Generally Agree, But . . .
I agree that there is nothing, as such, wrong with Omega being a bidder in these public auctions. In my view, the complexity / conflict arises from:- Omega sponsoring the auction
- Omega providing [assembling--??] many of the watches
- Omega servicing the watches
- Omega bidding on the watches it was selling [though I am not certain of whether this occured].
In a perfect world, every bidder would name his top price (perhaps in a single, simultaneous declaration), and the highest bidder walks away with the prize. In a live auction, there are so many more intangibles -- the actions and reactions of the bidders; the mood of the room; the encouragement of the crowd; the excitement can either build or the auction can go flat, with changes occuring very quickly. I have been to some high-dollar automobile auctions, of vintage and historic cars. Tell me the price of oil and real estate, the Dow Jones Industrial Index, prevailing interest rates, and the exchange rates for the Euro and Yen, and I'll tell you how the room is likely to feel. It can be very different, from year to year, or even from hour to hour.
I'm not sure how I would feel bidding against Heuer under similar circumstances . . . but it would be awesome to give it a shot!!
Jeff
