I have created a webpage to present the information about this auction. You can view the webpage here -- http://www.onthedash.com/docs/IndexMobile.html.
On the new webpage, I provide the following summary of the day's activities:
Update -- Thursday, November 12, 2008 -- There was discussion today, on three vintage watch forums, about the authenticity of this watch and the propriety of Antiquorum including it in its auction. The prevailing view: the watch is fake, the phrase "custom made" is ambiguous at best / deceptive at worst, and it is outrageous that Antiquorum allows it to be included in its auction. The minority view: perhaps "custom made" is an appropriate term for the Index Mobile chronographs, as Dubey and Schaldenbrand was actually providing components that could be used by "privateers". My view: a fake is a fake; this watch was not made by or for Heuer, and the name should not be on the dial. I expect that Dubey and Schaldenbrand assembled the genuine watches, whether under their own name or as private label watches.
Further Update -- Thursday, November 12, 2008 -- Toward the end of the day, I received a further e-mail message from my contact at Antiquorum. He emphasizes that the grading report for Lot 39 had been changed and that a note has been added. He suggests that describing a watch as "custom made" is basically stating that the watch is a fake, and that Antiquorum has made "full disclosure". Here is a copy of the Grading Report.
OK . . . I will admit it . . . . I had not noticed these notations about the movement, but I am still confused about Antiquorum's description of this chronograph. Putting it all together, we are told that this is a "custom made" chronograph that has a "later" / "upgraded" movement. Maybe that is their code for a watch that has been assembled from the parts bins . . . maybe that is Antiquorum's polite or indirect way of saying "fake". Of course, they are still failing to point out the main problem with this watch, the name "Heuer" on the dial!!
As the dialog between Humpty Dumpty and Alice (shown below) suggests, it is a powerful thing to be able to dictate the meaning of words.
Jeff
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"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master - that's all."
Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll.
