Foo2rama
··Nowhere near as grumpy as he used to be...https://omegaforums.net/threads/who...-3-27-and-interviews-for-a-web-series.111441/
if anyone's interested
if anyone's interested
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Most people would expect the vintage market to have some collapse through a downturn but that historically has never been the case.
I think in this instance we’ve seen such a dramatic decline that the bottom end of the market will temporarily drop out of the market as they wait for things to improve. But in general, those who are liquid in excess will not slow down. So we might see a brief drop in prices for some models (and certainly a drop with the unrealistic market for the recent ‘hype’ watches), the vintage market as a whole will remain strong. *In my opinion*
i saw some allusions to it going well on IG but can't actually find the results. . .
would be a good barometer of where the world is and what people think of watches vis a vis cash i think. . .
Well, I disagree. I once did some work over several years for a billionaire, and when the '08 crisis hit, his belt-tightening was palpable. My broader experience in the Thoroughbred racing business over several decades echoed that experience. Of course those with big money/incomes will, as a group, remain somewhat active in luxury spheres such as collecting, but outside of the very best and most desirable vintage watches, I expect that nearly everything will face serious downward price pressure.
This economic crisis is just beginning to unfold, and its repercussions are, in my view, certain to be long and deep. Markets are likely to spike when the COVID-19 impact begins to recede, but the real economy will take years to recover. No luxury asset class will be spared, including watches, as demand slackens significantly, and supply increases. I do agree that broadly speaking asking prices will not drop rapidly, but that always happens when bubbles burst, as sellers are typically slow to accept that there won't be a quick rebound.
Also consider that many vintage watch collectors have never experienced a down market, and that is sure to produce many serious cases of normalcy bias. My advice to sellers would be to price aggressively, unless you are prepared to hold for a long time. Buyers, in contrast, will enjoy increasing advantages as time goes on, and those who are patient will surely be rewarded.
There will be a few articles that come out in the coming days from some good friends who can be more articulate than myself.. So I’ll post them here when they get posted.
One that’s good to check now from a friend is John Reardon’s article from Collectability.
https://collectability.com/learn/world-in-crisis-and-watch-market/
But in general, the vintage watch market has historically remained strong throughout economic downturns and that’s evident from the success of the auction houses even through the ‘08 recession. I agree that the bottom end of the market will suffer, but the majority of vintage pieces (as Rolex and Patek take more than 50% of the market!) won’t see a huge change as they haven’t in years past.
I’m not sure if this will be different and hope that we do not see a full blown depression, but I remain optimistic that we can control the spread of the virus and get to a point where people can begin working again.
There will be a few articles that come out in the coming days from some good friends who can be more articulate than myself.. So I’ll post them here when they get posted.
One that’s good to check now from a friend is John Reardon’s article from Collectability.
https://collectability.com/learn/world-in-crisis-and-watch-market/
But in general, the vintage watch market has historically remained strong throughout economic downturns and that’s evident from the success of the auction houses even through the ‘08 recession. I agree that the bottom end of the market will suffer, but the majority of vintage pieces (as Rolex and Patek take more than 50% of the market!) won’t see a huge change as they haven’t in years past.
I think that you are misunderstanding several things. First, do you have any evidence that other than high-end vintage watches sold well through auction houses during and soon after the '08 crisis? I'm skeptical that such data exists.
Secondly, the vintage watch market was growing heading into that crisis, and has since experienced its greatest appreciation phase ever. In fact, it was in a bubble, which is now deflating. So expecting the market to react as it did in '08 is dubious, as it is based on a faulty premise.
On the first, you can look at CollectorSquare.com or RoundtableVintage.com/Analytics to see that vintage watch values stayed steady and even grew in value during and post 08’ crisis.
On to the second, I believe you’re misconstruing the vintage watch market with the entire secondary watch market as a whole. As I’ve stated numerous times on this site, all new watches that were hyped and were valued above retail before COVID hit will suffer. Even still, those same watches are selling today as we speak for higher than retail (albeit anywhere from 20-35% lower than what they were before).
Looking solely at the vintage watch market constitutes watches that were produced prior to the late 80s (some say early 90s now?). Looking at at historical data of this vintage market, it is carried in a majority by Patek and Rolex (over 50%). Since 1997, the average price of any Rolex sold at auction has been $30,954 and the average price of a Patek Philippe at auction has been $57,998. The majority of the vintage watch market is sustained not by small transactions, but by $30,000+ transactions from individuals who typically have an excess of available funds and who are diversified in many different ways.
The majority of the vintage watch market is sustained not by small transactions, but by $30,000+ transactions from individuals who typically have an excess of available funds and who are diversified in many different ways.
I prefer to remain optimistic as historical data and current thoughts from leading vintage market experts remain positive. Those who remain pessimism in the long are essentially placing a bet against modern medicine’s ability to crank out a viable treatment plan and eventual vaccine, and I don’t aim to doubt the abilities of our finest scientists from around the world
I don't believe it for a second. The latter site requires a login, and I have no idea how to source the information that you claim to be on the former. If you can either reproduce, or look directly to the data, I would be happy to address it specifically.
Patek Philippe constitutes only a minuscule percentage of vintage watches bought and sold in the market. A high average value, for sure, but of negligible value when assessing the broader market. Rolex does constitute a much larger percentage, but nowhere near 50%. A couple of quick data point: a quick search on eBay for "vintage Rolex" in "wristwatches" yields ~3,500 hits; for "vintage watch" the number is ~213,000. Chrono24? The ratio is 1,800/15,000
I created the second site myself and it was sourced directly from auction data since the mid 1990s, feel free to sign up and see for yourself. And my conclusions are strictly based on research conducted from past market results, but I encourage everyone to conduct their own research and come to their own conclusions!
And I think you misunderstand the second point. Patek Philippe and Rolex make up for over 50% of all value sold in the market. Not sure how you would think that I was referring to the number of Patek’s or Rolex watches that are sold each year, which is a much less valuable number when understanding the market as a whole.
I don't believe it for a second. The latter site requires a login, and I have no idea how to source the information that you claim to be on the former. If you can either reproduce, or look directly to the data, I would be happy to address it specifically.
Where did you get the idea that I was referencing new watches? I never did anything of the sort.
Patek Philippe constitutes only a minuscule percentage of vintage watches bought and sold in the market. A high average value, for sure, but of negligible value when assessing the broader market. Rolex does constitute a much larger percentage, but nowhere near 50%. A couple of quick data point: a quick search on eBay for "vintage Rolex" in "wristwatches" yields ~3,500 hits; for "vintage watch" the number is ~213,000. Chrono24? The ratio is 1,800/15,000
Rolex is also somewhat of a special case, and I would expect those watches, on average, to hold their value much better than less fashionable brands.
The above claim is as misguided as pointing out that if Bill Gates and nine bus drivers were to walk into a bar, their average net worth would be 10 billion dollars.
The very forum that we are discussing this topic on - one of, if not the most popular watch forums in the world - features discussions and sales of a myriad of vintage brands and models that vastly outnumber the sub-categories of Rolex and PP.
The gross amount of dollars that changes hands is only one variable to consider when assessing markets.
I appreciate your optimism, and especially as it relates to the virus, but it illustrates the primary flaw in your perspective. You apparently believe that both the vintage watch market and broader economy were strong one month ago, while I believe that there is overwhelming evidence that the opposite is true. And, just as the virus is far more dangerous to those who are weak, the world's economy, which was built on an unsustainable mountain of debt, and already teetering into recession, is exceptionally vulnerable to the profound impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
Thanks for the debate.
i can definitively tell you that art works by picasso and calder across the board doubled in 08/09 after languishing for many years
it is possible that with helicopter money and MMT people seek some "store of value" and while i doubt 90% of vintage watches fit the trick. . the best condition truly rare pieces may fit this bill
i am not predicting it. ..i always thought the best view of my watches was they are worth nothing in a digital age. ..but i do think my a+ vintage movados and rolexes will find buyers no matter what happens
In 2007 the art market reached unprecedented highs, with the global revenue for Fine Art reaching $9.39 billion, more than double the 2005 total.
Driven by galloping prices and an intensified demand from rich collectors and investors, million-dollar results rained down like never before: in just the rst six months of 2007, 4,023 artists’ records were beaten and the general inflation went substantially higher than the speculative peaks reached in 1990 (the Artprice Global Index based on repeat sales was 16% above the 1990 level). In the autumn of 2008 the market turned, and the following months saw a very strong price correction and a serious increase of unsold rates.
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Despite the numerous precautions taken, the cash poverty of investors and art collectors combined with the general mood of suspicion generated by the financial crisis substantially diminished the annual revenue figures posted by the major auctioneers: in 2009, Christie’s, the famous auction rm owned by François Pinault, saw its annual revenue shrink by 47% compared with 2008 and Sotheby’s dropped by 60%.
During this period of turmoil, the Old Masters segment was the only area of the market to show good resistance, primarily because it is little affected by fashion effects or speculative buying. In fact, the income generated by Old Masters in auctions rose by 4.9% in 2009 vs. 2008. But the other segments took serious corrections: 19th Century Art dropped 47.7%, Modern Art lost 37%, and Post-War Art contracted by 50.6%! The worst hit segment was Contemporary Art which shrank by 63.8% between 2008 and 2009.
Your claim is at odds with the available data. artprice.com is in the business of reporting on the art market, and this is what it said in a 2010 article:
These two charts tell the same story:
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I do agree with you that good watches will always attract buyers, but see no reason to believe that values will hold for other than a very small percentage.
Your charts have nothing to do w actual prices of blue chip artists like calder or Picasso (or many others - look at Richter or Albers or johns or Brirce marden)
Many many speculative artists crashed in 08 and never recovered
You are looking at aggregate data.. Has zero to do w actual piece by piece data.
Might I suggest before spewing some macro view supported by platitudes and.. Air.. You spend 500 bucks on an artnet subscription and show actual piece by piece info
In 2008, Pablo Picasso recovered the Top 10 leader position he lost the previous year to the «Pope of Pop Art», Andy Warhol. Picasso’s prices (all mediums) have risen 96% over the last decade reaching a strong peak in January 2008. However, after four years of unflinching inflation, the modern master has not escaped the turbulence of the economic crisis and his index literally plummeted at the end of 2008 back to 2005 levels. With several works selling at their low estimates, others not selling at all... and one being withdrawn at the last moment, the autumn sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s were catastrophic for Picasso.
Francis Bacon’s price index reached its summit in January 2008. In just three years, his index rose a remarkable 514% (between January 2005 and January 2008) before dropping 48% over the subsequent 12 months.
In watch land.. Just look at what Paul Newman roelx did in 08/09
It think that it is also important to note that with the exception of high-end vintage watches, auction results, while interesting, are not necessarily a very accurate gauge of the overall market. Most people who bid in auctions are already prepared to pay over market values, as premiums are typically 20-30% of the hammer price. Also, if one is going to use such data, then unsold watches should also be factored in. After all, if a watch fails to reach its reserve, then by definition the low valuation was too high.
Historical eBay data would be a more accurate guide to values of the vast majority of watches sold, in my view.