patrick_y
[PuristSPro Moderator]
28404
Is It Just Me? Are These Auction House Photos Really Awful?
The watch business is good. Watches seem to sell themselves. Auction houses are also in a rush. Once they start receiving watches, their small team is overwhelmed! Cataloguers need to photograph the watches, write descriptions, and inventory hundreds of lots. Most auction houses have tiny watch department (the money and the prestige for most auction houses comes from the art department) and are borrowing personnel from cataloguers, writers, and photographers from the art department - art department personnel often know very little about watches unfortunately.
This auction house is kind of new to the watch world. Well, not exactly, but not a major player. Here are some really clumsy examples of how shoddy their photographs are... I won't even go into the poorly written descriptions. But take a look at these photos below, is it just my expectations are too high? Or are these photos just really poorly done? I feel sorry for the consignors...
This watch is obviously in bad condition, and the photograph definitely shows it. But doesn't this watch just look extremely unappealing? I'm not advocating that the auction house touch up the photo, but I would imagine that they clean up the watch a bit. The strap between the lugs shows a poorly fitting strap, the dirt and grime of the watch is still not cleaned as skin and dust can be seen between the lugs. The auction house here is really doing a disservice to the consignor. Although, one could argue, they are doing a solid for the future buyer, as the future buyer will probably get this watch for a bargain price! But in reality, this watch failed to sell during the day of the auction. Photo credit: Bonhams
All that dust and dirt on the strap wasn't worth cleaning prior to photographing this watch? Could the auction house be any lazier? Well, this watch did sell in the auction. So I guess there's probably a satisfied seller. Maybe the buyer is happy? Maybe he would've had more competition on the watch if the photograph were done better? Photo credit: Bonhams
Again, the dust and grime between the links of the bracelet and how the photograph shows a ray of light between the lug and the bracelet just shows lack of attention to detail in this auction house photograph. This watch sold for a lot of money, so perhaps the photos didn't hurt the result in this case. I decided to include this example even though it doesn't entirely help my argument. But it does show that the auction house's photographer isn't very skilled on photographing watches. Maybe this photographer prefers to photograph fine art instead! Photo credit: Bonhams.
What are your thoughts? Do you think this auction house could've done better on their photographs? Or maybe we should hope all auction houses take photographs like this in the future, to show every flaw and imperfection. I'm not a supermodel, but if I were a manager for a supermodel, I'd be asking the photographer to capture my client in a better light!
Is It Just Me? Are These Auction House Photos Really Awful?
The watch business is good. Watches seem to sell themselves. Auction houses are also in a rush. Once they start receiving watches, their small team is overwhelmed! Cataloguers need to photograph the watches, write descriptions, and inventory hundreds of l...
Like buying a house the last year or so...
...no need to fix it up as you will get multiple bids. I spent decades doing product photo shoots. At least clean up the grime and get an air can : )
You have a point.
The pictures are simply average or even below average. The prep for these photo-shoots is clearly inexistent. If I am looking to make a watch purchase, I would much more love to see plain, candid pictures of the watch, including some macros, than these co...
That's actually the best advice I can give you! Avoid auction houses!
Just buy a new watch from an Authorized Dealer and start your own legacy!
If only we could return to “the good ol’ days”….
Where you could buy ANY watch you desired new from an authorized dealer. No games, no waiting lists, no requirement to purchase other watches or jewelry etc…. Boy, I miss those days.
Perhaps not surprisingly!
These auction houses are also "meat grinders" and they just process the incoming watches like "fresh meat" for the grinder. There's almost no real inspection, very little reconditioning (if any), and apparently even no preparations made to make the watch ...
Thanks for sharing some good points on this, Patrick. I never bought at auctions yet (in fact, I never even bought second hand! ;-), but certainly these pictures are not the best advertisement for the auction industry! ;-)
In part, as you say, I'm sure they know they'll sell most of these watches anyway. Hence quality might not be that big of an (economic) concern, also given the large number of photoshoots that must be done in a short period of time (most likely, by some m...
Work ethic is just disappearing...
I also agree with you. If someone takes a job, it's not up to them to say, "I'm giving a reasonable effort considering I'm only being paid $20/hr." No! You're hired to do your very best. Not what you deem "reasonable." Sadly, we live in a privileged socie...
and bad pictures are just the top of the iceberg
not even starting on the origin of some of these watches, seller KYC etc. I have only attended one auction in NYC - it was a fun experience and I should have bought something there (it was 2007...) but I am not planning to buy anything from an auction hou...
Auction houses can be bad and risky places to buy things from...
Think about it. They're always in a constant rush and stressed. If you think about the operation of an auction house, they receive all the lots about a month before the auction, where they only have a few days to photograph and catalogue them all. Then th...
Auction houses need to clean up their act first …
Maybe then they can get round to the watches.
Perhaps they are using this more objective clinical approach to eliminate any potential photo-bias?
There are photos that really make even the dullest watches look spectacular, while there are awful pictures of actually stunning timepieces.
😂 Perhaps I was being too kind.
A great thread nonetheless! I never even thought of a discussion on this very pertinent horological topic! 👍
Agreed! It's a horological and a sales topic...
But it's also about how mediocrity has befallen our beloved hobby. People want to make money as quickly as they can while doing as little as they can. Due to the popularity of watches these days, people can get away with mediocre or shabby work!
An unfortunate prevalent cycle that seems to have infected many key brands in the last 2-3 years (?), much to the frustration of enthusiasts/collectors.
Personally I do not see this ending like the tulip bubble, and have pretty much accepted it as the norm to be honest. A shame, but I guess one just needs to evolve with the times, while staying true to our passions. One thing is certain, as a personal pri...
There can be a tulip bubble effect actually...
The amount of inventories held on by speculative investors is quite substantial. And if they were to all sell in a rush, there would be a major crash.
You make a very good point!
The question I would ask is whether this would be good for the industry as a whole if this did happen. Yes, good for enthusiasts who may wish to take advantage (certainly in the short-medium term), but in the long-term could it negatively affect them/us t...
Generally, any artificial bubble is bad for the long-term...
Historically and logically speaking, any entrance of speculators into any business is usually a negative in the long run. There is a bare minimum of profiteers in every collectibles industry. As these profiteers allow the movement of capitol in and out of...
Well explained and agree, certainly with regards to today's investors!
It will be rather interesting to see how this particular climate progresses in the future. I for one continue to enjoy watches in general, and remain very pleased and excited with the design directions of many brands recently.
Yes!
And hopefully the bad photos deterred enough people away. But prices were still quite high for most lots.
