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Jony and Marc's 
(RED) Auction: Two designers see red

When Apple's design chief Sir Jonathan Ive and renowned industrial designer Marc Newson curate a charity auction with the title 'Red', on behalf of Sotheby's, you know it's going to be something special...

As well as Ive and Newson (or should we say Jony and Marc), the organisers include U2 front man and committed philanthropist Bono - who has already raised more than 40 million U.S. dollars for AIDS relief, thanks to a 'red' auction back in 2008 . On 23 November 2013, Sotheby's in New York has been tasked with the sequel, offering objects collated over the last year and a half by Ive and Newson - objects ranging from contemporary art and rare automobiles, to products derived from aerospace and lighting design. The catalogue also includes items that have been customised by Jony and Marc, plus two unique lots that they have created specifically for this sale.

These two lots are the highlights of the auction: first, a Leica camera estimated at $500,000 to 750,000 and, jointly designed and produced by the Neal Feay Studio in Santa Barbara, an aluminum desk likely to bring in $300,000 to 500,000. Also found among the 43 auction lots are a red-and-white Steinway grand piano and a current Range Rover - both individualised by Jony and Marc - along with a red Hermès Cavale saddle, some Apple headphones in pink gold, a Russian cosmonaut suit, a pair of Damien Hirst's 'spin chairs' and a Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos '561' with red accents. The proceeds go to The Global Fund, which campaigns against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. 

Photos: Sotheby's

For the full catalogue of Sotheby's 'Jony and Marc's 
(RED) Auction' see sothebys.com.