Besides art BID collects licensing fees on their brand-name, Sotheby's International Realty, now owned by Realogy Corp. ( H ); Sotheby Diamonds, a retail-joint venture, will design and sell diamonds valued between $50,000 and $5M; it plans to expand its financial services through which it lends money to clients using art as collateral. On the downside, if Sotheby's is unable to match the torrid sales of recent auctions, year-to-year earnings comparisons could disappoint investors expecting never-ending growth. Quick comment: For those who can't afford Cezanne or Chardin, Sotheby's is an opportunity for proxy investing in art • A recent stamp scandal at collectibles merchant Escala Group Inc. (ESCL) may have pushed their scandal-averse customers in BID's direction • Reuters headlined Barron's Sotheby's pump