Horological Meandering

patrick_y
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Which one to bid? Auction companies often make mistakes, but they're the best we've got..

Exciting auction. 

Nice summary Andrew of some choice watches.  Good collection of some of the star pieces of the auction. 

It's a good auction, and it's been a while since I last saw such a nice auction gathering.  I've been studying the auction offerings very thoroughly. 

Forgive me if I'm skeptical on the marketing speak... 

Quote: "Aurel Bacs has made it clear from the start that the most important thing about the watches that are offered is authenticity and quality. Not just the quality of the watches, in that they are necessarily rare, but more that the provenance and integrity of the watches are beyond doubt. That, for whatever the budget for the watch, the watch is authentic; that its quality is absolute: from the lowest of estimates to the highest. There are good reasons for doing so. Treating customers with respect; that watches are among the best examples of that type; and simply to build brand loyalty: today’s first time bidder might be tomorrow’s high roller collector."

...What auction company doesn't say that? 

I've acquired several things from auctioneers, big ones, supposedly reputable ones, and I have an over 50% rate where I have had problems. 

One of the world's largest auction company, the third largest auction company in the world at the time, lost one half of my lot, sold it to someone else, and then refused to make the situation right.  After three months of argument and back and forth, the situation was resolved. 

That same major auction company, in fact, the same department, then misrepresented an item as sealed and new.  It was apparently obviously resealed.  So much for auction house expertise.  The auction company, having experience in dealing with me, was kind enough to offer me a refund. 

And another auction company has sold me a watch labeled as a Lange watch that turned out to be a different brand.  Then took nearly two years to resolve the situation.  The thick skin this company had, asking me to first return them the watch with no promise that they would immediately return my money (that they already had for years) was a silly option for me.  They refused to budge, and I even visited New York on more than one occasion with appointments to see them and have the watch inspected and through over a dozen emails they wouldn't help me.  Finally, the situation was resolved after around three years when this auction company started to get bad press. 

Aurel Bacs is a powerhouse in the watch auction industry.  Looking forward to seeing him at the helm of Phillips and making watch auctions a comfortable, enjoyable, and safe place to transact watches.  The number one priority for an auction house is?  If an auction house thinks procurement of cool product is their number one priority, that might be a good answer.  But I'd like to hear something about transaction safety.  A good interview question to see what Bacs' priorities are... 

Thanks for the auction highlights Andrew! 

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