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Using the customary automotive analogy, Sam seems to be saying that when the Kias and Hyundais aren't selling at the dealers, we can expect to see them being sold at the same auctions that previously featured only the vintage Ferraris and Jaguars. It's a channel for the Kia dealer to use, and the venerable auction house has some room on the sales lot and gets some "filler" (and fees).
The strangest thing is imagining the "overhead" involved in selling these Kias through the fancy auction house -- what are the costs of accepting, processing, photographing, printing, writing, handling, tracking, displaying, etc. these $400 watches? Maybe the commissions cover these costs, and the auction house gets to say that it sold 400 lots, instead of only 325 lots, but it is a very strange sight to see the Kia behind the velvet ropes, where we once saw the Bugattis and Aston Martins.
Yes, the world has changed . . . I suppose that the auction houses are happy to cover the payroll and rent . . . and I assume that the TimeZone affiliate, even with the reduced traffic and advertising, can still afford the monthly hosting fees. This is an awful economic cycle, and if these changes in the vintage watch world are the worst things that we are suffering, then we have a lot to be thankful for. The camaraderie of our collecting communities continues to be strong . . . something to appreciate and enjoy.
Good discussion, guys!!
Jeff
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
: I missed this post, likely when I was (once again) out of the
: country on business.
: The replies make points with which I generally agree.
: Have you ever heard the expression "a sea change"?
: It is is a poetic or informal term meaning a gradual transformation
: in which the form is retained but the substance is replaced, as
: with petrification. The expression is Shakespeare's, taken from
: the song in The Tempest, when Ariel sings,
: "Full fathom five thy father lies,
: Of his bones are coral made,
: Those are pearls that were his eyes,
: Nothing of him that doth fade,
: But doth suffer a sea-change,
: into something rich and strange,
: Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell,
: Ding-dong.
: Hark! now I hear them, ding-dong, bell."
: I think we have undergone a "sea change" in the watch
: marketplace, in watch collecting and in our overall attitudes
: towards economic matters.
: We, as a country, in the United States, no longer believe we can
: live "rich" with debt and not have to "pay the
: piper". The piper has been here and played a tune that
: reminded many of us to live within our means -- and to pay down
: debt. Watch collecting with anything but truly disposable income
: seems very inappropriate.
: We do not lack optimism, but is deferred; we realize good times are
: a few years off. After good must come bad, bad has come and is
: here for a while.
: So good collectible watches are not being sold, and I disagree with
: the article and some views -- prices of even good pieces are
: down. Jewelers and watch dealers are going out of business,
: reducing inventory and downsizing next year's order. So, some of
: these watches are being dumped at auction houses.
: However, 25 or 75 new watches in an Antiquorum auction is a tiny
: fraction of the slow moving inventory at jewelers in even 5
: states in the US, let alone the entire world. It is unusual, but
: not huge.
: Sam
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