| RICHEST BY STATE: GAYLE BENSON
Expert advice on luxe investments.
The New Orleans Saints owner resurrects another Big Easy icon. Plus: From the experts—art, booze and timepieces to buy, hold and sell.
BUY Jean-Claude Killy Rolex—Dato-Compax
Legendary skier’s timepiece line from the ’60s is an increasingly hot alternative to the famed Rolex Daytona. Be mindful: Dial and case condition are everything.
HOLD Patek Philippe Ref. 2526
With fewer than 600 of these produced in the 1950s, most with porcelain-enamel dials, near-mint-condition models will see prices rise steadily.
SELL Richard Mille High-End Modern Production Watches
When a downturn arrives, the first to feel it will be watches that retail above $500,000. Have an extra one? (But of course.) Move it now while resale prices are high.
BUY 2015 Tenuta Delle Terre Nere Etna Calderara Sottana
Proprietor Marc de Grazia was one of the first to recognize the potential of Sicily’s long-dormant Etna region. This spicy red, rich in raspberry fruit and silky tannins, will last beyond a decade.
HOLD All Northern Rhône Reds
Availability of older vintages of Côte Rôtie, Hermitage and especially Cornas is sparse; demand has skyrocketed. Place your largest bets on Cornas’ “big four” vintners: Thierry Allemand, Auguste Clape, Noel Verset and Robert Michel.
SELL 1982 Red Bordeaux
Time to crowbar open those original wooden cases of ’82 and either drink or sell. The ripeness of that legendary vintage has started to turn the flavors of aging into those of stewed fruit.
BUY Loie Hollowell
Young painter of abstract and suggestive work, on the tip of every collector’s tongue, is showing at the Pace Gallery in London this autumn. Only one work has auctioned; it sold for $68,750, four times the midrange estimate.
HOLD Ulay & Marina Abramović Collaborative Polaroids
An exhibition of solo and collaborative works in London next year is likely to drive demand for these radical performance artists, particularly their Polaroids from the 1980s.
SELL Lucas Cranach the Elder
Four paintings by the German Renaissance master have sold in excess of $1 million this year. His works aren’t in limited supply. Can demand keep up?