The lolly of Laurence

A lovely, if crass, anecdote putting the price of the Laurence Graff 2012 Reserve Cabernet (R2,500) into perspective in the Weekend FT.

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In New York in 2013, the billionaire jeweller and collector Laurence Graff decided to leave the bidding for a Lichtenstein at $40m. “He looked at me [from a front-row seat] and said, ‘No, no’,” Pylkkanen recalls, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I looked back and I said, ‘Are you sure?’ He paused and said, ‘All right, 42.’ We went to 50 and he bought it.”

According to Graff, “Jussi called me a few days later and he said, ‘You and I created history in that room.’ I’ve known auctioneers who don’t have a clue about what they’re selling but he knows every piece. He is very relaxed, holds his audience, surveys it. He’s seeking bids from the wealthiest people in the world but he’s the man.”