This is up for auction at Christies.

WTF

Anyone with a basic understanding of Tri should be able to spot this bad redial, let alone Christies. The BS sales copy states the outer tachy scale "appears" to have been reprinted.



"The watch is in good condition with signs of wear, commensurate with its age. The case has been polished, but the numbers remain crisp to the case back. The iniside case back has watchmaker's marks and the movement is stamped 'HOX'. The dial shows signs of age and wear and the outer blue tachymeter scale appears to have been reprinted. The moon phase disc has faded to a brown color. The hands and hour markers have developed a light patina. The chronograph and calendar functions are working at the time of cataloguing, but could use a service. The quick-set pusher at 7 o'clock is stuck and requires service. The movement is in working order at the time of cataloging, consistent with the age of the watch. The movement has not been tested for accuracy. A service is recommended given the age of the watch."

 

You would think that a prominent collector brand would be more carefully curated after all these years.

 

commensurate with its age. I hate this phrase more than any other descriptive term. It applies to anything including the Titanic.

 

They really should be ashamed of themselves. Buyers take these major auction house descriptions as gospel, but obviously their experts have a pretty narrow range of expertise. And it's getting harder and harder to trust dealers. The only people we can really count on is each other.

 

Between Sotheby's taking creative liscence with photoshop and Christie's writers cribbing eBay style descriptions, this statement seems to be very sadly true.

 

Two rules of descriptions from auction houses, 1) always take their descriptions with a grain of salt, and 2) see number 1. Read their terms, they aren't responsible for errors in description. You have to do due diligence yourself with auction pieces. Never trust anything they tell you.

 

Come on guys, give them a break. Maybe the guy who wrote that was working from home that day, because of COVID like the rest of us, and he had a bad zoom connection, looking at the watch on a 240p webcam.

 

Another bonger is "does not detract." As in "The scratches, cracks and fading of this dial do not detract from the beautiful appearance of this watch."
One could even combine them: "The pitting on this Rolex case is commensurate with age, and does not detract from the lovely appearance of the watch."

 

I get that an auction house's job is to present the item for maximum yield. But like we saw on the Southby's chameleon Speedy- it's incumbent upon them as industry torchbearers to present the facts as uncolored and authentically as possibly, drawing on experts in the industry to validate and authenticate their lot. Florid and vague language or enhanced photography only diminish their credibility among serious collectors- but I'm sure the pool of potential clients they seek are no longer just the discriminating collectors- they are appealing to the same folks who buy sub-par examples that are "expertly curated" by Hondinkee. It's worked for them.

 

Wow. That’s such a bad redial. I can’t believe Christies would peddle that?!?

 

I’ve said this before on a similar thread. When I use to sell things at Sotheby’s, I was always surprised by how little their ‘experts’ knew about the subject and items. They’re more marketing and sales people, always looking for a new buyer and or seller. All they really care about is sales.

 

I think the real unfortunate part, as has been mentioned, is the trust many non-collectors put into the different houses. Also said was this is tantamount to the bad stuff up at Hondinkee's shop... couldn't be more true. Like Hodinkee, unfortunately these are trusted names, and therefore they will always get business from the normal people who don't come and spend time on OF, and just want a nice vintage watch.

Oh well. Maybe the future will come here and complain when they go to resell their piece and are told it's basically junk.

 

A fool and his money are soon parted.
We see this auction after auction.

As @Dan S mentioned above, the wealth of the hive knowledge of the forum is worth more each day your here.

 

Yes, people buying outside areas in which they are experts willingly pay a premium to buy at auction. They think the auction house's experts will know their subject and describe flaws candidly. If that turns out not to be the case, one might as well buy for cheap on ebay and hope for the best.

 

I really want one of these TriCompax and they are on my long-term shopping list but the amount of redials and frankens pushes me in the other direction to stay away.

 

There are good ones around, just takes patience and study.