High-Profile Client Division

From 2018-2020, the athlete client made substantial investments luxury timepieces, often purchasing directly from dealers and without sound guidance from experts in terms of investment. In one instance, before working with The Fine Art Group, the principal purchased an 18-karat yellow gold Rolex Daytona set with diamonds and sapphires with a six-figure price tag. The athlete’s business manager contacted The Fine Art Group to assist with establishing appropriate retail replacement values for the growing collection and we discovered that our client had overpaid for the watch in question by 20%. A delicate conversation followed in which our team established best practices for future acquisitions including completing due diligence via market analytics reports and negotiating purchase on the principal’s behalf to avoid overspending in the future. The client’s collection continues to be refined and grow with our guidance. We estimate that we have saved him hundreds of thousands of dollars since bringing us in to work with him.

The Fine Art Group was contacted two years ago to execute a complex appraisal coving many collecting categories including Old Master and Impressionist paintings, English and Continental Furniture, Rugs, Books and Manuscripts, Photography, Jewelry, Wine, and Collector Cars. There were over 3,000 items divided between four properties. Once the appraisal was complete, we presented the portfolio data in various formats so the producer-collector could better understand a value breakdown of assets and think about distribution among his five heirs. The Fine Art Group now oversees all purchases, annually communicating the new acquisition with value to the client’s risk management team, business manager and collection management software ensuring that the collection information is always current and in line with the market.

The Fine Art Group was contacted by a notable comedian’s business manager who requested assistance organizing handwritten notes, scripts, cue cards, awards and other legacy material related to the principal’s long and storied career. The end goal: to produce an inventory of the collection that could be shopped to various organizations for future philanthropic and donation purposes. The Fine Art Group not only provided a line-item inventory but devised an organization system that aligned like assets with one another thus providing an invaluable search tool for future users and ultimately streamline a tangible asset charitable contribution. Additionally, the inventory was swiftly pivoted into a fair market value appraisal report for donation purposes meeting all IRS requirements.