Some debate on Instagram about prices at Monaco Legends Auction. It was an interesting auction as there were 24 Heuers for sale so a decent selection and also some really nice watches and rare models, not just a collection of rubbish quality which sometimes happens.

My view is that the results were pretty strong and solid, with just two watches that were really surprisingly cheap or maybe even mispriced.

Let’s start by saying lets forget the mania when speculators tried to play on the Heuer market. Those prices were silly and we should definitely not use them as a reference. So the black PVD Autavia 11063 which sold for just under EUR9k yesterday was a decent price, but looks low if you compare to craziness of the one that sold for $85k (I seem to remember) at the height of the speculation bubble. But it’s stupid to have a sensational headline that “Autavia prices fall 80%”. That’s just misinformation.

Then looking at low prices (In EUR) the ones that surprised me were:
- the 1163 with ridged markers (“Derek Bell”) sold for 3.4k was just ridiculous unless there are some issues on the watch (I didn’t look in detail). This is the one which had the most comment - rightly - on Instagram. Pretty stupid that ML listed it as a Viceroy, but usually dealers/collectors would not be put off by that, so maybe there were other problems.
- I though the PVD Monaco at just over 20k was very low as the dial looked great. However the case maybe looked a bit “off” in the photos so maybe that deterred buyers who could not examine in person. Good luck to the buyer, as it looks a nice bargain.

Otherwise there were some decent prices
- The 1158CHN for 29k was strong (though I find the 1158CH a little undervalued at 16k, IMO)
- the Orange Boys hit decent prices (13k for classic OB, 22k White OB)
- manual compression case Skipper a decent 16k
- 73663 “bund” Autavia just over 10k
- decent 15k levels for the early Siffert and 1163GMT

I would ignore whether the watches were at their low or high estimate - that’s sort of arbitrary especially with an auction house who may not be a Heuer expert. For example - there is a beat-up, redialed 2444 A&F on eBay for $154,000; if it sells for a 30% discount (just $100k!) I would not exactly call it a “bargain”.

Talking 2444s, I did find the 6k for the Beyer double signed dial 2444 as a very solid price - maybe the “double signed dial” premium is starting to rise in the Heuer world? Or just people realise these are cool watches.

Then you have all the Heuer models that are outside the high profile models (for example, Montreal, Jarama, Cortina, Daytona) which were at realistic, but decent levels (2.5-3.5k). It makes much more sense that these are sold at no reserve than with stupid expectations and then remaining unsold. And it also is nice that people can buy really cool, historic and relatively rare Heuers in good condition at “reasonable” levels and cheaper than new watches from TH / Omega / Beitling etc. I certainly know what I would prefer!

One other aspect worth mentioning - most prices are at, or above, the levels in Richard’s Vintage Heuer price guide. So some sanity in the market or self confirmation / herding behaviour as Nate Silver might describe it...

What do others think?