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Last December, at a series of luxury outdoor auctions in Abu Dhabi that Sotheby’s calls “Collectors’ Week,” I spotted Paul Redmayne, senior vice president for luxury sales, quietly manning a booth at the St. Regis on Saadiyat Island. The hotel’s restaurant had been repurposed into a Sotheby’s department store with booths selling handbags and diamonds. Laid out in front of Redmayne were tools of the trade—pliers, a magnifying glass, and a nylon hammer for artisanal effect, while some sketched designs were pinned to a board.
