I don't think the early spirit is gone, but your are right, "we" are more and more in the real world, with all the problems that brings.

But I still find many of the people on the forum keep to the old "gentleman collector" ways, there is still trust and fairness. It is up to all of us to keep this going.

In terms of the prices it does look like there is still rising pressure (with some drops in quiet periods) but I agree it is now tough to increase the collection with nice pieces. The spillover from the Rolex world does have an impact - I have direct example of an big Rolex collector I work with asking me to find a Siffert. And guys like Hoodinkee (very good blog, I must admit) have not helped keep Heuer under the radar of the guys for whom $20k is a cheap watch! I guess we prefer a rise in prices better than a collapse, and Ron whatever the market says, your one of only two 2446 "Daytona" Autavia (the silver dial one) is worth more than the common "Real" (Rolex) Daytonas, not in money value (at least not yet), but in collector passion.

The pressure could keep up on prices for a few years because of all the web info on Heuer (depending of course on overall economic problems facing us all) - but another post by Jeff illustrates an influence which could push prices much higher faster....if Jay-Z has moved from AP & Hublot "bling" to an understated, vintage inspired Reverso, then lets just hope he doesn't take the next step and wear a 60's carrera in his next video! (Check out the post "Watch the Throne" by Jeff).

At least there are still some fun Heuers at more reasonable prices like the divers (but I guess all the talk on the forum will impact them) or the ugly ducklings (jarama, cortina, and even kentucky!) or oddities like the quartz carreras. And you can forget the pretenders like Monaco or Carrera - you can buy a NOS "true Heuer" for under $100 if you are look around (a Heuer stop watch, in case you were wondering about my mental state or temporal displacement).

Let's see what the next five years brings....