Page 6 - Bloomberg Businessweek-October 29, 2018

SECTION Bloomberg Pursuits October 29, 2018

than 300,000 watches.
Watchfinder & Co., based
in the U.K., helps you do
exactly what its name
implies. It was purchased
in June by Richemont,
ROYAL OAK A-SERIES parent of Cartier, IWC
Not many of Audemars Piguet’s Schaffhausen, Baume
2,000 stainless-steel Royal Oaks from & Mercier, and Officine
1972-74 are still around—the debut
was a total flop. That makes owning Panerai. Govberg Jewelers
one a coup, given how iconic the model is an almost century-old
is today. An engraved “A” before the family-owned shop that’s
serial number on the caseback means reinvented itself to offer
everything. ($50,000 or more) vintage watches, modern-
izing itself with an app that
helps owners manage their
portfolios.
Crown & Caliber LLC,
an online seller based in
Atlanta, recently notched
its 20,000th transac-
tion. Like many who
got into the business,
founder Hamilton Powell,
a former finance execu-

70 tive, was intrigued by a
CARTIER LONDON string of horror stories Timepieces with their original boxes and papers are more valuable
From 1964 until 1979, Cartier was from watch buyers and
operated mostly independently
in London, Paris, and New York. Many sellers—everything from a scam involv- But even working with legitimate
of the most interesting and unusual ing a Nigerian prince to an invitation timepieces is a risky business. There’s
designs came out of Cartier London to meet in a parking lot. He started the no such thing as a fixed margin when
during this period—look for the business in 2013 in an attempt to serve reselling watches, and corrections
“London” signature on the dial—most a plagued market. within market segments happen con-
notably the Cartier Crash, seen “This was, in many ways, the last stantly as trends vacillate. One day a
here. ($150,000 or more) great industry that did not have a robust certain watch is in, the next it isn’t. For
and professional secondary market,” says a period of years, a certain size will be
Powell, pointing to used cars, used furni- popular, or a certain type of metal.
ture, and even used golf clubs. “Why did Lamdin says he’s taken plenty of hits.
this huge market not have an easy way Disappointing sales are most publicly
to transact?” seen at the auction house, with embar-
Concerns about fake or counterfeit rassing results. “There are always sur- PHOTOGRAPH BY VICTORIA HELY-HUTCHINSON FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK. CARTIER, ROYAL OAK: COURTESY MATTHEW BAIN INC. PATEK: COURTESY CHRISTIE’S
watches remain prevalent among col- prises, and there are always duds,”
lectors, just as in wine and art, and Wind says.
for good reason. The Federation of But even as watches have morphed
the Swiss Watch Industry dealt with from timekeeping essentials to luxury
more than 2,500 cases in 2017, ranging curios, their popularity in recent years
from seized mail to warehouse raids. has only increased. And chasing the
TIFFANY-SIGNED PATEK When authorities in Brazil inspected trends can become an addictive game.
In 1854, Tiffany & Co. in New York two shopping centers in São Paulo in “We have seen watches go from
became the first Patek Philippe retailer September 2017, they found more than small to big to medium-size, from steel
in the U.S., and it was (and still is)
allowed to stamp its own logo on the 70,000 fake Swiss watches. The group to gold to platinum back to steel,” Bacs
watch dials, creating an entire subset said it was involved in the confiscation says. “These are trends that are driven
of collectibles. It’s a rare signature of almost 2 million counterfeit time- by greater society. We see these things
reserved only for the brand’s most loyal pieces last year. More reliable sellers and say, ‘Actually, that’s cool. I want
customers. ($200,000 or more) counteract this trend. one too.’ ” <BW>