David Bennett

David Bennett is a British auctioneer and jeweler. He is known as the “100-carat man” for his history of selling 100-carat diamonds with record-breaking prices. He served as the chief auctioneer and the chairman of Sotheby's international jewelry division. Bennett is also regarded as the founding father of the contemporary jewelry-auction market, having introduced innovations in jewelry auction. He joined Sotheby's graduate program in 1978. He began as a trainee cataloguer in the jewelry division, discovered that he excelled as a jeweler, and quickly rose through the company's ranks.

In 2015, Bennett was promoted as chairman of Sotheby's international jewelry division. Under Bennett's watch, the Jewelry Division became the third-largest department for Sotheby's in terms of total sales.

Recognitions In 2013, the magazine Art+Auction named Bennett as one of the top 10 most powerful people in the art world. A year later, he was cited by the Swiss financial business magazine Bilan as part of the 50 most influential people in Switzerland. Bennett co-authored with Daniela Mascetti, a fellow Sotheby's luminary, two books about jewelry, Celebrating Jewellery and Understanding Jewellery.