Watch Dandy

In June, Sotheby’s had the unprecedented opportunity to sell a 1,109 carat uncut diamond, the largest in the world by far. But the vaunted auction house couldn’t find a buyer. The Lesedi La Rona diamond was placed on the block during an evening sale in London, and after an opening bid of $50 million, things stalled out entirely. No flurry of paddles, no wild result, and, importantly, no big premium for Sotheby’s. It hammered below the reserve price and didn’t sell. While Vanity Fair‘s account of this story has nothing to do with watches per se, it’s an in-depth look at the mechanics and politics of high-end auctions, the global luxury market, and how objects of desire come to possess their hypnotic powers (or not). It takes us from the coast of Angola to a showroom in Singapore, and finally back to that London auction room.