Thanks for all the nice remarks. This has been a great hobby for the past 15 years, and for most of the ones that got away, there is a favorite piece that I did manage to capture for the collection.

Looking at all three of the second place bids that I highlighted, I did not have real regrets at the time of the bids. I supposed that I am a disciplined bidder, trying not to overpay, if I think that I have a good sense of the value. As it turns out, all three of these jumped to new levels in the years after my failed bids, so it's not as though I felt that I had missed out at the time of the bids.

Jeff

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: Looking back at some of the watches on which I have been
: finished second in the bidding, these three come to mind
: quickly. Without checking my records, I seem to recall the
: following second place bids: Chronomatic Autavia . . . around
: $7,200 First execution screw-back Autavia . . . around $3,200
: Seafarer . . . around $3,500 The aggregate price of these three
: watches in (fairly) recent auctions? A little over $80,000.

: Of course, some of my second place finishes were a long time ago,
: and I have managed to win a few over the years, but these three
: are memorable. So maybe I am just too cheap / conservative to be
: a successful collector?

: Do others have pleasant or painful memories of their second place
: bids?

: Jeff

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