On the first post I made on this auction, I said that I was surprised by the fact that there were too many pieces, of unequal quality, to say the least.
I even predicted that there will be many unsold watches, which is the case, and which is not positive. ( 246 unsold pieces out of 565 ).
The other negative thing is that Modern JLCs didn't do well, and it is an euphemism.
The positive aspects of this auction is that the Icons did superb results: The Reverso, the Polaris, the Deep Sea Alarm, the Atmos, and that some stars are born: The SHOM, which is now a familiar piece for our JLC fans, and the Blue Memo.
A deception, or better said, several deceptions: The Memo E 855 brown Dial, the Mystery, and the Master Mariner Chronometre which deseved much better.
More generally, I think that when you prepare an unique auction, you need to be more severe on the selection, and you have to do a big effort on the education ( you have to explain why some pieces are really important, which was not always the case ).
For example, the Master Mariner Chronometre is as rare as it is interesting: The american brother of the Geophysic, not less, with a more basic movement, though, but historically, very important, and to say all, it was the first time I saw it in the flesh, rather than on an ad.
We can always say that those who attended were not expert enough, it is the easy way to explain the outcome...
I prefer to say that with a bit more efforts, people would have got a better education and comprehension on how these watches are desirable and interesting.
Was it possible with 565 pieces? I don't think so, so it was mandatory to do a severe selection, and to exclude some pieces which are already chosen.
Why were 3 ( !!! ) E 855 Black dial included in this auction?
Why, on these 3, one had a badly repainted dial, and one was not in the best shape?
Why did we see a repainted Geophysic in SS, or another SS Geophysic with a poor dial?
Why a few fakes had the right to be included?
Food for thought.
Best,
Nicolas.