Immaterial value can be very very very high and it is phyiscally completely detached from any material. A very good and recent example in our beloved Speedmaster world: A simple and of average condition 145.022-69 ST at christies achieves 245k USD simply because it was in an EVA mission.
Good point. As these are toolwatches with movements produced in thousands of units it goes without saying that they are more or less replicable.
The same does not apply to original minute repeaters by Breguet or other fine complicated watches. In such cases the value is real because reflects the cost of manufacturing.
What will happen to these industrial specimens in ten years' time nobody knows. For the moment just surf the wave if you like.
This makes sense. Do you think there are potential buyers with that kind of budget waiting for such a piece to turn up?
The whole discussion about the prices at this auction made me look up again at the price chart the late Chuck made at the beginning of this century....
Cisco share price march 2000: $77.31
Cisco share price today: $26.76
Bear in mind that we are all corresponding by means of Cisco routers. 😉
Thank you for the write up Spacefruit, unfortunately I couldn't make it to the auction in person so I am interested to hear a first hand report.
If you've handled enough watches, both good and bad, you pick up a good feel of what's right and what isn't and although we collectors can occasionally be over picky there is enough negative feeling on the -1 case to suggest it is not right. I wouldn't have touched it.
I Have a few suspicions about the -2 bezel, possibly of the recent re manufactured batch, although I would need to spend a bit more time on that to confirm.
Having said all that I still don't think people should be frightened by purchasing a 2915. Of course the stakes are higher but we all know what a genuine dial, hands and case should look like for this model, we know the correct serial number ranges, the trickiest part is probably the bezel because we have seen so few for comparison but a posting on this forum should sort that one out fairly quickly anyway. The Omega Sportwatches book has some good examples of genuine bezels to get you started.
The auction results are just further proof that the Speedmaster is the ultimate vintage chronograph!
I actually think if a true NOS (or something close to that) 2915-1 exists I would value it at $500,000 and above. Precisely because the speedmaster when originally sold was a relatively inexpensive toolwatch is exactly the reason why the very few truly excellent examples should command a significant premium over the average ones. And by significant I mean 5-10x or higher multiple.[/QUOTE
Why wait all that time? All you have to do is buy an 18k gold modern watch of almost every brand with corresponding solid gold bracelet and you will see a similar price decline shortly after you start wearing the watch! 😉
Lot 3, the famous 2915-1 has disappeared from Christie's auction results: http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/salebrowse.aspx?intsaleid=25971&viewType=list&action=paging&pg=1
Lot 3, the famous 2915-1 has disappeared from Christie's auction results: http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/salebrowse.aspx?intsaleid=25971&viewType=list&action=paging&pg=1
Perhaps as I predicted, the buyer will fail to complete.
