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Patek Philippe

Thats a very interesting and full answer....

 

......and i agree on many points. Yes, you are probably correct that the Rolex forum is somewhat the vintage outlier, though I would also say that Blancpain has become quite similar and one or two other forums seem to develop in a similar way. 

However, I think i still have some trouble on one or two issues. You state that vintage Patek is much more expensive and thus there are less people in the game. I am not sure that is true. Take the 3417 that I just managed to buy. It is certainly seen as a very rare Patek to find and is widely viewed as a grail. Yet, is it really so expensive? In fact, it cost around the same price as the most recent Calatrava offering from Patek. Take the astonishing 3541 white gold Calatrava that I found in NOS a month or so ago.....it cost considerably less than the brand new Calatrava. These vintage pieces are rare finds, but actually I think that they are not so expensive relative to modern. Also consider that a mass-produced Explorer II 1655  with orange hands.... a watch that is readily found, is at the same price...... I am not sure that it is right to say that price is the reason that so few people are involved. Honestly, I look at the prices that vintage Rolex have been fetching at auction and then look at these wonderful treasures I have managed to find this year in the 1960s Patek era, and I can't quite believe my luck! I hear your point about pricing, and yes when it comes to some super-rare moon phase of chronograph, then yes it may be an issue. But the same is true for the super rare Daytonas.....they are out of the reach of most people on the forum, they rarely get discussed.....but the 1655 Orange Hand.....yes that gets discussed a lot.....I am just so perplexed that more Patek vintage collectors don't appear more regularly here.......

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