Freddie Mercury Memorabilia Auction Draws Enthusiastic Crowd at Sotheby’s
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An auction of items once owned by British rock star Freddie Mercury turned electric on its opening day, taking in a higher-than-expected $15.4 million.
The sale, by Sotheby’s in London, included $2.2 million for the Yamaha baby grand on which he composed “Bohemian Rhapsody” and other hits. The auction’s second and third instalments happen today.
Mercury, the Queen frontman who died in 1991, was an eclectic collector of artwork, furniture, and feline-inspired décor, who had aspired to lead the Victorian life, “surrounded by exquisite clutter.” Lifelong friend Mary Austin said there was nothing Mercury loved more than an auction.
The live, black-tie event drew 2,000 bidders from 61 countries. The first item, a graffiti-covered door on which fans had written tributes, prompted a spontaneous chant of “We Will Rock You,” and sold for $521,000.
Mercury’s autographed handwritten lyrics to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which he almost called “Mongolian Rhapsody,” sold for $1.8 million, while his “We Are the Champions” lyrics sold for $401,000.
Mercury’s stage costumes were a huge draw, including $801,500 for the jewelled crown and scarlet cloak he wore in his “Magic” tour, and $256,500 for his rainbow-coloured satin appliqué jacket.
A serpent-shaped silver bangle Mercury wore in the “Bohemian Rhapsody” video sold for $882,000, setting a record for the highest price ever paid at auction for a rock star’s jewellery, Sotheby’s said.
The final three online auctions start Sept. 11 and run through Sept. 13.
Austin plans to donate an undisclosed portion of the proceeds to charity, including $344,000 from the sale of a Cartier onyx-and-diamond ring given to Mercury by Elton John to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
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For affluent homeowners, the laundry is no longer a utility space. It’s becoming a performance-driven investment in hygiene, longevity and seamless living.
2 min
In high-end homes, the most telling upgrades are no longer the obvious ones.
It’s not just the marble in the kitchen or the view from the terrace. Increasingly, it’s the rooms you don’t see, and how well they actually work.
The laundry is a perfect example.
Once treated as a purely functional space, it is now being reconsidered by architects and homeowners alike as a zone where performance, hygiene and design need to align.
And for buyers operating at the top end of the market, that shift is less about aesthetics and more about control.
Because in a home where everything is curated, inefficiency stands out.
ASKO’s latest “Laundry Care 2.0” range leans directly into that mindset, positioning the laundry as a long-term investment rather than a basic appliance purchase.
Built on more than 75 years of engineering, the Scandinavian brand’s latest systems focus on durability, precision and what is becoming a defining luxury in modern homes: quiet.
One of the more telling innovations is something most buyers would never think to question until it fails.
Traditional washing machines rely on rubber seals that trap dirt and bacteria over time. ASKO replaces that entirely with a steel solution designed to maintain a cleaner, more hygienic drum.
It’s not a headline feature. But it is exactly the kind of detail buyers tend to notice.
Then there is the issue of noise.
As open-plan living has become standard in prestige homes, the background hum of appliances has gone from unnoticed to intrusive.
ASKO’s suspension system is engineered to minimise vibration almost entirely, allowing machines to run without disrupting the wider home environment.
In practical terms, that means a load can run late at night without carrying through the house. In lifestyle terms, it means the home functions as intended.
The same thinking extends to the drying process. Uneven loads, tangled fabrics and repeat cycles are treated as inefficiencies rather than inconveniences, with technology designed to keep garments moving evenly and reduce wear over time.
For buyers, this is where the value proposition sharpens.
It is not about having more features. It is about removing friction.
Less maintenance. Less noise. Less time spent correcting what should have worked the first time.
In that sense, modern laundry is no longer just a utility. It is a reflection of how a home performs behind the scenes, and whether it lives up to the expectations set by everything else.
Because at this level, luxury is not just what you see.
It is what you don’t have to think about.
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