When I first learned of this auction, I was very excited and anticipated
being able to add to my Carrera collection. Being a newcomer to the Heuer
world three years ago, I have a long way to go to be considered anything
but a novice. Now with seeing only one picture of the watches and all the
question's that still remain, it looks like I will be solely a looker. I am not sure I
can confidently bid on any and be somewhat assured of the quality of the watch.
I constantly fall back on what Abel told me, "buy the seller, not the watch".
It sure is a pity that Patrizzi did not consult with the experts that contribute
to OTD. Many of you live in the EU and I am sure would have spent a weekend to help.
Again, thanks to Jeff, this site makes me a better, more informed collector every week

: Based on my experience with the Patrizzi group, over the last
: two weeks, I would say that they had good intentions, and good
: integrity, but they have insufficient expertise with the vintage
: Heuers. So they can describe the functions of the watch, state
: the dimensions, indicate the construction of the case, describe
: the hands, etc., but they simply did not realize that they were
: looking at a watch that has serious problems. Yes, the physical
: properties of each element is described accurately; no, the
: person writing the descriptions does not have the expertise to
: realize that these elements do not belong on this watch. So, of
: course, the overall "Condition" and
: "Estimate" of the value are hopelessly off base, in
: many cases.

: It is very simple, but unfortunate . . . Patrizzi & Co. did not
: have sufficient expertise to stage a successful auction of the
: vintage Heuers. In fact, it was probably impossible for anyone
: to produce a good auction from this particular collection.
: Patrizzi sorted down from something like 200 pieces in the
: collection, and first offered 129 in the auction . . . next,
: after I reviewed the catalog for exactly one hour, they lost 25
: of the frankens, fakes and specials . . . next, the vintage
: collectors find significant problems with many of the remaining
: watches . . . so what is left of this auction? Unless, of
: course, there are buyers who either are not well informed about
: the details of these watches or will buy them anyway. Maybe this
: is how it will unfold, but I am not optimistic.

: It is very difficult (or maybe impossible) for such an auction to
: be successful, without experts (and expertise) in the subject. I
: feel very bad for the Patrizzi group . . . they seem to be
: entirely well intentioned and trying to do the right thing, but
: the good intentions simply cannot make up for a lack of
: information and expertise.

: Jeff

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