I was one of the people who emailed Jeff, inquiring whether the statements attributed to him were true. The way the seller described it, Jeff was proclaiming that the A&F Heuer was, by virtue of its rarity, valuable. As Jeff has done here, he explained that the seller's implication was wrong, though technically accurate. I mean, the watch is just incredibly ugly and undesirable.

My response to Jeff (with a few emails in the middle) was:

But there's a certain reality that someone whose opinion carries as much weight as yours can be in a precarious position when it's used to promote a dog like the A&F Heuer. There are a handful of people on the inside whose opinions are critical, but you are certainly the most prominent voice to those who aren't members of the Heuer Secret Society. It's a heavy burden.

This was by no means to fault Jeff for having given an honest opinion, but a reminder that to many of us, and to others who are on the periphery of Heuer collecting and don't know about Arno, Abel, Nic, etc., a positive word from Jeff Stein is the good-housekeeping seal of approval for Heuers.

While I would never have considered putting that mutt of a watch on my wrist, the fact that Jeff said it's indeed a rare Heuer gave me pause. Ah, to have such Heuer-fu. But Jeff's point here, that scarcity doesn't equal value, is a critical message, and one I will remember.

Scott