: I've got hold of the printed catalogue today - a small step for a
: man working 200 yards from the Milan offices of Patrizzi, I have
: to be really honest..

: I will leave aside all the discussions about the quality of the
: watches: it is difficult to judge from the pictures available,
: they are the same as the digital catalogue that has appeared on
: their auction house website this afternoon. As per the variety
: and selection of the watches, I will not add anything to Jeff's
: great "Auction Rap": it is a perfect description of
: what will be on sale. Including the "frankens": a
: couple of them are so incredible that I'm sure that many people
: will fall in love with them and possibly make a bid. By the way,
: starting prices are decent and not over inflated in Euro terms:
: it is difficult to judge how they look in US$, with the exchange
: rate around 1.50.

: The only thing I have to add is that the printed catalogue itself
: is stunning. Glossy, well edited, with a first section of 110
: pages dedicated to Heuers that dwarfs the other parts, and with
: a presentation that includes loads of text and other pictures,
: many from the racing environment: it could have been easily a
: separate catalogue by itself. There are many references from
: Arno's book and, of course, from OnTheDash.

: Now, I don't know whether the watches on sale will stand the test
: of the very selective Heuer aficionados community, if there are
: many wrong hands, or pushers, or crowns etc... Or if the auction
: will be a success or not. It is anyway the first time that
: vintage Heuer watches have been celebrated in such a magnificent
: way by a specialist auction house, and it's something that we
: should all be happy about.