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Some People Don't Know; Some People Don't Care
In Response To: The gall. The sheer gall of it. ()

OK, let's admit it . . . we are watch nerds, who care about the authenticity of the pieces in our collections. We also stay on some sort of budget, at least in the sense that we will only spend an amount on a watch that is somewhere in the range of "fair market value", however that may be defined. We stay up late at night reading and writing about our watches; we love the ebay snipes in the dark of night . . . one shot / one kill . . . the thrill of beating people never grows old!!

I would suggest that there are other people who either don't know (much about the watches they collect) or don't care (about how much they are spending and how that relates to fair market value). Then there is every seller's dream buyer, the guy who doesn't know and doesn't care!!

some years ago, I informed the folks at Christies about a Heuer that was a fake . . . absolutely, without any doubt at all . . . Heuer pocket watch movement, mated with a custom-made wristwatch case and a refinished dial. Christies marked the watch as "Provenance Uncertain" [isn;t that a cute phrase], and at an auction where most of the Pateks and Rolexes were moving in the range of $20K to $200K, someone bought this fake Heuer. My contact at Christies told me that the buyer knew of the "Provenance Unknown" situation, but thought that the watch "looked like fun", for a mere $6,000.

Next time this guy is looking for a "fun watch", I hope that he will call me. For $6,000, he can have something that is authentic and fun!! But that's another aspect of these high-brow auctions -- part of the "fun" is bidding and buying in the auction. The fact that the buyer of Lot 39 may pay $6,000 for a watch that is worth the value of the case and movement may not matter to him, especially if he "doesn't know" and "doesn't care".

As a friend used to say, "The world's about the funniest place to be right now!"

Jeff

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

: I can't say I've every heard of any other institution that hopes to
: trade upon reputation and expertise yet so willingly commits
: such glaring and egregious gaffes in pursuit of miniscule fees
: in the short term.

: First it was the laughingly terrible "Rolex/Tudor"
: "'US Marine[sic]'" "Prototypes" (hope I
: don't lose anyone there with excessive use of quotation marks,
: but these were neither Rolex nor prototypes nor did they have
: anything to do with the United States Marine Corps nor the
: United States Navy) that were auctioned multiple times:
:
:
: These fanciful constructions were actually made from hobbyist kits
: made in Hong Kong and bear no association with Rolex/Tudor nor
: any military institution. Owners have even stated they're so
: uncomfortable they're impossible to wear for any length of time.
: Concerns about these were raised well before the hammer fell, to
: no avail.

: Then there was the despicably, laughably horrendous "S.A.S.
: SEAMASTER 300" lot 128 in Antiquorum's 'Omegamania' Auction
: that was a veritable poster child for "how to spot a
: counterfeit SM300," exhibiting easily observed, well-known
: faults known to be common to counterfeits, paired with an
: ostentatious yet wholly unsubstantiated backstory purporting a
: link to the elite and secretive SAS:
:
:
: I just don't know where to begin describing all that's wrong with
: this one. In short, the movement and (replacement) hands are
: genuine but all else is counterfeit: dial, bezel, case,
: provenance… Objections to Antiquorum again fell upon deaf
: ears.

: Has Antiquorum no shame at all? Are they so completely willing to
: sacrifice integrity and reputation over the long term for peanut
: fees in the short term?

: Of course, the problematic Seamaster mentioned above fetched over
: US$30K before buyer's premium. So perhaps we're the fools
: for continuing to pay Antiquorum any attention at all, lest it
: inadvertently lend publicity.

: I have to say I'm even more annoyed that AQ seems to be of the
: opinion that they're in a position to dictate what's authentic
: and what's desirable to us. "Note: this watch was custom
: made"? Please. At least Ukrainian eBay fraudsters show
: more creativity, or at least make more effort at substantiation.

: Why do people keep bidding on their auctions?

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