I think there must be new blood coming into the collectors market; who is paying these stupid prices otherwise? I bought my first Heuer 3 years ago and have seen a very steady rise ever since, fuelled by various high profile auctions. For example, half a million quid for a Monaco??? I completely understand the dire financial situations of many people throughout the world but there are a good few who are in a position to say; "Recession? What recession..."

I think the downturn in watches available is down to a lack of numbers generally coming up for sale as collectors who have a few pieces in their collection may be seeing the prices go up and up and up and are thinking, "hang on a minute..." Some sellers on ebay and the like are jumping on the bandwagon and putting buy it now prices far too high, off the back of a supply and demand issue. In the future I'm sure we'll see even fewer decent bargains coming up for sale which is a damn shame.

David H

: i agree there are only little very nice watches coming up at ebays.
: this is true also for breitlings and rolexes.

: of course most is in collectors hands.

: you can buy many watches for parts, refurbishment ect on ebay and
: many of them also get offered via other market chanels.

: Anyhow I still beleive more and more that watches being 40 years
: old and older are going down some day: the collectors lack of
: being reinvednted by young people thing I was talking about. I
: always ask myself what does 40 years mena: that menas for us,
: 1985 you collect stuff from 1945...so 2000 from 1960 and 2010
: from 1970....in other words in 1985 when I was 15 years I was
: never interested in stuff from 1945...and in 2000 i was even
: less interested in stuff from 1945...same will happen to young
: people.

: I believe we will see a big drop down in prices when we have the
: euro amagedon coming up. its not the euro which might be dying,
: its the spiral which has been initaited with unemplyment in
: spain at 25% and more...same with greece, portugal, italy...so
: there is less money outside now from people concentrating on
: watches...thy need to concentrate on food and health...this
: spiral of unempleyment will also effect germany and other states
: and plus the inflation risk might slowly end in a situation like
: in the 20s....and at the very end you cant eat watches...neither
: porsches...and finally all is about securing the money in
: gold....and finally from the government by hiding the gold ...so
: dont put into bank safe...

: yes and at this time the watch and all collectors market will
: collaps...and than afterwards will not come back to its todays
: level....i know it will take more time till we see the
: scenario...but in the next 10 years we are there for sure.

: so no market and finally no new upcoming people is killing...as
: finally the market are fueled by us here...we keep the price
: high...for us :-)...and i agree we more trade in between us than
: to newbies....so when we stop buying,, prices will drop
: anytime....as not a lot of people are wiling to pay there prices
: outside...with deceasig population plus the euro scenario...a
: high risk hobby.

: ape

: For a Long Time, People Have Been Saying that the supply of