Auction house expert

Pay in the destination countries

Monthly, in US dollars. Each country is an Imora admission package — open one for that route's fees, language requirement and deadline.

What does the day look like?

You work in the jewellery department of a house like Christie's, Sotheby's or Bonhams — the postings in Paris, Geneva, New York, Hong Kong, London and Los Angeles all list the same work. You find objects for sale, build relations with collectors, dealers and institutions, prepare valuations and consignment proposals, and negotiate consignment terms. Then you measure the piece, weigh it on electronic scales, test the stones, check hallmarks and makers' marks against reference books and archives, research provenance, write the catalogue entry and the condition report, organise photography, run pre-sale viewings, answer estimate enquiries, take telephone bids on sale day, and follow up post-sale payment.

Your tools are a microscope, a loupe, tweezers, diamond and colour-stone grading sets, electronic scales, callipers, assay and hallmark books, makers'-mark archives, price databases of comparable auction results, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook, image management systems, and the house's own stock and client database. The famous part — handling named diamonds and calling bids — is 20% to 30% of the time around exhibition and sale week. The other 70% to 80% is desk work. Hours are office hours plus heavy overtime before deadlines, evening client events, weekend previews, and travel for valuation days, fairs and travelling exhibitions. There is no night shift, but sale weeks run long.

Where does this lead?