Carlo,

No worries, I'm just a romantic that sees a hobby getting serious and needs time to adjust!

You approach it as a financial opportunity and aint shy saying so, but there's a difference with the Rolex market that you are not addressing. The quantities produced/traded and finance involved with collecting on the dark side meant that there always were many collectors or owners and a steady flow of quality pieces. The Heuer market may prove different in an important way: the inventory is very concentrated. The nice stuff is part of the collections of maybe a few dozen members of this community.

You've been waving your wand for all to see (no disrespect!) and you were able to buy some excellent pieces at "strong" prices. But from whom? Were you able to buy from any of the great collections? Did you acquire a Full Lume Autavia, a screwback GMT, a Skipperera or a Chronomatic? I haven't seen them change hands in years. I'm not looking forward to it, but we may well have to wait for an obituary to see those come to market.

On the lower end of the scale to see a bog standard and certainly not mint 2446C on a GF with an estimate of 8-12K.. I'm confused and I suspect that you are correct: we will see price parity between a Carrera and a Cosmograph or a Siffert and a Dweller.

Cheerz and a good Thanksgiving.
Jurgen

: I wanted to share with everyone that this "White Orange
: Boy" is actually mine. :) I had purchased it from Jorge
: last year, and after careful consideration and a few chats with
: Eric, I decided it would be an interesting piece to have at
: auction.

: NOTE: I also want to make a statement that this post is not
: directed to any one person, so Jurgen, please do not read this
: as if I am writing to you. It is my own personal opinion, so do
: not be offended if you disagree with my thoughts.

: As we all have come to see, the last 6 months have shown us big
: moves with many Heuer's, and the rarer pieces have seen
: significant jumps in value in a very short period of time. As
: for myself, I started collecting Heuer's a little over a year
: ago, so am not as fortunate as many seasoned Heuer collectors
: that have amassed a collection at pennies on the dollar with
: today's values. But this goes for any brand that have seen major
: moves in their prices. You can look at the Rolex Paul Newmans as
: the perfect example. Yes they did not jump to $200k in a year or
: two, but once the hype had initially started years ago, they
: began escalating in value significantly within months.

: In my opinion, people are looking at the Heuer value's in the wrong
: way, specifically Heuer collectors. Heuer's should have seen
: price jumps several years ago, not just what we are seeing now.
: I divested from my Omega collection to reinvest it into Heuer's
: because I saw major value opportunity at the time (and of
: course, I love the design aspects too) and I still see great
: opportunity in the coming years. I have paid strong money for
: the majority of my Heuer pieces over the last 15 months that I
: have been collecting, and have been fortunate to have seen
: increases in value for most of my collection. But at the time I
: was buying them, I was paying huge premiums that other Heuer
: collector's thought I was nuts. LOL!

: So when I hear people talking about, "prices are crazy"
: or "...they are not worth....", bla bla bla; I wonder
: how they come to that conclusion. Just because Heuer's have had
: depressed prices for years, should not justify that prices
: should remain the same or only increase slightly per year.

: You have a vintage watch that was very limited in production
: (Viceroy being the most made at ~ 5k pieces), that you can't
: find parts for easily (since no one makes them; unlike Omega,
: Rolex, etc), amazing design, and great movements. That is a
: formula in the vintage watch world that should scream value.

: I personally have sold a few of my Heuer's recently, just so I can
: be able to reinvest it into more Heuers. So even though I am
: spending even more money on a new Heuer acquisition, this does
: not make me feel that I am overpaying for a watch. Yes, it would
: be great to have bought a 1st Exec for half price last year,
: instead of the much greater number they are selling for now. But
: I believe even what I paid now is still not remotely close to
: the value they will see in the coming months and years. We are
: only seeing the very beginning of the true value that these
: various models should have been worth much earlier.

: I have been contacted by many collectors of various other brands
: (Rolex, Omega, etc) over the last couple of months, asking
: questions, trying to learn more, etc.. and these guys have much
: more experience and knowledge of collecting vintage watches than
: I. But these seasoned collectors are understanding the great
: opportunity and value of the Heuer line, hence why you will see
: prices continuously going up over the coming months and years.

: Also please realize that many of the Heuer watches were very small
: productions in comparison to other brands. So supply and demand
: also plays a big role on the price jumps. For example, I have
: been searching for a Skipperera for almost a year, and have yet
: to find one collector willing to sell me their piece and I have
: offered SIGNIFICANT money, but they don't need or want to sell.
: So with limited supply, in addition to collectors not willing to
: sell, you will see strong money follow when one pops up for
: sale. Add new vintage collectors from other brands to the
: equation, and you now have justification for the prices you see
: today and in the future.

: I agree with many of you that certain models have seen huge jumps
: and might be more "common" models so they are
: "easier" to find, but is it really that easy? Just
: because we might not want to pay the asking price, since we
: might already own that model, does not mean a new collector does
: not see value. We can not be blinded by the fact that we have
: been fortunate and have been able to buy many of the pieces in
: the past at a fraction of what they sell for today. So many of
: the pieces that you are seeing significant jumps in value, are
: justified in my opinion, especially the rarer models.

: We can cry about the fact that we have seen prices escalating
: quickly as "Heuer Fans and Collectors", but this does
: not change the fact that you have a quality product, made in
: limited production, that was under the radar for years, and has
: now been "discovered" by many other vintage collectors
: and is realizing the true value of what they should have been
: worth years before.

: I am a true believer that we are only at the very beginning stages
: of seeing price increases, and have not reached anywhere close
: to "top side" yet. If I did not believe this, I would
: not be acquiring new Heuer pieces still today. I guess the
: expression of "put your money where your mouth is",
: can be confirmed with me! :) LOL!

: Thanks for the opportunity for me to share my thoughts, and it
: would be great to have everyone chime in, whether you agree with
: me or not!

: I wish everyone a fantastic week, and for those of you in the US,
: Happy Thanksgiving! :)

: Cheers
: Carlo
: @HeuerFan