Dubai — The global economic slowdown and "selective demand" were pushing Christie’s to seek more realistic prices on its collections, directors of the auction house said on Sunday. "This year, the market is not at the same level as it was one year or two years ago. We are facing a more challenging market," Guillaume Cerruti, Christie’s president for Europe, the Middle East, Russia and India, told journalists in Dubai. "To face this situation, the key word for us is selectivity," he said, announcing two auctions this week in the glitzy Gulf emirate, one on modern and contemporary art and another showcasing "Important Watches". About 150 watches go up for auction on Wednesday, with estimated prices reaching as high as $250,000. Among them are two Patek Philippe 18K white gold automatic wristwatches with the Iraqi coat of arms and the name "Saddam", after executed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who ordered the watches in 1974 and 1980 as gifts. Their prices are estimated at $10,000 an...
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