"The consumers today, they are experience collectors," said Mr. Smith.
Laurenzi, who was called an "extremely experienced collector" by Major League Baseball, was regarded highly enough that he was invited to work at the World Baseball Classic.
"We have older, experienced collectors, as well as newer wine lovers, especially from China and Russia".
The happy few trained to zero in on masterpieces no matter what surroundings, as experienced collectors do in the auction market, will be thrilled by the assemblage of unforgettable works from far flung places and may shrug off the cacophony resulting from its random assemblages.
Experienced collectors know, and recent buyers with a sound instinct suspect, that the market for the art of the past as it existed until recently will inevitably draw to a close in the foreseeable future, giving place to a few isolated transactions at distant intervals.
Many experienced collectors won't buy a major canvas without a condition report, which usually costs a few hundred dollars.
In a lifetime even experienced collectors see few enamel dial watches because they're made in such small numbers they can make exotica such as tourbillons and minute repeaters seem commonplace and they rarely make it to retail outlets.
Experienced collectors of peyote remove a thin slice from the top of the plant, leaving the growing point intact, thus allowing the plant to regenerate.
Experience teaches collectors, dealers and art historians that mistakes are unavoidable.
As a past president of the Glass Art Society, I have firsthand experience with collectors who insist on attaching curatorial license to their donations.
