The point on collectors:
When asked, “What is your passion?” surely most of us would answer: watches! And this most often without ever taking into account the economic side of the matter. Most collectors, in fact, have little or nothing to do with the intrinsic value of the watch itself. In fact, money is essentially a means of completing collecting models of a particular type, or buying a piece considered unique and absolute for their taste. And this at all levels.
We do not think for example that the collector in the room bought Christie’s in Geneva from Rolex Daytona with the Gaboos signature on the dial had to turn on a mortgage to pay the 700,000 euros to which the clock was beaten. He simply spent a good figure in order to enjoy an absolutely unique item and in some ways unrepeatable. How would a less wealthy collector make a Navitimer in good condition. The numbers change, but it does not change the spirit, and we like that.
Of course, those who buy vintage watches know well that by carefully choosing and wise, the money spent can turn into a quiet and long-lasting investment, especially since they do not pay (fortunately) no fees, maintenance is minimal and ease in resale is high. All this helps to understand why, at a time of crisis in the world economic system, watches are all well summed up; because sales continue (especially vintage models, but also some of the brand’s new brand) and why the collection of collectors is increasing steadily and consistently. At the end of the 1980s, it was a “phenomenon” to describe the boom of watchmaking. Today we are at the doorstep of 2014 we can safely say that the phenomenon has turned into a solid reality and that collectors all over the world are at the same time the most striking and the most obvious representation.
The wish is therefore that everyone has the opportunity and the tranquility to live their passion and that the year at the doors is more serene, profitable for everyone, to all the latitudes. We in our little one will continue to write about our beloved timepiece, to talk to collectors, to hear merchants’ comments, to smile on television advertising made on watches, in the certainty that all this is getting more and more interesting and agreeable.
Elvio Piva