As the summer continues the challenges for the remainder
of 2008 are the biggest question that lay ahead for everyone with the US
economy in everyone's head today.......Yesterday Sotheby's London held it's
July important watch auction and results were mixed but overall I would
say very good in light of typical summer sales . I have highlighted a few
pieces below and most of them sold at what I would consider is above
normal for this time of year....for example you can see the Patek Philippe
Ref 3970G white gold model sold for 73,250 GBP or 146,500 US..(you
can double the GBP to determine US amount today)....we currently have this
exact model in stock and would sell at 139,500 so I think the market yielded
the correct number.
Many clients have been calling and emailing lately to determine
how the economy is affecting the watch market...a very fair question that
means everyone even the elite are affected one way or another by what's
going on today.
I think the situation with the US dollar's decline over
the last several years has actually made investing in watches more desirable.Collecting
Patek Philippe today is a great way to hedge against currency declines and
to protect your assets in these uncertain times just in case another
IndyMac Bank situation turns up....one of my clients had significant cash
in this bank and is still trying to recover those funds....if you own Patek
Philippe wristwatches you don't have to worry.
These are certainly some interesting times today and if
you are someone with liquid assets then this summer will offer some
of the best buying opportunities you will ever see .....remember the best
thing going for the collectible watch market is that we are not on
a fast track.....collecting is a marathon instead of a sprint.....while
we all want our collectibles to rise and rise sometimes taking a pause is
a really good thing...anyone remember the US real estate market.
Going up too fast is just not a good thing.....some pieces
like the 5970,5070 and 5004's have already spiked significantly in the last
12 months. Good solid markets ebb and flow over long periods and actually
the collectible market has been doing this since 1989....for the last 19
years the market has been moving forward with solid results and I don't
see this trend being reversed .
As always, I look forward to hearing from each of you in
the days ahead.
Your partner in TIME,
Trent Crowley
901-248-4892 Direct