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  1. cristos71 May 9, 2020

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    I love this hobby, owning an interesting selection of watches and clocks from different periods of the 20th century is just great from both the aesthetic and historical viewpoint. For me the pleasure of ownership is almost equaled to by the thrill of the chase and eventual capture of the quarry.

    But as for most things that are really good in this life for each high there can come a low. We all know things don't always go quite according to plan whilst on the hunt and sometimes a great piece that should right now be sitting in one's collection isn't.

    Be it through circumstance, stupidity, a slight hesitation in opening your wallet at the right moment, or whatever reason, that great deal just slipped through your fingers and rightfully so every now and again comes back to haunt you a little.

    There are loads of threads about landing a great deal, this one's about the ones that got away... Here's one of mine to start.

    I had taken a friend of mine to a watch fair. It was very early in the morning and many dealers were still unpacking. When alone at this fair this is when I normally find my best stuff but as my friend was with me, and just starting out with vintage watches, I had been showing him around, pointing out interesting watches and sellers and I wasn't quite as sharp as usual.

    A seller was unpacking a box, he pulled out a very cool Heuer clock, just like the one in the picture below. Very cool and in perfect condition. I quickly asked the seller for a price, "€50". OMG! Now normally I'd have picked that clock right up and happily paid the man.This time I hesitated and turned to my friend to show him what I'd found. Hmm, he was at the table behind me so I walked the four metres to him and asked him to come and see this awesome clock I was about to buy.....

    ....and that was my mistake, in those three seconds that my back was turned another guy had picked the clock up. And as me and my friend watched, me with open mouth and turning stomach, he opened his wallet, pulled out a €50, paid the seller and walked away with the clock and a very big smile on his face. That image is burnt into my brain and this for me is one of the ones that got away....

    Feel free to share your sad stories here ::shy::

    Heuer Clock.jpg
     
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  2. STANDY schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collector May 9, 2020

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    Awoke Saturday June 13th 2015 and opened the forum sleepily to have a quick read and check the FS section.

    I opened a sale by @Darlinboy and was excited at he’s freshly listed watch below.
    D45CF2FA-4902-4B32-814D-D1E00F5F6082.jpeg DC887613-5104-44CC-A812-162F1682E836.jpeg


    https://omegaforums.net/threads/1967-bulova-wrist-alarm-outstanding-condition.26260/

    I thought I would just make a coffee quickly and then send a PM.

    Sat back down with a coffee ::censored::::censored::::censored::

    The pitted stomach feeling in the space of 3 minutes someone had beat me to it.

    The anguish of missing by seconds, “snooze you loose” I have said to hundreds of people over the years.


    Several months later dibs came a calling ::psy:: and I ended up with the watch in the end. But still one I was annoyed for days missing it the first time around

    1A26A456-C989-402B-BAB0-380097569027.jpeg
     
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  3. MMMD unaffiliated curmudgeonly absurdist & polyologist May 9, 2020

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  4. Canuck May 9, 2020

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    A friend was at an NAWCC mart when he spotted a dealer with a small offering of watches, one of which was a Hamilton 992B. So what, you say! They are all over the place. This one was serial # 2! The second one made! He hesitated, and didn’t buy it! Changed his mind, and later went back, but the guy was GONE!
     
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  5. Servius May 9, 2020

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    Ho boy, got one that still haunts me. At the time I wanted to start collecting 40's radium Jaeger Lecoultre, especially with p478 and variants. One day, this one pops up at a auction house.

    IMG_4412.JPG

    Very nice uncommon screw in case, nice dial, with a strange MN engraving (for Marine Nationale, the french navy). And when I ask for movement shots, I get this :

    IMG_4410.JPG

    An absolute grail for me, the p478/BWSBr, the Geophysic movement... Without the hacking lever, but that was a detail for me at the time...

    Long story short, I couldn't even participate to the auction, arrived too late because of work... Just to see the indecent price that it sold for, the kind I could even compete with my Phd student income ::censored::

    Great thread idea, but reminds me bad memories :unsure:
     
  6. 140dave May 9, 2020

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    Here is one from 2 days ago. I had been watching this auction for 30days, waiting until last minutes, doorbell rang, I got talking and missed it. Ended at a bargain price IMO.
    C7232C06-3C45-47C0-B6D5-66F525C1CD47.jpeg
     
  7. rkman11 May 9, 2020

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    Well I’ve cried about it pretty loudly on here already... but very recently missing out on @slique12 STUNNING bubbleback still haunts my dreams! I took a few days to justify buying a high ticket item right now, and also figure out what I could sell to fund it (a kidney was NOT off the table!) and sadly I waited too long...
     
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  8. NotAClue May 10, 2020

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    I can literally feel the pain of every single poster so far. Jeez! Can´t stop putting myself on your shoes... :confused:

    Great thread and I know it will go on and on but for now it's just to painful to watch for me

    I will use my right to hit the "unfollow" button now :D



    EDIT: still here :cautious:
     
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  9. omegastar May 10, 2020

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    In 2007, a good friend (remember Marc, Chris ?) offered me an all original nice 5513 meters first with rivet bracelet he just bought for 1.500€ because he already had one and thought I’d like it.
    I had sold all my watches 2 years before to buy an apartment in Brussels and was still refurbishing the place. So stupid me, said « Well, you know, I should better keep my cash until the refurbishment is finished because you never now what could happen... » Useless to say that the watch was gone when I finished my apartment.
    I can still see myself saying it and it still haunts me.
     
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  10. Edward53 May 10, 2020

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    About six years ago, when I was very much learning the basics, a Seamaster dive watch with bracelet, of a type I didn't recognise, popped up on ebay UK for a £300 BIN. It looked great, but the dial was a very distinctive style which I hadn't seen before and for all I knew was a complete fantasy. Obviously if it was something good I'd need to act fast, but I thought I'd better do a quick reverse image search to find out what it was. And it was being sold by a jeweller, so surely they must know if it was valuable?

    The image search revealed that the "mystery dive watch" was in fact a Seamaster 120 "Deep Blue". My hands shook as I navigated back to the ebay page to press the Buy It Now button. Too late, someone else was quicker than me and it had gone. Yes I know, it was a BIN and I should have taken the chance, because all I'd have lost was the postage! But I was caught off balance and didn't think of that till too late.

    It would be nice to think someone here bought that watch and it's "in the family" somewhere. I ended up getting my beloved Watchco which I might not otherwise have bought, so in a way it turned out well. But I did mutter "Fuck it!" an awful lot for the rest of that day....
     
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  11. Rman May 10, 2020

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    The pocketwatch below is one I would’ve liked to capture, and here is my fascinating tale of mischief and heartbreak.

    My brilliant plan was to stay awake into the night (my time) and grab this from the AQ auction happening today in HK. I prepared a vegetable curry for my wife and myself, thinking about the low estimate all the while and adding extra spice to the pot, stirring pensively.

    Later, after some discussion about our old cat who is sick, we wound down the night with some reading in bed. Yes the curry was delicious and sat lightly in my belly, a belly that would soon feel the butterflies of disappointment.

    Suddenly I awoke with the bedside lamp on and to my horror I had missed the auction! It must’ve been the second martini inspired by the gin and tonic thread! For shame!

    3DB1E3D8-4F54-4743-8FBA-4B73FE514AFF.jpeg
     
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  12. MSNWatch Vintage Omega Aficionado Staff Member May 10, 2020

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    What I have missed out on:

    NM rose gold Seamaster XVI
    NM 105.002 and 105.012
    One owner 2915-2
    A pair of speedmaster “grails”
    Missed out on many more nice ones but these were the ones I was in deep discussion to purchase.
     
  13. asrnj77 May 14, 2020

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    In November 2018 (not that long ago :() I was able to buy an AP Royal Oak 15300 - full set, recently serviced by AP - unpolished for $14,000. It is and was, a lot of money so I didn’t act and of course I regret not doing it. I would still like a 15300 but since I know the price that I could have paid it stops me from paying the current going rate ::facepalm2::
     
  14. pongster May 14, 2020

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    Recently, a 40K unworn rose gold ALS ZW on a deployant. As i was too slow to pull the trigger.
     
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  15. JacksonPollock May 14, 2020

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    Recently, a Movado M90 in a Patek 565 case sold for a steal at $500. If anyone here bought it, I'm willing to give you a good price for it.

    I was underbidder on a Rolex 1018 w/ gilt dial earlier this year. Such an incredible and elegant watch. 51217.jpg

    I miss out on a lot but in reality the very good deals are gone within minutes and sometimes seconds. I wish there was some alert system that scanned the internet and sent me the best deals.
     
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  16. mydeafcat Sep 26, 2023

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    My turn to revive this thread of broken hearts. Just buy the fackin thing, is my advice. I snoozed. You know the rest.

    First comes the ‘I am aware I’m an idiot’ mea culpa.

    Second, should the lucky trigger-puller be an OF member, I’m calling dibs, you b****rd.

    The watch in question isn’t, I suspect, what many would consider a grail: a Tudor Jumbo from the early 70’s; 7024 to be precise. (Hell, it’s not even what I consider my holiest of holies; that’s well above this lifetime’s pay grade. But I love these vintage Tudors all the same.)

    While I’ve never been overly smitten by the Crown, vintage Tudors have long had their appeal. I reckon it’s my older brother’s influence going back decades, long before we became estranged in the late ‘80’s. Like a number of their Wilsdorfian cousins, many Tudors are 34mm and just don’t do it for me. The Jumbos at 38 are perfect. And then this beauty showed up in a local shop with a sharp case, clean, original dial and hands, but with a crappy strap. So: head only and the price was quite good, too. What’s not to love?

    And after spending a few months - yeah, I know I’m a dope - humming and hawing, I finally made up my mind. Rather than try it on once more, I’d simply go to the local watchmaker and vintage consignment shop and take it home.

    Unfortunately for this dithering fool, it already had one.
     
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  17. Spruce Sunburst dial fan Sep 26, 2023

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    I actually bought the top one but it didn’t work as promised so I returned it. It probably would have cost peanuts to fix and I regretted not keeping it. I have kept the screenshot though.

    IMG_3031.jpeg

    This one went for a couple of £ more than I’d bid and, again, I wished I’d gone higher.

    Like the first one, it was under £150 and, as before I kept the screenshot.

    IMG_2169.jpeg

    A happier ending here because I picked up a similar one shortly after.

    IMG_3012.jpeg
     
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