Interesting Ed White at Sothebys

[ibis888]

Saw this Ed White come up at Sothebys, seems all original with box and papers and a very attractive bezel... will be curious to see where this ends up going. Already at $18,000 with buyer's premium.

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auc...ence-st-105-003-speedmaster-a-stainless-steel

Edited: Jun 7, 2024

 

[watch_my_six]

I don't look at auctions often, is it common not to have a movement photo?

 

[Screwbacks]

any eye or idea on the lume?

 

[mac_omega]

jspdl

I don't look at auctions often, is it common not to have a movement photo?

yes - unfortunately

 

[pdxleaf]

It looks attractive, but a little too attractive.

I suspect blank warranty papers. The box and papers seem put together, which makes me think the seller knows what they're doing. Pumpkin lume and a blued bezel is the schizel. It could be natural and I can't tell if it was manipulated. The case is also polished. This was dressed up for the big dance.

Being suspicious doesn't mean there was any hanky-panky. Still, this is no family find in grandpa's drawer.

That's my gut instinct. Looking forward to other opinions.

 

[Fallout Boy]

jspdl

I don't look at auctions often, is it common not to have a movement photo?

They fear to damage the caseback

 

[Ron_W]

pdxleaf

It looks attractive, but a little too attractive.

I suspect blank warranty papers. The box and papers seem put together, which makes me think the seller knows what they're doing. Pumpkin lume and a blued bezel is the schizel. It could be natural and I can't tell if it was manipulated. The case is also polished. This was dressed up for the big dance.

Being suspicious doesn't mean there was any hanky-panky. Still, this is no family find in grandpa's drawer.

That's my gut instinct. Looking forward to other opinions.

And that picture is almost ike a render..... i bet a few bucks it will look a different watch in normal light.

 

[padders]

The pics are very heavily processed, meaning the lume is likely less pumpkin and the bezel less blue in natural light. I’m always a little suspicious on an Ed where you see matching dark beige dial and hand lume. It can happen but often there is variability in colour. It might look less matchey in hand though. At face value it’s not a bad looking watch but as noted above I wouldn’t be paying a big premium for the box and papers personally, both might be added.

Edited: Jun 8, 2024

 

[ibis888]

it’s certainly presented as a one owner barn find type of watch but I suppose if it was, they would have stated that.

Would be tough for me to spend that kind of money without seeing it in person, and seeing the movement.

The side of the case also looks dirty…. Not sure if it’s just dirt or the start of pitting/case cancer?

 

[OneTwo]

pdxleaf

This was dressed up for the big dance..

LOL too good of a phrase! I'm saving this one for another day.

ibis888

The side of the case also looks dirty…. Not sure if it’s just dirt or the start of pitting/case cancer?

Looks to be just dirt IMO but it's definitely strange that is only between the pushers / crown area. Almost gives me the impression that when the watch was polished, the pusher still screwed to the case and they just avoided the area between the pushers. Actually now that I'm looking more closely at it, it appears that the bezel was also left on when the watch was cleaned/polished. There appears to be a distinct line on the case as if the bezel was in the way of the polishing wheel. I could definitely be mistaken but that's just my impression from looking at the photos more closely.


Same "polishing line" lets call it on the non-pusher / crown side:

 

[Omarrye]

Could be that it was wiped down with a sunshine cloth

 

[bgrisso]

Could be a reflection of the underside of the bezel

 

[NotJackson]

Yeah, I agree … this one definitely isn’t straight out of the sock drawer.

 

[ibis888]

Looks like it sold for $21,600 if you include the buyer's premium....

 

[Evitzee]

Consignor netted $17,100. ($18,000 hammer less 5% commission). Estimate was $15,000-$30,000, so on the lower end. Seller probably made less than what he was hoping for.

 

[ibis888]

Seems like a great result for the consignor. $4,500 total goes to Sothebys.

 

[padders]

Evitzee

Consignor netted $17,100. ($18,000 hammer less 5% commission). Estimate was $15,000-$30,000, so on the lower end. Seller probably made less than what he was hoping for.

Would they really feel hard done by though? Assuming as I suspect the pics were processed to make it look interesting, it was likely maybe G to VG on the SP101 scale (lets say $13.5K which is around half way), plus maybe a generous $3K for the bracelet/endlinks, plus ~ $250 for the box and blank papers. I make that $16,750 so I'd suggest they should be more than happy. If this really was a verifiable all original full set with believable papers and didn't look quite so prepped I'd maybe be more generous with my ratings. I mean, its nice, but maybe not $20K+ of nice.

 

[ibis888]

Considering that a near excellent Ed White like the one below has been lingering at a lower price (asking ~$15,500 USD) I personally struggle to understand some of these auction results.

https://www.shucktheoyster.com/port...-professional-105-003-65-ed-white-unpolished/

 

[soda-fabbrica]

This one is coming up in an auction, don't think its seen too much of a 'sunshine' cloth or the bottom of a sock draw.. Dressed up for good ole head banging session.. Currently sitting at £2700