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Bonhams Names Senior International Jewelry Director
Brett O’Connor joins the auction house from Sotheby’s Geneva.
Brett O’Connor will join Bonhams’ New York team this November as senior international jewelry director and senior vice president, U.S.
New York—Bonhams is continuing to add to its team.
The auction house announced this week the appointment of auctioneer Brett O’Connor to senior international jewelry director and senior vice president, U.S., beginning in November at its New York office.
O’Connor boasts an illustrious career as a jewelry specialist, with more than 24 years of auction experience, the last 16 of which he spent at Sotheby’s Geneva.
While he was there he worked with the collections of Maria Callas, Gina Lollobrigida, Henckle von Donnersmarck, as well as a collection of jewelry hitting the auction block this fall that once belonged to Marie Antoinette, to name a few.
O’Connor also helped bring important diamonds and gemstones to auction, like the Beau Sancy diamond, Sunrise ruby and the Apollo and Artemis diamond earrings.
With a graduate gemologist diploma from the Gemological Institute of America, O’Connor began his career at Christie’s and Phillips in New York and Los Angeles before moving to Hong Kong and Europe during his tenure at Sotheby’s.
He’s been a lead auctioneer at Sotheby’s sales spanning Geneva, Hong Kong, London and New York, and before his move to Geneva, he was the head of jewels in Hong Kong.
Jean Ghika, Bonhams’ global head of jewelry, commented in a press release, “I am delighted to welcome Brett to the team. He has an excellent track record and is extremely well regarded within the industry. I am particularly looking forward to working with him to further build our presence in the U.S. and Asia, which are some of the most important and fastest growing markets for jewelry.”
O’Connor added, “I am pleased to be joining Bonhams at an important point in the company’s long history and excited to be returning to the U.S. with a view to expanding the jewelry department’s global presence.”
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