Jony and Marc's (RED) Auction

Raising money for AIDS at Sotheby's

Auction lots developed and re-created together with U2 frontman Bono, sold at a high price for his charity fund 'Product Red'

One of a kind items by Sir Jonathan Ive, KBE, and Marc Newson, CBE, in collaboration with musician and philanthropist Bono were sold at a Sotheby's charity auction earlier this week, bringing in some serious cash for a good cause.

Don't expect to see these products ever hitting your local Apple Store, though; the pieces have been created over an eighteen month period, developed and re-created together with the U2 frontman for his charity fund Product Red – a portion of the profits from sales going to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa.

RED event sothebys

The Red Charity Auction at Sotheby's New York

Four key Apple items were up for grabs for the high profile auction attendees. Most notably, the red Mac Pro - which was sold for $977,000 to one charitable donor, a huge increase from the $60,000 the maxed out Mac Pro will be available for. Furthermore, a pair of solid gold Apple earphones went for $461,000. A special edition Leica camera and one-of-a-kind aluminium desk also went for $1,805,000 and $1,685,000, respectively.

A Cavale saddle by Hermès in red leather with red stitching, a 'Snoopy' lamp by Achille Castiglioni and Pier Giacomo, twisted chairs by Damien Hirst and watches by Jaeger Le-Coultre joined 561 other equally coveted objects for fans of contemporary art.

At the end of the evening – which raised almost $13 million – Coldplay's Chris Martin and Bono covered the song Beautiful Day by U2, at a cocktail reception.

RED event sothebys