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Cairelli on the 'bay

  1. Modest_Proposal

    Modest_Proposal Trying too hard to be one of the cool kids Mar 31, 2014

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  2. LouS Ω 2

    LouS Mrs Nataf's Other Son Staff Member Mar 31, 2014

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    Heck, none of us did!

    Zenith Cairelli CP-2, non-assigned, non-issued and all correct sold in open auction for USD8321.
     
  3. LouS Ω 2

    LouS Mrs Nataf's Other Son Staff Member Mar 31, 2014

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    Some pics for posterity

    $_57 (1).JPG $_57 (2).JPG $_57 (3).JPG $_57.JPG
     
  4. MMMD

    MMMD unaffiliated curmudgeonly absurdist & polyologist Mar 31, 2014

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    Wow. Big price. Interesting how the lack of assignment/issuance markings doesn't seem to affect the price of Zenith's most iconic military piece... though you rarely find an issued example in such stellar condition.
     
  5. dsio Ω 2

    dsio Ash @ ΩF Staff Member Mar 31, 2014

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    Oh wow, that thing looks clean as hell, almost looks wrong that a military watch has that much sparkle to it
     
  6. MMMD

    MMMD unaffiliated curmudgeonly absurdist & polyologist Mar 31, 2014

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    Quite a few of the unissued ones look like that. LouS has a very sharp one that has clearly never encountered an F-104 canopy latch.
     
  7. LouS Ω 2

    LouS Mrs Nataf's Other Son Staff Member Mar 31, 2014

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    ...which is going in the safety deposit box after that sale


    Ash, the story goes that il Signor Cairelli or the Italian military failed to make payment on the whole order, so a significant number were never delivered. This is supposed to account for the minty ones that surface without branch of service and issue numbers on the back.
     
  8. LouS Ω 2

    LouS Mrs Nataf's Other Son Staff Member Mar 31, 2014

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    Here's what an issued caseback looks like (from an old sales listing on an italian forum - 3700Euros intrattabile in 2010 - *sigh*)

    sam0624.jpg

    compare this with a nonissued one...

    $_57.JPG

    and you see "A.Cairelli - Roma" where the issue number should be, suggesting it was the Italian military that failed to pay Sr. Cairelli, who then sold them to the civilian market with his name attached.
     
    papaebetu likes this.
  9. Gavin

    Gavin It's the quiet ones you have to 'watch' out for. Mar 31, 2014

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    No wonder he did not accept my offer which I thought was more than fair. Looks like I am never able to get one of this. :(
     
  10. LouS Ω 2

    LouS Mrs Nataf's Other Son Staff Member Mar 31, 2014

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    He didn't know the value either, other than it had to be between "high" and $9600, which is where some examples sit at BIN, since there hasn't been one of these sold in open auction in several years at least. I would have (and did, in private discussion) put the value at $6500 to $7000. Shows what I know.

    I agree that an "end-It-Now" offer was a good way to play this one, Gavin - but this seller trusted in the EBay market.
     
  11. ulackfocus

    ulackfocus Mar 31, 2014

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    Stu and I watched a gold plated 20-0220-416 go for over $4000 today:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/vintage-zen...%2BmKPrrE7%2FeoNUd8gI%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=ncPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

    Whether the "losing" bidder (with 2 feedbacks) was a shill or not I can't say, but it looks like he was in a bidding war with a legitimate buyer. I had no clue these sold for that much either.
     
  12. Andsan

    Andsan Apr 1, 2014

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    I was with and bidding but stopped at 610 GBP when I discovered that the chronograph not working as it should. It was an unusually high price which makes me think a bit. Is one produced in 1000 copies worth so much compared to one produced in 4000 copies?
     
  13. speedbird

    speedbird Apr 7, 2014

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    i agree. I learned my lesson with low-ball bids in the past. Once in a while I buy something I never thought I'd ever own. This holds true for "best offer " listings as well. Sometimes folks will accept your goofy, low-ball bid