I believe that, now that the auction is out, it would be better for everyone that its result is going to be positive. A "positive result" means that most of the doubtful lots are going to be withdrawn, that there is good demand at the auction, and that many of the remaining lots are sold. Starting price ranges are ok with a few exceptions, so prices should not be a problem.

Why do we need a positive result, apart from the fact that if would cheer us up?
Think about the opposite: a gigantic auction for a vintage brand that has been listed very rarely in main auction houses goes badly, even after a last-minute clean-up of the junk. The message for the general public, or for collectors of other brands will be: here we go, another minefield full of assembled pieces, even the remaining selected ones are avoided, let's stick on the more traditional trustworthy vintage names..

Do we care about the general public/wider collectors' audience reaction? Of course we do: it would be unfair for the excellent work of the vintage Heuer collectors' community (and for the many beautiful original Heuer pieces that exist outside this auction). And the general public represents a potentially wider collectors' community.

I really do not wish a speculative market on vintage Heuers with unaffordable prices, but at the same time I do not want such a PR/image problem. By the way, in this world and age this is a truly international auction, and not just a local Italian one.

: The folks at Patrizzi & Co. have requested that I post the
: following message, relating to their "Heuer Only"
: auction, to be held Saturday, November 28th, in Milan. As has
: been discussed on this forum, Patrizzi has withdrawn several
: lots that were considered to be problematic. They withdrew these
: watches after I had done a very quick review of the proof of the
: printed catalog. Patrizzi is also seeking further information on
: many of the "Specials" that were included in the print
: catalog -- watches said to have been ordered for customers (like
: AGIP or Coca-Cola), and the listings of the "Specials"
: have also been put on hold, while Patrizzi seeks this further
: information.

: Here is the message from Patrizzi & Co.
: The "Frankens"

: After recent discussions with Jeff Stein of OnTheDash.com, and,
: given our concerns regarding these lots and in fairness to our
: buyers, Patrizzi & Co have decided to unequivocally withdraw
: these lots from this auction. The "Special" pieces

: Patrizzi & Co were given to understand from the distributor
: that these lots were made under special order in Italy. In order
: to confirm their authenticity, these lots are currently
: undergoing detailed analysis and rigorous controls of their
: cases, movements, and hallmarks. Following this analysis, those
: pieces that are undoubtedly as originally indicated to us, will
: be sold at auction and any that are shown to be of doubtful
: origin will be withdrawn.
: For our readers's ease of reference, here is the link to the
: online catalog --
: http://95.110.194.207/catalogoHeuer/catalogoHeuer.aspx?TipoCatalogo=C&language=en-US

: Shown below are high resolution images of a few of the watches that
: are included in the auction; I will hope to add a few more of
: these images, over the next few days.

: Please feel free to post comments or questions on this situation.

: Jeff

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