Auctioneers 2009
Special thanks to:
Mr. Samir Sharma
To the auction house CHRISTIE’S for Mr. Nick Orchard and Mr. Francesco Alverà’s performances.
And to Mr. Francesco Bongiorno
 |
 |
 |
SAMIR SHARMA: charming Samir Sharma, Independent Charity Auctioneer, has personally auctioned sales in the US since 2002 and spent five years with the world-renown international auction house Christie's, where he was responsible for Client Relationship Management. Some of the charities he has auctioneered for include: Denver Art Museum, Pittsburgh Ballet, Children’s Health Environmental Coalition, Food Bank NYC. We are delighted to once again welcome Mr. Sharma this evening.
Director, European Head of Estates, Appraisals & Valuations
Nick joined Christie’s in 1992 starting in the Valuations Department. In 1996 he joined the Chairman’s office at Christie’s South Kensington and working on many major house and collection sales in the UK and Europe. This culminated with the first house and collection sale carried out by Christie’s in Spain, which totalled £5.1million. He was appointed Head of Estates, Appraisals & Valuations for Christie’s, London in 2001 and European Head in 2009. Nick is a regular auctioneer for Christie’s at the two London and the Milan saleroom, with over 10 years experience on the rostrum. He is married to Charlotte and they have a daughter and twin sons.
Department Head
Rome
Francesco Alverà, an Italian national born in Bonn, Germany, began his jewelry career at Christie's Italy in 1980 as head of the jewelry department with responsibility for the firm's bi-annual auctions in Italy. Under his direction, Christie's established itself as the market leader for jewelry in Italy. Among the auction highlights is the sale of the most expensive jewel ever sold at auction in Italy, a diamond and fancy colored diamond "en tremblant" flower brooch by Bulgari, 1958, which achieved $1.1 million (1998). He also secured numerous important collections from such famous names as singer Ornella Vanoni, actress Anna Magnani, and most recently, lyrical singer Julietta Simionato. A seasoned auctioneer, he regularly holds the gavel not only during Christie's sales but also at prestigious charity auctions. He has organized jewelry exhibitions in Florence, Genova, Naples, Portofino, Torino and Venice. Mr. Alverà, who is multi-lingual, graduated from the Gemological Institute of America.