For more analysis and coverage of watch trends, subscribe to get Rescapement delivered to your inbox every Sunday: When the pandemic hit, many traditional auction houses worked to quickly shift sales online, even moving away from big in-person sales to host weekly online auctions.
I agree that the base cataloguing on Loupe is much better than what one gets for an online auction at the “Big Three”. Phillips deserves credit, however, for significantly enhanced cataloguing as compared to its competitors for its live sales (or, at least, longer)
A Collected Man has also distinguished itself with detailed specifications, and extensive cataloguing - it’s worth comparing their early listings to how they approach listings now. They deserve credit for investing in the research and time needed for these long-form listings, which approach journalism in many cases. Notes are obviously selling points, but nevertheless contain important data and context when done well, and so I think improve buyer confidence
I remain surprised at how little photography is available at the conventional houses for their listings - additional photos require a request, and the response one gets are photos via an iPhone, hopefully in-focus (the conventional houses, however, have their own advantages over the newer online platforms, as discussed at length everywhere)
These are all good trends, as the competition should create overall improvement in the buyer experience
Great article! Thanks as always for spotting a really interesting topic and bringing us the story
I miss the good old days of the discussion foruns and the camaraderie between participants, even when selling watches, as expensive as it can be. The world of watches has been transformed in a stupid place, with watches treated as simple commodities as costing more than a liver...
I agree that the base cataloguing on Loupe is much better than what one gets for an online auction at the “Big Three”. Phillips deserves credit, however, for significantly enhanced cataloguing as compared to its competitors for its live sales (or, at least, longer)
A Collected Man has also distinguished itself with detailed specifications, and extensive cataloguing - it’s worth comparing their early listings to how they approach listings now. They deserve credit for investing in the research and time needed for these long-form listings, which approach journalism in many cases. Notes are obviously selling points, but nevertheless contain important data and context when done well, and so I think improve buyer confidence
I remain surprised at how little photography is available at the conventional houses for their listings - additional photos require a request, and the response one gets are photos via an iPhone, hopefully in-focus (the conventional houses, however, have their own advantages over the newer online platforms, as discussed at length everywhere)
These are all good trends, as the competition should create overall improvement in the buyer experience
Great article! Thanks as always for spotting a really interesting topic and bringing us the story
I miss the good old days of the discussion foruns and the camaraderie between participants, even when selling watches, as expensive as it can be. The world of watches has been transformed in a stupid place, with watches treated as simple commodities as costing more than a liver...