Paolo:

I agree entirely with your thoughts. Indeed, most of the rare Rolexes (or Heuers) that were produced in the late 1950s (or even in the 1960s and 1970s) have vanished by now, but some collectors seem to believe that if they don't know of the watch, or if it isn't in the community of collectors, then the watch must not be authentic. Like other collectors, I receive the occasional message from the first owner who has had the watch put away in the drawer for so many years . . . these are the gems, the dreams for the collectors, the ones that we find "in the wild", in the hands of the first or second owner.

I have not studied every nuance of the story of this Rolex, or the auction on eBay, but if Ben (Hodinkee) says that it's true, then I believe it. It's a great story, that seems to have a happy ending.

Jeff

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

: The story can be fake or real but that is irrelevant.

: What striked me most is this massive reaction: it can't be true. It
: can't be true that private individuals, that bear no connection
: with the collectors' world, have in their hands vintage, rare
: and therefore very valuable watches. There must be something
: wrong or fishy if the watch does not have a "seal of
: approval" by some on-line or off-line retailer, or
: collector/expert with a pedigree name: that is, has gone through
: a sort of "digestion" throughout the system and now is
: acceptable by the collectors' community.

: This is a sad distortion of reality for what, in many cases, have
: been treasured possessions for the owners and maybe are what
: we're all looking for: the real deal, genuine, unadulterated
: watches with no change whatsoever during the years apart from
: normal maintenance.

: Ciao,

: Paolo

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