Sotheby’s to debut inaugural Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week with multimillion-dollar auctions

The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort/Image Supplied

Sotheby’s, in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), has announced an exclusive programme of auctions, exhibitions, masterclasses, and panel discussions set to take place in the UAE capital. The series will culminate this December with the inaugural Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week, positioning the emirate as a rising global hub for culture, art, and luxury.

The first auction will take place in October during The NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2025 presented by ADQ, with a schedule of events leading up to Collectors’ Week from 2–5 December. The programme will feature sales across high jewellery, rare timepieces, collector cars, and exclusive real estate through RM Sotheby’s and Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions. A museum-quality exhibition of international fine art will also anchor the week at The St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort.

Josh Pullan, global head of Sotheby’s Luxury Division, said: “At Sotheby’s, we have taken incredible strides to cement our position as a global powerhouse for luxury. This unprecedented auction week – and all of the events that will lead up to it – is poised to showcase the very best of what Sotheby’s has to offer, and we are thrilled to already be able to announce that the week will be anchored by a single-owner collection replete with top quality jewellery and watches, alongside unparalleled automobiles. With the Middle East – and the UAE in particular – as one of the most dynamic drivers of the luxury industry, we could have chosen no better home to do this than Abu Dhabi.”

The auctions coincide with one of Abu Dhabi’s busiest weeks, which also includes the Formula One Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi Finance Week, Milken Institute Middle East and Africa Summit 2025, and Bitcoin MENA – further cementing the city’s status as a magnet for international collectors and investors.

Among the headline lots is a landmark collaboration between RM Sotheby’s and McLaren Racing. The auction will feature the sale of three future competition cars under the “Triple Crown” project: a 2026 McLaren Formula 1 Team car, a 2027 McLaren United AS World Endurance Championship racer, and a 2026 Arrow McLaren IndyCar Indianapolis 500 entry. The lots, to be auctioned on 5 December, include VIP experiences such as McLaren site tours and preferential access to future car purchases.

Other highlights include a 2017 Pagani Zonda 760 Riviera, estimated at $9.5–10.5m, and a rare 2010 Aston Martin One-77, valued between $1.3–1.6m. Both models exemplify the high-performance automotive segment targeted at global collectors.

At the heart of Collectors’ Week will be a single-owner jewellery and watch collection, estimated to achieve over $20 million. Leading the sale is The Desert Rose, a 31.86-carat Fancy Vivid Orangy Pink Diamond with an estimated value of $5–7m, introduced earlier this year at Sotheby’s Beyond: The World’s Rarest Diamonds exhibition in Abu Dhabi.

Timepiece highlights include a Rolex “Oyster Albino” Daytona reference 6263, produced in the late 1960s and early 1970s, estimated at $500,000–1m. With fewer than a handful of examples known globally, the model remains one of the most coveted vintage Rolexes on the market.

Sale highlights will travel to Sotheby’s global locations ahead of the auctions, ensuring international exposure and drawing buyers from across the world to Abu Dhabi in December.