Have to say I was shocked at the final price for this black dial, gold cap Constellation. I'd kept an eye on the auction and thought it may just about breach £2,000, but it made nearly £3,700! Obviously black dials are scarce, especially in this condition, and B&P not at all common either, but still seems a very high price. Is this a sign of things to come for Constellation values?
I just saw this too. Looks about right. This is a big exception. Essentially a NOS solid gold (not gold cap) black dial constellation with box and papers. This is a collectors piece alright.
It was definitely gold cap from the photos, though I now notice the listing title didn't specifically say that. Link is https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162554937784Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network
That is a super nice dial. It's one of those dials so good you swear it has to be a redial but, damn, if that's a redial I want to know who the artist is! But you're right it seems significantly overbid but so do many things I've seen auctioned recently - the Basquiat painting for example.
I see some odd things in the bidding history. Lots of "ladder" bids. That means low feedback bidders putting in a lot of bids at arbitrary steps to make it look like there is a bidding war going on. It would not surprise me to see this one back for sale in a few days. gatorcpa
Wow, didn't know he'd been booted/had left. Advert is... creative on a number of points. Seems like n00b-baiting.
Ended up having some issues with him not being honest with us, and then quite rude and disrespectful. He didn't seem like a good fit for the forum.
I was watching this one too Very nice black dial Connie but not 'mint' IMHO I looked long and hard at the dial and came to the conclusion that it was legit The hands bother me - too shiny compared to the indices and the second hand looks too long (they may have been tested but don't look like aged radium and at this stage I think they should be tritium on a 14381?) Lume removed from the indices incorrect crown incorrect Seamaster box (but that isn't entirely unusual ) some serious rotor rub on the movement Conclusion: very nice watch ludicrous price - even for a nice black dial (the last 'alert' I got was at £1850 - and I thought "seems about right - it'll probably make £2k" - at £3678 (approx $4700) you would want solid gold even with a black dial - but if that is what someone is willing to pay....)
Oops. I clearly was misled by the "solid gold" in the title. And yeah, he definitely embellishes the listing. Do we really need a Patek loupe in the photos?
In the seller's defence, he doesn't say solid gold in the title. The listing has a whole paragraph describing the gold capping.
It reads "14k Gold", which strongly implies it's solid gold. Of course, that's why one should read the fine print and know what you're dropping $4500 on.
It was a lot of money, but who knows why the winner bought it - maybe they had one in their youth, be buying it for a relative, year of birth, or just carried away.... Watch buying seems rarely to be about logical, rational decisions - If it was, we'd all be wearing Invictas...
I think, the fact that we're not all wearing Invictas proves that logic and rational thought are involved.
Are you still operating a vintage watch store? In that case, not being able to see that the above is a redial is not only shocking, it is also a huge red flag for would-be customers.