Bonhams announces the appointment of Susan Abeles as Vice President, Head of Jewelry United States. Ms Abeles has over 29 years experience in the auction house and private dealer fields. She will be based in New York at the Bonhams saleroom on Madison Avenue and will join the company on April 1.
Matthew Girling, International Head of the Bonhams Jewelry Department, says, ‘Susan’s appointment is yet another example of Bonhams’ global commitment to growth in key specialist areas, and her invaluable experience will further strengthen an American jewelry team that stretches across the continent from New York to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
“Having recently gained market leadership in the UK, Bonhams continues to develop the International Department – jewelry provides a central plank in the Group’s business worldwide, and this appointment signals our ongoing dedication to expansion, both in our team structure and in our global sales schedule. I very much look forward to working closely with Susan and her European and Asian counterparts in the months ahead.”
Ms Abeles has an accomplished career in the jewelry industry with an emphasis on new business development and account management and expansion. During her career, clients have included Bulgari, Cartier, Musee of Decorative Arts, Neiman Marcus, Saks, and Van Cleef & Arpels; and she has represented family estates and individuals such as Gloria Swanson, Rock Hudson, Marilyn Monroe, Mae West, Payne Whitney, Irving Berlin, the Mackay and Rockefeller families, James Beard, Diana Vreeland, and the Duchess of Windsor.
Starting her jewelry career in the New York auction house world in 1981, Ms Abeles was first appointed Director of Jewelry at Doyles in 1991, before moving to Christie’s in 1994, again as Director. From 2001 to the present Ms Abeles has been working in a senior capacity at one of Manhattan’s leading family-owned jewelry businesses. Ms Abeles continues to lecture widely, has appeared on the Antiques Roadshow and conducts charity auctions across the country.
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com
