Dorotheum
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1707
- HeadquartersVienna, Austria
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
Dorotheum firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Dorotheum
- Legal name
- Dorotheum GmbH & Co KG
- Website
- https://dorotheum.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1707
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Dorotheum industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Art Auction Services
- NAICS
- Art Dealers (459920), Art Dealers (45992), Jewelry, Watch, Precious Stone, and Precious Metal Merchant Wholesalers (42394), Jewelry, Watch, Precious Stone, and Precious Metal Merchant Wholesalers (423940)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Auction Houses (Luxury Watches & Jewelry) (CRAKAKAF)
Keywords
Where Dorotheum is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Vienna
- HQ country
- Austria
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices18 records
Markets served
Dorotheum business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Auction Commissions (Buyer's Premium): Buyers pay a premium on the hammer price. For art/antiques: 30% on first €500,000 (differential taxation), stepping down to 15% above €1,000,000. For vehicles/stamps/coins: 22% on first €100,000.
- Seller's Commission: Sellers pay commission on the hammer price achieved. Commission rates are contractually agreed upon. The seller receives the hammer price minus commission and any agreed fees.
- Private Sales: Discrete, off-auction sales facilitated by the international expert team. Dorotheum acts as intermediary between buyers and sellers, earning a commission on the negotiated transaction.
- Jewelry Laboratory Services: Gemmological certification and appraisal services. Expert assessments for insurance, resale, and authentication purposes. Fees are 1% of appraised value with minimum time-based charges.
- Catalog Sales and Subscriptions: Sale of printed auction catalogs and annual subscriptions for collectors interested in specific categories.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Art & Antiques - First €500,000 (Differential Taxation) |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Art & Antiques - €500,000 to €1,000,000 (Differential Taxation) |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Art & Antiques - Above €1,000,000 (Differential Taxation) |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Vehicles, Stamps, Coins - First €100,000 (Differential Taxation) |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Jewelry Laboratory Appraisal Fees |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels9 records
Dorotheum product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Dorotheum operates a full-service auction house conducting over 700 auctions annually across 40+ specialist categories including Old Masters, Classical Modern, Contemporary Art, 19th-Century Paintings, jewelry, watches, classic vehicles, and antiques. The business combines live hall auctions at Palais Dorotheum in Vienna with a continuous online auction platform, supported by expert appraisal, gemmological laboratory, private sales brokerage, and estate liquidation services.
Product overview
Dorotheum is a full-service auction house operating as a platform with multiple interlinked product lines. The core platform consists of two primary bidding channels: Live Auctions (Saalauktionen) held at the Palais Dorotheum in Vienna and branch locations, and Online Auctions conducted entirely on the website. Supporting these are the Live Bidding virtual participation feature and the Sofortkauf (Buy Now) fixed-price option. The business extends across over 40 specialist categories (Sparten) spanning fine art (Old Masters, Classical Modern, Contemporary Art, 19th-Century Paintings), jewelry, watches, classic vehicles, and antiques, all managed by over 100 in-house experts. Complementary services include the Online Schätzanfrage (online valuation request), Private Sales brokerage, Collections & Estates liquidation, and the Dorotheum Juwelenlabor (gemmological lab). The platform also operates branded sub-businesses: the Dorotheum Juwelier Onlineshop (direct jewelry retail), Dorotheum Pfand (pawn services), and Dorotheum Galerie (cultural exhibitions). Customer account management is handled through the myDOROTHEUM portal, which supports auction notifications, saved searches, and secure bidding.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Dorotheum Juwelier: Online jewelry shop for purchasing jewelry outside of auctions
- Dorotheum Pfand
- Dorotheum Galerie
- myDOROTHEUM
- Dorotheum Fahrzeuge
Products and services
- Dorotheum Auktionen (Live Auctions) Traditional in-person auction events held at Palais Dorotheum in Vienna and branch locations across Austria, with major auctions twice yearly during Classic Week and Contemporary Week. Bidders participate in the auction room, via telephone, or through written bids. Targeted at private collectors, museums, and estates selling and acquiring fine art, antiques, jewelry, watches, and collectibles.
- Online Auctions Internet-only auctions conducted entirely on Dorotheum's website with real-time bidding updates, automatic outbid notifications, and extended bidding windows. Includes thousands of objects monthly across multiple categories, accessible 24/7 to registered bidders globally.
- Sofortkauf (Buy Now)
Quantifiable outcome
- Maria Lassnig 'Wilde Tiere sind gefährdet' sold for €1,367,800 - world record for Austrian contemporary art
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Dorotheum
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Dorotheum technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
Feature3 records
Dorotheum partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Dorotheum competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Heritage Auctions: Largest US-based auction house with extensive fine art, jewelry, watches, classic cars and collectibles coverage. Overlaps with Dorotheum's 40+ category breadth and online auction platform.
- Sotheby's: Global auction house leader with broad category coverage (fine art, jewelry, watches, cars). Directly competes for high-end consignments but at materially larger scale, with salesrooms in NY, London, Hong Kong, Paris.
- Christie's: Global fine art and luxury auction house covering Old Masters through contemporary, jewelry, watches and collectibles. Closest global benchmark for Dorotheum's multi-category auction model.
- Bonhams: London-based international auction house covering fine art, jewelry, watches, classic cars and collectibles — particularly strong in motors and Old Masters where it overlaps directly with Dorotheum.
Emerging players
- Skinner Auctioneers: US-based regional auction house covering fine art, jewelry, classic cars and collectibles. Similar mid-sized multi-category model with strong classic vehicle auction capability that parallels Dorotheum Fahrzeuge.
- Phillips: Global auction house with focus on contemporary art, design, watches and jewelry. Competitor in the modern/contemporary and watches categories where Dorotheum also competes for high-net-worth consignors.
Direct peers
- Artcurial: Paris-based auction house with comparable multi-category coverage including Old Masters, contemporary, jewelry, watches and classic automobiles. Similar European regional profile to Dorotheum.
- Lempertz: Cologne-based German auction house (founded 1845) covering fine art, antiques, jewelry and collectibles. The most direct German-speaking regional competitor to Dorotheum's core auction business.
- Koller Auktionen: Switzerland's leading auction house with comparable multi-category coverage (old masters, modern, contemporary, jewelry, watches). Closest DACH-region peer in category breadth and pricing structure.
Regional players
- Bukowskis: Nordic region's leading auction house (Sweden/Finland), strong in modern and contemporary art, design and collectibles. Comparable multi-category regional auctioneer model but with different geographic base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Dorotheum social profiles
Digital presenceDorotheum financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Dorotheum leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Dorotheum subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Dorotheum funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Dorotheum M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Dorotheum
What does Dorotheum do?
Dorotheum operates a full-service auction house conducting over 700 auctions annually across 40+ specialist categories including Old Masters, Classical Modern, Contemporary Art, 19th-Century Paintings, jewelry, watches, classic vehicles, and antiques. The business combines live hall auctions at Palais Dorotheum in Vienna with a continuous online auction platform, supported by expert appraisal, gemmological laboratory, private sales brokerage, and estate liquidation services.
Is Dorotheum a public or private company?
Dorotheum is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Dorotheum founded?
Dorotheum was founded in 1707. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Dorotheum based?
Dorotheum is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, in the Europe region.
How does Dorotheum make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Auction Commissions (Buyer's Premium) is the primary driver. The others are seller's Commission, private Sales, jewelry Laboratory Services and catalog Sales and Subscriptions.
Who are Dorotheum's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Heritage Auctions, Sotheby's, Christie's and Bonhams. Emerging players are Skinner Auctioneers and Phillips. Direct peers are Artcurial, Lempertz and Koller Auktionen. Bukowskis is listed as a regional player.
Does Dorotheum have an API?
No public API is recorded for Dorotheum.
What industry is Dorotheum in?
Dorotheum's product category is Art Auction Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAKAKAF, Auction Houses (Luxury Watches & Jewelry). Its NAICS code is 459920.