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Heuer didn't make an Autavia that looked better...


another siffert on ebay over... ...the $2k mark. this one went for $2091.04usd. if i remember correctly, without naming names (in case the person doesn't want this info tied to them, basically i'm trying to be courteous but still make a point with the example) someone here bought their fine example for, i think, right under 1k on a buy it now, and that was around mid to late 2003?

Oh, hell! I'll out him... It's well, maybe I won't... Anyway, from what've heard from the buyer, the movement in it, a c.11 was on it's last legs and the rest of the watch was ‘_hurtin_...’, to the tune of about what I paid to get my "watch with a story" Autavia... So what looked like an expletive causing bargain on first glance, turned out to be much closer to being a good deal, but not a great deal by the time the restoration is done.

I paid 1621¤ for my example just before Thanksgiving. Now at the time at the time that was about $1,850 with the exchange rate.

if my memory serves me right this would be quite a jump in prices in such a sort amount of time.

I paid 1621¤ for my example just before Thanksgiving. Now at the time at the time that was about $1,850 with the exchange rate, which was around $1.18~1.20 to the Euro. It's now at $1.23 to the Euro or just under $2,000... I think my example is in nicer condition but mine is the 3rd version whilst this Italian job is a 2nd edition...

this leads me to my questions, what does the future hold?

The future holds that the "herd" has been thining for the past three years. What are we going to do next year when things get really bad?

constantly climbing higher market values?

Seems likely.

more examples showing up as owners try to cash in on the frenzy?

Hmmmm... I don't know, there are so many varieties of collectors... There are the Thophy Hunters, the Anthropologists (Chuck waves!), the catch and release sportsmen (Chuck glances over at Albert Zibell), Investment opportunists, collector's who's activities ebb and flow as their interest shifts from hobby to hobby... Lots of different groups all with different patterns of purchase, ownership, sale.

less examples as owners/speculators decide to hold onto them until they hit the potential high point?

Or as collectors finally decided that if they want them they better latch on to one or have that gap in their collection...

opinions, thoughts, etc appreciated. thanks in advance.

Originally, I was going to comment that in my (often not terribly) humble opinion, that Heuer never made a better looking Autavia than the Jo Siffert model Autavia. It's fitting that they are the most eagarly sought variant.

You have my first tier of thoughts, I'd like to see some of the other thoughts of the Peanut Gallery, perhaps they can spur more lucid comments on my end. But at this point I have an overabundance of blood in my caffene stream and I'll have to think about it more...

j.h.

Cheers! I hope this is useful.

-- Chuck


Chuck Maddox

(Article index @ http://www.xnet.com/~cmaddox/cm3articles.html)

Non-Pasadena Pasadena Stainless 7750

Chronographs, like most finer things in life, only get better with time…


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