Vintage Heuer Auction- Patrizzi & Co.
On Saturday 28 November in Milan, Patrizzi & Co. will be auctioning off 129 vintage Heuers from a private collection. This is one of the largest (the largest?) Heuer-themed auctions, so it will be very interesting to see the results.
OntheDash has a fantastic preview of what makes up the 129 watches- sounds like there will be something for everyone…Monaco, Autavia, Carrera, Silverstone and more. Jeff Stein has picked out four of the more notable watches- the Autavia 11630P in particular is nice, but not the one that I am looking for, so I can relax and watch others bid. Personally, I am a healthy skeptic when it comes to the merits of buying a watch at auction, but open to having my opinion changed. Why skeptical?
Firstly, I’m not convinced that the pieces available at an auction will be better value than buying from a fellow collector and secondly, I don’t like the outrageous buyers premiums. I note that Patrizzi & Co. don’t charge a buyers premium, so that knocks out one concern and will increase the appeal to bidders.
So why buy at auction? One good reason is if you can buy a better watch for a better price than if you bought it elsewhere. Lets make a call on the value for money aspect once the results are in- never pay a lot of attention to “estimated ranges” in any type of auction.
The other angle is when the auction features very rare watches that a collector simply could not find elsewhere- limited editions, unknown models, etc. Those rare gems would seem to be the best reason to buy at auction, given that most of us could find a Mint 1133B Monaco any day of the week if we really wanted one and were prepared to pay enough. Fortunately, this auction does seem to feature such rare pieces, and its those watches that are sure to attract the most interest (and scrutiny!)
Finally, back on to prices. Most Heuer collectors will be torn in wanting to see high prices achieved at auction (good for pushing up the value of a collectors existing collection), but at the same time realising that if they’re too high, it won’t be the collectors buying…
For me, observing who is buying is more telling than the price paid when the hammer falls.
Having looked at 2 of the Monacos on offer, they both have dial issues, i’d certainly want them to be cheap to be of interest, one even has service hands, perhaps TH has had hold of it recently for a service? I suspect the real action lies elsewhere and with some of the limited run “special” variants…