Over the past few days, there has been a lot of discussion, on this forum and elsewhere, of the possibility that the Antiquorum auction house edited a photo in an auction catalog (using Photoshop or some similar program), to remove some severe blemishes on the bezel of a vintage watch. The three photos that follow show (a) the watch in a photo that does not appear to have been edited, (b) the watch in the main catalog photo (which appears to have been edited to clean up the bezel), and (c) a detailed view of a portion of the edited image, showing some “over-spray” on the numeral 10, which appears to have been caused by some sloppy editing.

[unedited photo, showing a gash on the bezel at 10 o'clock]

[photo in auction catalog, which appears to have been edited to remove the gash]

[detail of the edited photo, showing some over-spray / sloppy editing on the numeral 10]

I thought that it might be interesting to use this situation, to discuss some questions that arise in buying and selling watches, our use of photographs (and Photoshop), and some broader questions of honesty and fair dealing. Buying and selling watches using the internet and e-mail raises some interesting ethical issues.

So let me pose a few questions, to get the discussion going:

• when you are selling a watch that has some obvious blemishes, might you take multiple photos in order to get one or two in which the blemish is less visible (or even not visible at all)?
• Is it fair game to use Photoshop (or a similar editing program) to remove the blemishes?
• Is there a difference between using a cloning or healing tool to remove a blemish and other less dramatic adjustments (exposure / saturation / levels / brightness / etc.)? What about posting smaller, darker photos that hide the details of the watch?
• Would you expect different standards of conduct as between different types of sellers – reputable high-end auction house; eBay or other online auction; private seller?
• When you are buying a watch through an auction house, do you believe that the auction house is representing that photos of the watch have not been edited to remove blemishes and defects?
• When you are selling a watch, do you volunteer information that might adversely impact the value or the prospective buyer’s decision (for example, that the watch has been running slow and probably needs an overhaul or that some parts have been replaced)? Does it depend on whether or not the prospective buyer asks the question? Does it depend on whether you are selling to a friend or to a stranger?

Jeff