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PHILLIPS GENEVA PERFUME SALE
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND -- The third Phillips Geneva auction of perfume
presentations, conducted October 25, 1998, reached a total sale value of
approximately $623,250, establishing a new world record for an auction
entirely dedicated to perfume presentations. The previous record had been
established by Phillips in 1997, at nearly $319,000.
Because of the strength of the Swiss franc, the US dollar value is almost
double the 1997 value.
The 1998 final tally, at 263 of 301 lots, with 38 lots unsold, represents a
rate of 87.5 percent of the items sold.
A world record was established for the price achieved for a single flacon.
Coty "L'Idylle," a 1911 creation of Rene Lalique, sold for $58,360. Only two
other "L'Idylle" flacons are known to exist in such excellent condition. One
is in the collection of Marie Claude Lalique, the granddaughter of Rene
Lalique, and the other is in the collection of the Decorative Arts Museum in
Paris.
Another world record was established for a Julien Viard flacon when his
masterpiece created for Charles Fay, "Parfum, les Trois Muses, La Dance," sold
for $12,875.
A presentation set of miniature samples, the Schiaparelli complete set of
"Sleeping," "Shocking" and "Zut," achieved a record price of $4,300. This set
was a free gift in the 1950s.
