has been replaced with an alternator for optimum charging of its battery and to accommodate the additional load of an air conditioning system.
Dinesh Vazirani, Co-founder and CEO of Saffronart said, “It is a thrill to auction a classic car online in India for the first time and we expect more car owners to step forward after this successful result and participate in our auctions. As we expand our auction platform to a greater diversity of products, we are tapping into niche communities of interest that are working with us to reach new buyers. These niche markets are finding new growth as a result and in many cases, publicly available pricing benchmarks are being established for the first time.”
Amongst the other highlights of the sale were a vintage Rolex ‘Padellone’ Self-Winding Triple Calendar Moonphase Wristwatch which closed at 25.35 lakhs, an Oomersi Mawji Silver Sugar Sifter that went for Rs. 2.25 lakhs, a ‘Pair of Diamond and Emerald Cufflinks’ closing at Rs. 3.45 lakhs, and a ‘Pair of Ruby and Coloured Diamond Cufflinks’ fetching Rs. 1.49 lakhs.
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