http://www.forbes.com/sites/arielad...uit-a-reason-to-avoid-buying-vintage-watches/ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/john-mayer-sues-watch-broker-689486 http://www.ablogtowatch.com/watch-l...r-sues-bob-maron-buying-replica-rolex-pieces/
At a guess I'd say these could be those bad Paul Newman dials that are haunting the vintage Rolex world. Remember Mayer actually went on VRF and defended them some years ago.
Exactly what I thought when I read this. I was over on VRF regularly for 3 years when he was doing as you say. Guess he's finally convinced
I remember Eric Ku was the one back then speaking out about these dials and trying to tell people, he certainly didn't have to, and being a dealer could have made a LOT of money by continuing to sell them, but his views were rejected by many, now that its all come to light I wonder how many apologised.
Maron's lawyer should probably keep his yap shut: "Robert Maron has a more than 30 year reputation as an internationally renowned watch dealer." So, he should have, and therefore probably DID know the authenticity of these watches. I have little sympathy for Mayer, but if Maron were smart, he would have just refunded the relatively paltry sum and kept his reputation in tact.
Just be careful what you say- There were lawsuits at VRF about remarks in the forum said about a member there. He ended up in jail. But there were lots of lawyer fees involved before it was over.
Things are so complicated in Rollie Land. Care to tell us what we're looking at? Things can always be described as the "alleged x, y, z."
These are the dials that there was so much heated argument over. Some say Rolex never produced a Red Daytona dial. Other's owned them at very steep prices.
As a general question, when Rolex makes a pronouncement that a part is, shall we say, "after market," are they always right? Reason I'm asking is because over in Universal Geneve land, there was some furor when Universal allegedly authenticated a bogus Space Compax.
Rolex does not authenticate watches. Rolex can and will refuse to service a watch, or even confiscate the counterfeit parts when a watch comes in for service that has "aftermarket" parts. Lots of collectors consider Rolex service papers an authentication, but they are not. And there have been watches that were serviced by Rolex that collectors 90% agree that one thing or another is not correct. Rolex also has a very special relationship with the U.S. government. Many Rolex watches bought by collectors have been confiscated in U.S. customs. And had a nightmare to get the watch back or returned to the sender. The only 100% sure way to import one is wear it in.
Best watch collecting story to break in quite a while. I'm following it passionately My sense (from reading the internet, nothing more profound than that) is that people have been looking askance at Maron's dealings for some time, and this is not the only challenge to his reputation. e.g. http://www.breitlingsource.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=52903 The thing that rubs my fur the wrong way about him is this: I happen to be in a line of work that has occasional celebrity contact, and there are colleagues who tout their celebrity clientele more than any actual expertise in the business -- and funny thing, they are almost never the most responsible nor the most skillful professionals. the UG authentication was laughable though, and immediately discredited the company as a source of reliable knowledge.
Yes, indeed. And as a former ink stained wretch, I'm eagerly waiting to see what editorial decisions our friend, Mr. Clymer, will make about its coverage. Columbia J-School is no slouch. He knows what he's doing. These days all journalists are bloggers, but not all bloggers are journalists.
Indeed. I am waiting for Ben to engage. Pretty meaty material, right at the heart of Hodinkee's beat. I can't help noticing that while Ben did an interview segment with Ku, he never did the same with Maron. Of course, Mayer is a contributor, so potential complication there. Ben has done such beautiful work over the years. Lately, a more corporate sensibility has crept into Hodinkee -- no doubt necessary to put the site on a paying basis, and IMO Ben has successfully walked the line - I am interested to see how he decides to handle this.
Ben might not comment, and I wouldn't blame him if he didn't as with JM being a columnist for Hodinkee and with the size of Hodinkee's readership there's a good chance it could end up having an impact on the case, which he might be wanting to avoid.
Here's a copy of the complaint http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/sites/default/files/custom/Embeds/John Meyer Lawsuit.pdf
I think the big difference is that Ben was the first watch blogger to realise that watches don't matter, its their story that does. The first Hodinkee article I read was about the eBay 5510 Big Crown Submariner: http://www.hodinkee.com/blog/2010/1...ehind-the-most-talked-about-ebay-listing.html That really set the tone and made me continue reading Hodinkee when I was never interested in any other watch blogs except around Baselworld when new releases were out. He finds a special vintage watch, explains why its special, the significance of it, and why it matters, then intertwines that with very high quality photography and encourages a discussion. In a sense it was almost like the transition from the original Top Gear series to the current format.
Difficult decision - ignoring a story like this is not so easy when you are the vintage watch blog of record -- all the watch news that's fit to print!
Hi Lou, I know nothing of Breitling. Are you or anyone else reading this post able to tell me exactly what's "wrong" with this particular Breitling? *sigh*, always learning... And, you're so dead right about professionals who brag about celebrity clients. "So and so" to-the-stars sends up a red flag for me as opposed to providing any comfort or credibility. Mayer is going to have a tough time proving outright fraud when it comes to vintage watches. It's like accusing water of being wet. Duh. I suspect part of the problem here is the fact that Rolex throws around the word "counterfeit" like an angry Italian uses curse words. Also: Mr. Mayer has spent a lot of time over the years on message boards and blogs like Hodinkee trying to prove himself as an expert on vintage watches. So, which is he? An expert or a dupe? Both??