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Are Speedmaster Tintins really selling for those asks?!

tyrantlizardrex
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Having bought myself a Speedmaster Tintin back in 2016 (long before the hype), I had planned for it to be a long term keeper.

However I'm getting to a point where I don't think I'll be keeping it, for two reasons:

1 - I have just had my insurance renewal through for 2022, and the current replacement value of the watch essentially makes it uneconomical for me to insure it.

2 - I've been jittery about wearing this watch since they started selling for multiples of the retail, and sadly it now mostly lives in my safe deposit box. As a result I don't get to wear it, and since I buy watches to wear, this feels stupid.

My thought is that I sell it before the insurance is due in the Spring, and then put the money towards some things I will wear, and maybe buy a new watch for the boy, and keep it for him until his 18th Birthday.

Looking around, there seems to be a bit of a spread on what is asked for these watches - and very little indication of whether they ever sell for the asks.

The only solid data point I can find is one for £10k on UK eBay in August.

One sold on TRF against an ask of $16000 in November...

Another sold on WUS against an ask for $14,900 in August...

Darren had one on his site for £14k, which has sold.

The Davidoffs have one for CHF16k, which has not.

There's one in the Private Sales section here that's up for CHF16k, and has been since August, which has also not yet sold.

The spread for sale on Chrono24 runs from £13k-£20k

Outside of the one that sold on eBay in the Summer - Does anyone have a good idea of what these watches actually sell for?!

Are they really trading hands for £14,000?
 
ATWG
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I have asked myself the same question not just regarding the TinTin, but also the dizzying prices on Snoopy. I can't wrap my head around paying $16K for a watch that was unwanted at release costing $3K.

Here in the US, I see them traded around $15-16K on a regular basis on dealer sites. They don't usually last long, sell within a week at most. If NOS, the prices have been higher.
 
Evitzee
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1. If you feel you must insure your watch, and you can't afford the premium, you may have to sell the watch.
2. If you feel uncomfortable wearing the watch because of the value, and you like to wear your watches, you may have to sell the watch.

Everyone has their own tolerances. It wouldn't bother me to not insure it, and it wouldn't bother me to wear it whenever I wanted to. But that's my tolerance level based on my history, where I live, etc.
 
BlackTalon
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Thankfully I bought mine lightly used and it has been my daily wearer ever since. I don't think twice about putting it on each morning, unless I know I will be out at a project site (the Sinn UX of Nivada reissue get the nod on those days). I still cannot fathom is it worth the same (or more) than my #pca speedmaster, which I wear sparingly because of how much it cost 😟
 
Foo2rama
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Remember the Tin Tin is the next Paul Newman…

the asks got ridiculous for awhile based on some article from a nobody on a 5th tier site. I think asks where above 50k at one point which I think dragged the actual price up.

I’m just as surprised as Ultramans ST2’s are breaking 14k sold….
 
Evitzee
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Foo2rama Foo2rama
I’m just as surprised as Ultramans ST2’s are breaking 14k sold….
Same with the ST1, those prices are in the same range. I bought a gently used one last year from a dealer here on OF at almost half the current prices.

But the current prices don't stop me from wearing the ST1 and ST2, they are just watches to be enjoyed.
Edited:
 
khanmu
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It’s not just the Tin Tin - ST1, ST2, Alaska, Apollo Soyuz 35th - a bunch of LEs that I have price of around £7k in my head from when I last properly looked, are all around the £10-15k … Blame it on quantitative easing, low interest rates, Covid-19 payments/working from home bonus - who knows - but prices seem to shot up for these. I imagine there’s another tier (See LE thread) that will soon also increase..
 
tyrantlizardrex
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Evitzee Evitzee
1. If you feel you must insure your watch, and you can't afford the premium, you may have to sell the watch.
2. If you feel uncomfortable wearing the watch because of the value, and you like to wear your watches, you may have to sell the watch.

Everyone has their own tolerances. It wouldn't bother me to not insure it, and it wouldn't bother me to wear it whenever I wanted to. But that's my tolerance level based on my history, where I live, etc.

Within mine and my partners families there have been some pretty serious burglaries over the last 10 years… one of them professional to the point of interpol being involved.

So I’m probably a little more cautious than I need to be, but I’ve seen first hand what happens when you’re not properly insured.
 
eugeneandresson
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Provided they do what makes logically sense (and what I believe they do), which is to use statistics of actual sales values done via their platform, this is how it currently looks :

BB53C63E-B8FA-4C2D-A2D9-2BCC0BB711F6.png


If I think of how prices jumped literally the moment after I sold mine, the following also agrees with my own observation over time not using this tool …

FFF933C0-6CD0-4694-B352-46A48B722C7C.png


And that the last thing you may wish to consider: if your luck is like mine, chances are good the prices will take a steep hike the moment after you sell it 😀
 
stevec14
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Are you looking to insure separately or through your household insurance?

I insure through assetsure in the U.K. and while not especially cheap it provides full cover in, out and on hols for a piece in the same price bracket as yours, and I certainly wouldn’t consider it uneconomical.
 
tyrantlizardrex
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stevec14 stevec14
Are you looking to insure separately or through your household insurance?

I insure through assetsure in the U.K. and while not especially cheap it provides full cover in, out and on hols for a piece in the same price bracket as yours, and I certainly wouldn’t consider it uneconomical.

Currently on household, but I’ve also been looking at the specialists, including Assetsure - who want more than I pay to insure my car, to insure this Speedmaster.

I call that uneconomical… given how much more fun I have driving the GTi. 😉
 
tyrantlizardrex
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I'll also add, that even if insurance were what I consider reasonable, I would not feel comfortable walking around with a watch on my wrist that sells for more than £10k. It's beyond my appetite for risk. 🤔
 
TheGreekPhysique
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tyrantlizardrex tyrantlizardrex
The Davidoffs have one for CHF16k, which has not.

It might have. I purchased a watch from them a while back that is still listed on there site with "inquire about this watch".
 
stevec14
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tyrantlizardrex tyrantlizardrex
I'll also add, that even if insurance were what I consider reasonable, I would not feel comfortable walking around with a watch on my wrist that sells for more than £10k. It's beyond my appetite for risk. 🤔
Well, that’s fair enough and I guess lots depends on where you live etc. As my EW is fully insured I have no problem wearing it in London when I am there for work but I do spend most of my time outside in Berkshire.

I insure the EW and a Monaco plus my wife’s Rolex for just over 20 quid a month with assetsure for comparison.

It would be a shame not to wear the tin tin as it’s a lovely watch.
 
tyrantlizardrex
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stevec14 stevec14
Well, that’s fair enough and I guess lots depends on where you live etc. As my EW is fully insured I have no problem wearing it in London when I am there for work but I do spend most of my time outside in Berkshire.

I insure the EW and a Monaco plus my wife’s Rolex for just over 20 quid a month with assetsure for comparison.

It would be a shame not to wear the tin tin as it’s a lovely watch.

To insure my collection they’re quoting me £6k a year… which is bananas.
 
stevec14
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tyrantlizardrex tyrantlizardrex
To insure my collection they’re quoting me £6k a year… which is bananas.
That’s utter madness. I can see why you baulked at that!
 
Davidt
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tyrantlizardrex tyrantlizardrex
To insure my collection they’re quoting me £6k a year… which is bananas.

That’s ridiculous. I’m certain you could get it massively cheaper than that.
 
Jonathan40
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Have you tried Hiscox for house and contents, I’d be surprised if they were anywhere near £6k in total.
My last policy was £1200 just waiting for my renewal price actually.
Only start individually listing items over £15k if I remember.
This might increase prices somewhat but worth ago if you’ve not tried them before.
 
tyrantlizardrex
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Davidt Davidt
That’s ridiculous. I’m certain you could get it massively cheaper than that.

I suspect that my postcode is playing a major part in this.

Everything under £4K (per item) is covered under our household policy - it’s the Tintin that’s an issue.

And even if it were affordable to insure, I’m still not comfortable walking around with a watch on that’s “worth stealing”.
 
Toishome
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I decided a long time ago that insurance for watches doesn't make any sense at least for me. So for $100 a year I rented a box in my bank.
I keep a watch on my wrist and the rest is parked there.
 
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