vintage wrote:
Dracha wrote:
even though I am not bidding I fully expect the current $1250 highest bid to double or even triple before the auction is over
Ditto. I can't believe ten years ago I was buying these for $150-$250.
Are you sure?
(Here comes a story...)
Nine years ago I bought my first Navitimer, an 809 Cosmonaut which had a damaged dial and terribly scratched caseback, for $1300. The year previous, I had lost out on a quite nice 7806 which went for $1900 and before that an all black 806 in which my max bid was $2000. Back then I really had no idea what made one a collector's piece and the other a nice vintage watch.
My second Navitimer I purchased in December 2015 for $2500 which I consider pretty good price although the slide rule isn't original and the lume has darkened. The third was $3500 in March 2016, although it was a few years older and in much better shape than the one purchased in 2015.
I would love to see a historical price index for these things. The price has certainly gone up quite a bit in the last ten years but I wonder when I would have had to enter the market to nab one for under $500.