Excellent comments, Carlo.

Yes, we are seeing the laws of supply and demand, with 45 Heuers offered in the Fall 2016 auctions and 63 more coming in the next two weeks. And we are seeing some sneak previews of more coming via Christie's in June 2017, in New York City.

Interesting to consider these 108 vintage Heuers as a group: We are seeing more good Heuers sold by the major auction houses (Christie's and Phillips, among others) than we are seeing on eBay, as I doubt that there have been 108 comparable ones on eBay over this period. So it's interesting to see them move into the spotlight, in the catalogs with the Rolexes and Patek Philippes. Of course, we are also seeing more Heuers at places like Watches of Knightsbridge, Fellows, Henry's, etc. So as the internet displaces "bricks and mortar" for most retailers, perhaps the watch auctions are going the other direction?

You are absolutely right about the condition -- on occasion, we see some beautiful photos of some very ordinary watches. "Lipstick on a pig" is the phrase that comes to mind. Just because a major auction house is selling a watch does not mean that it's anything special. You are correct that we need to examine these watches as carefully as we examine the ones from the novice eBay sellers.

Let's keep the discussion going, as we watch all the Heuers being sold over the next few days.

Jeff

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

: I think it would be a great idea to break down the various Heuer's
: in these auctions and discuss them in detail, since many
: collectors who are not as intimate with Heuer's try to
: understand why the prices might seem weak on some piece and
: strong on others. It's wiser for us to discuss and debate the
: details of these Heuer's, so new and even old collectors,
: understand why specific pieces are (or will) achieve certain
: values at these auctions.

: The following is just my personal opinion, and i would love for
: some experts to chime in with detail on each piece. Many
: collectors come to OTD to learn and understand more about
: Heuer's, yet they might not be vocal in asking the questions for
: various reasons. So please give some feedback, whether you agree
: with my thoughts or not.

: Here goes.....

: The Boxing is as nice as it got, and unfortunately blew past my
: budget quick. No question that it is a very rare piece, but it
: was also a stunning example, hence why we saw such a great
: result.

: The Exotic Dial seemed to have a refinished case IMHO, and the
: bezel had an insert with the lume, which we normally see them
: without the lume dot. The bezel itself also seemed to have been
: polished quite a bit just looking at the edges. Overall, still a
: nice piece, and I think it was a fair price at the end.

: The 3646 might not have hit the number people were expecting, but
: keep in mind that the bezel was not correct (was a transitional
: bezel from 2nd/3rd exec) and the large white chrono sweep hand
: was not correct (don't recall Heuer ever having that type of
: sweep hand). Hard to see dial condition with the one photo and I
: did not have a chance to see it in person, so feel free to chime
: in guys if you saw this in person or can point something else
: out, or even correct me on my notes.

: The Camaro 7843 Dato was a tough one to judge. I was a bit
: surprised on the final result of this piece, especially coming
: with a double grain GF bracelet. The only logic I can use is
: that the lume dots and hand lume just did not sit well with
: people. If anyone saw this piece in person, it would be great to
: hear some more info.

: The remaining pieces coming up later today in Phillips will be
: quite interesting. I expect the 1163 Orange Boy and Siffert, to
: do well, in addition to the 73663 Siffert color Autavia.

: I also want to make a brief comment on the remaining pieces from
: the other auction houses. It will not shock me that many of the
: other Heuer pieces we see in the next several days from various
: auction houses end up with average results. First and foremost,
: DONT believe in the photos! READ the reports, or better yet, see
: them in person! I can not emphasize this enough. Most people are
: observers of these auctions, so they don't bother going through
: the details of each piece, and instead rely on the single photo
: that was provided, and let's just say, that they might have some
: powder on their nose before the photoshoot or possibly after!
: ;-)

: I am not impressed at most of the Heuer samples at the auctions in
: Geneva this year, but then again, Heuer's are so limited in
: production that many of the nice pieces will probably never see
: them leave their current collector's home. Simply take a look at
: what has come into the market for the past 6-12 months, and you
: will see a decline in any quality piece that is coming up for
: sales. Christie's seems to have a nice lineup coming up in June
: with rare Heuer's, which I can't wait to see more details on,
: and I expect the November auction with Paul's and Richard's
: exceptional examples, to also tell us what the market thinks of
: Heuer values. Until then, best of luck to all of us with our
: hunt, even though it feels impossible to find the right examples
: anymore.

: Cheers
: Carlo

: :

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