There are two misconceptions right now in vintage watches.

The first is that you cannot find bargains at auctions, especially at Christies where collectors often with too much money and sometimes not the right knowledge bid furiously for trophy assets.

The second misconception is that the vintage Rolex market is overcrowded, with too many people chasing the same limited supply. The probability that you find an attractive vintage Rolex without paying nose bleeding prices is thus practically zero.

Lot 173 that sold on May 12th 2014 at Christies is a good example why it is very dangerous to generalize.

We are not sure what the reason was but collectors and dealers were all sleeping (except the lucky bidder) when Lot 173 went under the hammer. Lot 173 was a Rolex GMT Master 6542.

As many of you know by now, the GMT Master Rolex ref 6542 was the first ever GMT Master that Rolex made for PANAM and their airline pilots in the 1950s. The first batch was made with delicate Bakelite bezels which were later replaced by Rolex due their fragility. As a result Rolex ref 6542 with original Bakelite bezel  are extremely rare.

Lot 173 has an interesting story. It was (according to a very reliable and knowledgeable source) found by the owner at a flee market. What a great find this watch was. The dial, hands and bezel were all original. It carried the correct white seconds hand, the correct triangle showing the second time zone and the correct hour and minute hands. The dial itself was a nice gilt dial that was glossy and in very good condition (we inspected the watch closely). What made this watch even more remarkable was that the watch was never serviced in its entire lifetime. The case was untouched! What explains that the watch sold for mere CHF 45′ooo (CHF 56′ooo including commission).

We can think of only one good reason why many collectors were not more interested in this lot.

The Bakelite bezel was not in perfect condition. Some of the numbers on the bezel were not that visible anymore, but quite frankly, who cares. The important part with Bakelite bezels is that they are not cracked. So here you have it. Lot 173 is proof that bargains exist. One of the rarest Rolex references went for a complete bargain.

The buyer can be  jumping up and down to have bought a highly original example for next to nothing while all other collectors were dealers were either sleeping (or daydreaming about Paul Newman Daytonas).

by Edmond Saran