Thomas:

We have enjoyed visits to the forum from Jean-Christophe Babin, Ulrich Wohn (President of TAG-Heuer, North America) and the esteemed auctioneer Charles Tearle (of Antiquorum), among others. You seem to know a little something about auctions.

Can you tell us about your professional position, etc.? Also, any interesting "interests" (cars, for example)?

Jeff

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: From an auction point of view, I think the sale of the Haslinger
: Collection was pretty much "the perfect platform" to
: trigger the highest possible prices.

: For a sale to be a success, a combination of ingredients are
: needed. In this case, they were all there (except perhaps one):

: 1. The highest quality available in terms of range, rarity, and
: condition (most were NOS or Mint, limited series, or signed)

: 2. Great provenance (Haslinger is a very well-known and highly
: respected collector)

: 3. The best literature references (most were included in
: Haslinger's book, and the sale catalogue itself became an
: instant reference book)

: 4. Prestigious support and approval (introduction by Jack Heuer
: himself, and Tag heuer brand sponsoring)

: 5. The "first" sale of its type (obviously its hard to
: recreate such event, and the buzz is never the same the second
: or third time around)

: 6. Absolute consensus of approval from the collectors community
: (for months all the media supported the sale)

: All of the above creates a perfect platform or "ideal comfort
: zone" for collectors to bid to their highest possible
: level... (as Tracy Chapman would say "if not now... then
: when?"). These are the ideal conditions for an auction
: success.

: Perhaps one element was missing, at least that's what I thought
: when I first saw the catalogue online: the need for low and
: attractive estimates.

: I thought the published estimates were too high, which could have
: acted as a deterrent to the overall sale by discouraging some
: potential buyers from bidding (me). It is a known fact that the
: greatest number of bidders (attracted by low estimates)
: competing against one another always lead to higher prices....

: Clearly, I was wrong.

: Judging from the results, low estimates were not needed for this
: sale (and neither were my bids), the sale platform was perfect
: as it stood....