Grail Watch

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How I Find Great Deals in Watch Auction Catalogs

November 28, 2020 By Stephen Leave a Comment

I’m a big fan of auctions as a way to obtain interesting watches for my collection. There are plenty of online antique, art. and specialized watch and clock auctions, populated with collected watches deserving of attention. If you look carefully, you will find some interesting watches, along with plenty that should be avoided!

Filed Under: Commentary, Grails Tagged With: Auctionata, auctions, Enicar, Glashütte Original, Invaluable, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Nivada, Seiko

“He’s No Jedi!” Debunking the Omega Seamaster 176.005

March 23, 2015 By Stephen 2 Comments

If you’ve read this blog for long, you know that I love to scour auction listings for under-described watches that are way more special than they appear. But folks like me also often note pieces that are incorrectly described, and one great example just caught my eye: The Omega Seamaster 176.005 Chronograph is often described as the “Jedi”, an incorrect name for this model and an unofficial one regardless. Let’s take a look.

Filed Under: Commentary, Grails Tagged With: Auctionata, Chrono24, Chronograph, ChronoMaddox, Chuck Maddox, debunk, eBay, Jedi, nickname, Omega, Omega Seamaster, Omega Seamaster Chronograph, Skywalker, Vader, Wound for Life

What If Your Company Gave You a Limited-Edition Gold Patek Philippe?

March 2, 2015 By Stephen 14 Comments

A “gold watch” is an archetypal reward for years of meritorious service to a company. But how cool would it be if your company contracted with Patek Philippe to build a special set of 20 Calatrava watches? That’s exactly what General Motors Overseas Operations did in 1954, and these watches are a unique collectible today!

Filed Under: Grails Tagged With: 1578, 1578GM, Auctionata, Christies, General Motors, Hodinkee, iCollector, Original Miami Beach Antique Show, Patek Philippe, Patek Philippe 12-400, Patek Philippe 1578, Sotheby's

Americans: Do Not Buy Rolex Watches and Alligator Straps From Europe!

December 16, 2014 By Stephen 3 Comments

I’ve learned a few valuable lessons over the last few years in the watch collecting hobby, some through experience and some through research. So I thought I would share two really important ones with my readers today: Do not buy a Rolex watch and try to ship it into the USA, and do not buy a watch strap made of an endangered species and try to ship it out of Europe. These two rules are unrelated, but both can easily trip up would-be watch enthusiasts. And not all watch dealers will have your back if you run afoul of them!

Filed Under: Commentary Tagged With: Alligator, Auctionata, Caiman, Crocodile, Customs, European Union, Montres Rolex, Paul Picot, Rolex, Rolex Watch, Rolex Watches Usa, Tudor, USA, Watch, watch strap, Watch Straps, Watches

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