So, every year during the Fall Vintage Watch trading season, I have a little loss of self control. This year it was aided by the fact that I am sitting a pile of cash dough earmarked for watches, amassed months ago for a run at the Primero prototype sold at Christie's this spring but not to me. Dennis and perhaps a few others who know me from other fora know that one of my core mottoes is "Watch money must not go unspent." I had thought I was going to do something dramatic with it, but never really mustered the will to chase a Patek or some big game like that. And now, along has come a spate of vintage Zeniths that has allowed me to finally spend it. First in from Switzerland is an straightforward little chronograph using an Excelsior Park movement from the late 1940s. It has a retailer-marked dial, which is pretty unusual in a Zenith, and the condition of the dial, lume and case is unusually good. Button action, particularly reset, is sweet and gentle, typical of the Gallet/Ex Park movements. Very satisfied with this one. a little shift in angle brings out the blue of the hands for a less severe look. movement pic from the seller Additional incomings of which no less that 2 (two) from the Short List http://omegaforums.net/threads/zenith-short-lists.2664/: - from Italy, stuck in customs for the weekend - from Poland - not your usual Zenith terriitory, to be sure - not yet left the Warsaw airport - and again from Italy, from a seller so dysfunctional I ought never to have sent him my money - he actually used the Italian postal service, and in all my years of buying Zeniths from Italy I have never had one native italian watch seller actually commit a watch to the Italian mail. I give this one only even odds of making it to my door. Stay tuned.
Is one of these perchance a diver of the deep blue variety, from a dealer who appears to traffic only in Zenith grails (but not at carpenter's-cup prices)?
It spikes then from its baseline. There are degrees of loss of control, you see... It is not. I know the watch of which you speak - I continue to balk at the price. The same model went for half that on O&P just a few weeks ago, and with the proper bracelet - just missed it by an hour. Having seen that, I can't bring myself to pony up.
Lou seems to go overboard in the late fall / early winter (Sept - Dec) and then in the late winter / spring (Feb - May) time frames - which we refer to as the prime seasons for watches. I'm fairly decent at watching trends, and for the last 5 or 6 years I've scored my best pieces in those periods. Particularly late March into the first 10 days of April.
Yes, I also saw that one... too late. I thought I'd stumbled onto an old link from 2002 when I saw the price. I hope there is a special circle of the Inferno for those who leave a listing up so long after a sale.
You've probably seen this one, but it never fails to raise my heart rate: Zenith Fire Sale . p.s. I dig that cal 143, especially the blueness. Awaiting the grails with bated breath.
Any thoughts on why these are peak seasons? Haven't been keeping track but haven't noticed particular periods during which I find nice pieces (at least vintage omegas) for sale.
I can't figure out why. I just know from my records that my best scores and busiest periods are those months.
Has to do with the transcendence of Mars and the conjunction of the moons of Saturn...really too complicated to explain, but I absolutely confirm Dennis' observations and have been budgeting according to that rhythm of watch availability for two years now. Not that my "budgeting" is anything to write home about.... Just received email notification of delivery of one of the Italian shipments....wondering if I can slip out of work before this evening...
IMO September - December is the leadup period to Chistmas, when there's a lot of selling to raise cash, and a lot of buying watches for Christmas gifts. Feb-May is when the 55 day interest free period on people's credit cards expires and they realise if they don't sell some stuff to start paying it off, they'll still be at it by next Christmas.
I had guessed the same about Sept - Dec, but thought maybe it was taxes owed that caused the Feb - May period. Granted, that's a very narrow view since it's the US that has a tax deadline of April 15th, but that's all I could think of.
OK, the second 2012 Safari watch is IN! And it is a big score for me - #2 off my short list. Not the rarest Zenith, but most have seen very hard use and are in shabby condition, particularly the bezel. I've been in a two year hunt for a decent example, scooped by a rival on one occasion, unable to convince a seller to sell abroad in a another....Without further ado, I give you the ref A 277 chronograph: You'll have to settle for cellphone shots for now, proper pics over the weekend. My thanks to the italian collector who sold it to me - could not have been a better transaction. Anyone who can hook me up with ZF endlinks, with or without bracelet, just shine the Z-light into the night sky. Watch #3 - in customs at JFK, fresh off the flight from Warsaw Watch #4 - who knows, bizarro italian seller seems not to have a tracking number.
Nice haul Lou - can't wait to see the rest. Also waiting for a bunch to come this weekend - many are watches I purchased earlier that are being 'cleaned up' so to speak so I know what anticipation means!
Congrats on bagging another trophy on your hunt. I guess now the question is...what replaces it on the short list?
Before the Zenith forum started, I only have a Cal 135, S58 and A386 on my Zenith wishlist. You are devilishly adding more to that list for me..
Dude, we told you that this would happen. You came here with Omegapheliosis of the brain and now you've got Zenitharhythmia and Longinitis too.
