I can see this from both sides, I get that more and more people are investing in our Heuers, and I see that it is near to impossible to source nice examples at prices that are similar to a year or two ago. Obviously it's lucky for some of us that we were able to put a nice collection together before these days came upon us, we should not forget that, as some are not so lucky. I see that collectors are perhaps unhappy that this is happening, but the reality is we cannot stop it, and nor can the UG collectors or the Omega collectors et al. Many of us have all benefited from this price rise on paper and that is great to some degree, but it is only really beneficial if you want to spend sell your watches and spend the money on fast cars and loose women (I prefer to drive a boring old diesel and there seem to be none of the latter near my house at least that's what my wife tells me ;)) I think some of the major increases in the grail pieces are indeed due to the point Carlo makes that many collectors do not want to sell their "holy grails" because they may never find another or if they do it would cost the same or more than they sold for! But there is no other route to get one...we see one all lume hand 1st exec, PVD Monaco or Chronomatic come up every two-three years at most. This creates price pressure, and you cannot say they are over valued, because if several guys don't snap buyers hands off, it is because they would rather keep their watch...However there are still many Heuers that look great value imo.

I'm not entirely sure I agree with Carlo re where we are heading, but then I'm not a financial expert by any stretch of the imagination, I just try and report what I see when I do the price guide updates. I do know, that like Carlo, there are guys from the "investment banking" world and they seem to be saying the same thing, that watches are the new vintage cars or "art". Of course there are lots of people switching to collect Heuer, UG etc especially from Rolex, as the available nice pieces in Rolex (despite them being as common as muck ;)) have very much dried up. Any market is susceptible to ups and downs and so I'm not entirely convinced that it won't all end in tears...If you live for the watches, and love what you have it won't matter a jot.

I'd say that Carlo is being clear and upfront about what he is doing, he is not pretending to be anything he isn't and that's refereshing as it isn't always the case.

R

: 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