[Jim W]

US$ Prices - bigger supply and market for most models

I would say UK £prices may be sightly higher with less watches for sale

OK UK buyers could import from the States, but many would not want to do that

It was necessary to base this guide on US Dollar values. There are members on this forum from around the world, and everyone understands US Dollars as the base currency for collectors. Ewan and I are UK based, but we search the planet for the watches we want. I have bought watches from UK. USA, Australia, EU, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Russia, South America, Africa, etc.... wherever they may be. I will often pay a lot more for a watch I particularly want, and less for one I don’t.

We have prepared this guide from our own experiences, excluding personal preferences and silly eBay asking prices. It is just a guide though. It’s good to get feedback from the forum and hopefully continue to develop it further.

 

[Jim W]

Whilst the models listed here are not in my area of expertise, I do see lots of them sell when looking for vintage GS.

Certainly for the divers, I think the figures are significantly below market prices. I've seen multiple 6215's sell for over $10k over the last year, Suwa 6217-8001's for over $5K, a small crown NOS 6217 go for close to $8k, etc etc.

Hodinkee sold an average 6217-8000 for $4,500 recently.

These are just examples of hyped up asking prices. I think very few buyers are paying that kind of money. It's difficult to be precise, particularly on 6215's. They so rarely turn up for auction, but I can imagine fine examples easily clearing $10k.

In reality, 6139 Pogues, 6105 and 62mas divers are not rare watches, at any time there are plenty available, often in poor to average condition.

 

[Jim W]

They really aren't. These are auction results and the results of sales direct from dealers in Japan from their websites.

I keep an eye on thousands of auctions, and check 50 or so Japanese dealer sites multiple times a day.

With all due respect, I know what I'm talking about here.

Kind regards,


Gerald.

I think we are going to disagree on this Gerald. I also know what I'm talking about, and I know asking is different to getting. I've bought and sold a lot of divers in the past few years, even just recently I have bought several 62mas. I probably have more 62mas and 6105's in particular than anyone else on this forum. I am regularly buying from auctions around the world, so I don't think our price guide is very far out, and is a good starting point for those with less experience. I wouldn't want people to believe $4.5k is the going rate for an average small crown 62mas, because it isn't.

Remember this is just a guide. We are not putting in absolute numbers or trying to control the market. This is just a guide based on our considerable experience. Of course we are not trying to set the prices, but perhaps the guide can help people understand that a 1970 6105-8110 Proof/Proof has premium over a later Resist/Resist version of the same watch, and expect to pay more for a 6309-729B than a 6309-729A.

This guide is a first draft which we hope will evolve with input from all of us. It certainly isn't set in stone and is not intended to be. The guide is real world and not based on huge dealer markups. I am sure they sell a few at those prices, but they have no place here.

No disrespect to you either. I certainly acknowledge your vast GS experience. Anyone who wants to create an alternative guide is free to do so. Ewan and I stand by the basics of our guide and hope it will be useful to others. We put a lot of time and research into it. We expected some criticism, but comments have mainly been supportive.

 

[Jim W]

When Ewan and I prepared this guide we knew it would create debate on the forum, and it certainly did, but I think it has generally been well received. This is very much a first draft and some values will need adjusting and some other versions added. We think it is worth developing and expanding from here, but never lose sight of the fact that it’s just a guide.

I am sure some people will have a scruffy watch that barely ticks, and expect to realise the highest price shown here, and at the other end of the scale, a top condition ‘safe queen’ can command a significantly higher price than the top price listed here for a collectible watch.

We all have our opinions, but hopefully this guide can be of use to show relative values of the watches of interest in our hobby.

 

[Jim W]

Maybe a task for later this year would be to go through the whole "guide" again and update everything...

That's what I was thinking Ewan....

 

[Jim W]

You two are doing the Lord's work gentlemen. I feel another trip to Odiham might be called for in the not too distant future!

That’s a very good Plan 🍺