Patek Philippe

[unknown]

Originally Posted by rpryan55

They are expensive in part because they routinely bid on their own offerings at Antiquarium and other auction houses to artificially jack up the prices of their vintage pieces. Don't get me wrong, I own a couple of PPs, but no watch that just tells the time and date is worth 30K+. Some of their beautifully crafted grand complications are a thing of artistry to wonder at, but in general their prices are way out of line. Just my $0.02.

I can't agree...

1* imo they are not expensive. A breguet, VC, Lange, is priced at the same level. A 3 hands Calatrava is yours for more or less 13-15 K EURO, similar Breguets and VC's are also more or less 13-15 K
And a Richard Lange is a lot more expensive. So is the Journe Chronomètre Souverain which isn't better finished

2* The Antiquorum auction thing is bullshit. YEARS ago Patek bought some watches via Antiquorum, that's correct. BUT they did it not to pump up prices but they wanted those pieces to put them in the PP museum.
All the special chronographs like 1518-2499-3970-5970-5070-5004-... are bought by collectors. Patek might have a few examples but thousands of them belong to private collections. Besides, Mr Stern said they only wanted some special pieces to make the collection complete AND he also said he did not buy watches for the moment because they were too pricey. He bought a lot of pocket watches when nobody was intrested in pocketwatches. AFAIK Patek was always a top notch brand and it was always very expensive. rare pieces always fetched good prices.

When you're looking for a brand who 'abused' Antiquorum, look at Omega. 2 years ago they announced a big auction (Omegamania) and they were bidding against their clients just to pump up the price. Suddenly Omega wanted a museum too ... and if I remember correct, 30% or more was bought by Omega.

[rpryan55]

Originally Posted by unknown

2* The Antiquorum auction thing is bullshit. YEARS ago Patek bought some watches via Antiquorum, that's correct. BUT they did it not to pump up prices but they wanted those pieces to put them in the PP museum.

I'll stand by what I said. I appreciate your opinions.

[Jedi]

Dick, the 5296G I have is the Sector dial, and great to hear about your 5166. My wife has a 5165 and it's a great little keeper. One of the most understated yet distinctly elegant sports watches out there.

Here's a pic of the Sector, just because

[unknown]

Originally Posted by rpryan55

I'll stand by what I said. I appreciate your opinions.

ofcourse each his own opinions

[rpryan55]

Originally Posted by Jedi

Dick, the 5296G I have is the Sector dial,...

Lee - that is exactly the Patek I should've purchased. I love that dial and that watch. I cannot imagine a more classically designed dress piece. Thank you for posting that picture to remind me yet again of a watch my wife won't let me buy.

[topcat30093]

Bruno
Your counter arguement is very put.

[moby33]

I always cringe a little when I hear things like, "X watch brand is 'Better' than Y watch brand" or "X brand is not in the 'Top 5' of watches". What is that suppose to mean? All too often I think people get caught up in the amount of time pieces a company makes/yr & certain watches extremely high prices and instantly thinks, "Yep, those must be the BEST watches on the market."

Really? What about considering the numerous environments a watch is going to be used. I can sure as heck state I would rather strap a SS sport Rolex or Omega to my wrist vs a PP if I was going to take a scuba trip to Costa Rica where I could be in the water in the morning, climbing a volcano in the afternoon (yes, I promise to check my tables) and then catching some white water rafting to end a perfect day of outdoor fun.

Better and/or Best is too simplistic when you're talking about watches IMO...it all has to do with the intended purpose said watch will be used before any type of ranking can be established.