3-Watch Thursday #66
Auction data, AP BeReal and Patek Patent
Good evening team,
I hope this finds you all well. Apologies for the tardiness in sending this out. I’ve found myself in Bournemouth again, in lectures again til 19:30.
But alas we move.
This newsletter is in your inbox and I deliver to you 3 watch related pieces of media.
Subdial Auction Results
In a surprising set of events, Subdial this week released a beta version of an auction results database.
A few things to breakdown here.
Firstly, this is a massive undertaking and I really appreciate the effort that has gone into making this database a reality.
In the summer of 2022, I too attempted to scrape all the data from the auction sites to see what conclusions could be drawn. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to analyse it all, so sent it over to Marcus Siems @siemswatches to break down. In undertaking that project, I realised how difficult it can be to collate all this data.
Secondly, this database has 63071 lots.
Truly insane.
Some are watches that have come up multiple times, others only once. I think we can only really appreciate this dataset with more time.
Chatting to someone who is not a watch enthusiast about my enthusiasm for this dataset highlights the future uses and features we can wish for:
Obviously, one would like to break down by reference number or model to see how that model has sold over time;
More interestingly, what if we could see the difference between current secondary market price and recently sold auction prices; and
It would also be brilliant for inclusion of upcoming auction lots, being able to see past sales and what we might expect to be a fair price.
I understand the last one is more difficult and less useful for particularly rare models.
All in all, congrats to Subdial for this feature.
I can’t wait to see what’s in store in the future.
Audemars Piguet BeReal
This really made my week.
Unfortunately, AP aren’t on BeReal but it’s humorous nonetheless.
For those unaware, BeReal is a social media app that notifies you once a day, at a random time, to take a photograph with both cameras on your phone.
This reel on Instagram from AP of their watchmakers making a watch in stop motion ‘using’ BeReal.
It’s a delightful way to open up such a historical brand.
Thanks to the AP social media team :))
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A Patek Patent Publication
EP 4 328 673 A1 is a recently published patent application by Patek Philippe to a pair of elliptical gears and a 12 sides snail cam.
I won’’t bore you with the details but the description in English can be found here.
Partway through the description, it is disclosed the system that this invention is used it…a chronograph?
Apparently, it can be used to digitally count tenths of a second on a 5Hz chronograph.
We’re aware Stern has shared a new watch line is coming for Patek and he’s particularly proud of it, but is it a hyper modern incarnation of Patek? Like an AP Code 11.59?
There’s certainly a chance given this patent application. I for one can’t imagine a 10th of a second indicator on a dressy chronograph.
I suppose we’ll wait and see for W&W 2024!
That’s all for this week.
Thanks so much for reading.
I also received an email from Doug LaViolette re: the next charity auction they’re running and will share more details on an exciting lot of their’s next week.
Have a great weekend when we get there!
Owen
Fantastic content, Owen!