The most expensive watches sold on eBay in 2020
With eBay being one of the largest marketplaces in the world, the go-to platform for sellers looking to find buyers for their goods, it can be home to some of the most desired and in-demand products worldwide – including watches. While some have hesitated to take the plunge on a watch purchase via the site, due to a fear of counterfeit products or listings, eBay has now incorporated an independent authentication service for sellers and buyers to utilise on top of their eBay money-back guarantee. This makes it safer than ever to dive into the watch category on the site, and with a trained and seasoned eye, find everything from the Bamford G-Shock you missed out on, the Rolex you can’t get at your AD, and even holy trinity masterpieces. If you’re lucky you may even have a digital barn-find like a moon-era Speedmaster (although with more and more awareness of the value of vintage pieces, this is becoming less frequent). With 2020 coming to a close, we began to wonder: what were the most expensive watches sold on eBay in 2020? Thanks to data provided by eBay (in USD), we now have the answer … 10. Rolex Yacht-Master ref. 116695SATS…
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Divers! We love ’em. I’m wearing a technical diver as I’m writing this — helium escape valve and all. Does it mean I’ve got a diver’s kit packed up, in the boot of my car, ready to go? Not unless you count the defunct photo props I have in a box, dry since 2010. It’s not about the action itself, it’s about knowing you can. We’ll show you some of the best dive watches of 2020 over $10K, safe in the knowledge that you can jump on a plane, charter a speedboat out to an atoll in the Pacific, and jump in. Specially this year, we deserve it, if only for the tingly rush of pre-adventure. But remember, even bone dry, these watches are tough enough to climb that peak too (what do you mean you haven’t got crampons or rope?). Seiko Prospex 55th anniversary SLA039 Let’s take the bull by the horns: yes, this is a very expensive Seiko, at more than $10K, and you will surely not understand why until you try it on, as I did here. It might still seem expensive, but will blow you away with its Grand Seiko finished Ever-Brilliant steel, and seem way too…
With the arrival of a long awaited, and if we dare say so, well deserved summer, it means dive watch season is here. Dive watches are a staple of any watch collection, known for their robust qualities that make them a suitable wrist companion in almost all environments. Looking for something new to explore the ocean with? Here are the best dive watches of 2020, all under $10,000 AUD. Longines HydroConquest Green The Longines HydroConquest Green on rubber offers a ton of value at a much lower price point. The 300m water resistant steel case is 41mm x 12mm and features a green dial and ceramic bezel. The modified ETA caliber inside the diver has an impressive 65 hours of power reserve. RRP: $2400 AU Oris Carysfort Reef Limited Edition Oris celebrates its latest ocean conservation project with the Carysfort Reef Limited Edition – which involves 30,000 planted corals to date in partnership with the Coral Restoration Foundation in Florida. This 43mm limited edition diver features a GMT function and rich ocean blue dial with nice contrasting orange accents. RRP: $4000 AU Rado Captain Cook Bronze The Rado Captain Cook Bronze comes in multiple configurations, with brown, blue, and green dial/bezel…
The Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5711 might be your grail of grails, or simply the perfect taste of ’70s glamour. There is a reason so many love the porthole-inspired steel perfection, which – in the present day – is flat out unattainable even with cash to spend. So, that pampering AD appointment with $40-60,000 ready to despatch, the complimentary espresso in a gold-rimmed cup, the satin-gloved handover … Not any time soon. Do we have alternatives? We found five. Piaget Polo S The unusual alternative, the unsung hero, a Piaget that isn’t ultra-thin? Yes, the Polo S will confound and surprise you, and what can we call this shape? This sports watch from the maison of Piaget is as confusing as it is different, but with its indefinable shape and vertically striped dial, a quirky but viable value alternative to the Nautilus. What triggers your synapses is the bright emerald dial, on which the polished pink gold indices pop like crazy. What gets you are similitudes like the horizontal stripes combined with a smooth rehaut minute track. Like the 5711, the back edges of the indices follow the squaround (I’ll copyright that!) inner edge of the bezel. Classic sword hands…
It is no secret that quartz has its haters. It was only last week that we were in conversation with Roger Smith, who reminded us that George Daniels himself used to pooh pooh quartz, saying “why would you buy something that did kamikaze every three years?” But others, equally informed within the community, will attest to its worth and place. While quartz does not necessarily have the same sense of tradition and heritage as mechanical watches, it should not be disqualified or discounted as its own art form. Not all quartz is created equal, and brands work very hard to hone the accuracy and reliability of their quartz movements – and even go so far as to elaborately decorate them in a manner similar to their mechanical peers. There is something to be said about a reliable wristwatch you can wear fearlessly. You don’t have to hold back on your golf or tennis swing, nor do you have to worry your watch is displaying the incorrect time. It can be a much more carefree experience, and to say the art of watchmaking is strictly refined to movements ignores the hours spent developing and finishing the cases in which they are…
Editor’s note: The news out of Geneva overnight is that Watches & Wonders 2021 (formerly SIHH) is cancelled, unsurprisingly citing the “current health crisis and uncertainties as to how the situation may evolve”. To be honest, it feels like only last week that we were reporting on the cancellation of Watches & Wonders 2020, with eyes then turning to what Baselworld would do. As we now know, they “postponed” the event, before completely cancelling it once Rolex and Patek Philippe decided they would no longer participate. The news did give us pause for thought, however, on the last time the T+T Team was in Geneva for (then) SIHH 2019, and some of the watches that were released last year. And it was a great year, especially at the more affordable end of the spectrum. So with that in mind, let’s take another look at four affordable options that are still as enticing as ever. As far as international watch fairs go, SIHH is great. If highly complex, mind-blowing timepieces are your jam, it’s the one for you. After all, it’s the Haute Horlogerie fair. But things get a touch trickier if you (like I suspect many of our readers) are…
Dress watches are the epitome of traditional horology. I know, sports watches are trendy and consume a large portion of the conversation – but there is something, whether tangible or intangible, that dress watches provide that a sports watch simply cannot and never will. They may not be your daily wearer, you certainly won’t take a dress watch to the beach. But for those crucial moments, whether a wedding or a job interview, the formal dress watch provides a certain kind of gentlemanly confidence boost that you just can’t find in professional tool watches. When I go out into the world as Zach Blass, I wear my Black Bay Fifty-Eight – but in those moments when I need to be Mr Zachary B. Blass, only a dress watch such as my Lange 1815 Up/Down 221.021 can truly elevate me to the task at hand. While they do not always get as much time in the spotlight as they deserve, let’s take a look at eight of the best dress watches of 2020 over $10K. Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept I have to confess I have a bit of a bias here, as once upon a time I did work for…
Editor’s note: Before you ask, yes we have a date. April 2, 2021. It ain’t exactly days away, but at least we know how long the advent calendar has to be. A fair bit of chocolate is the upside. We are happy to report that one of the largest entertainment-related casualties of the pandemic, the delay of Daniel Craig’s last outing as James Bond in No Time to Die, can at least have closure with a release date. The anticipation factor being this high not unusual. Bond films have been eagerly anticipated pieces of cinema for the last 50 years, causing great buzz and excitement when they are announced. For watch enthusiasts though, it doesn’t mean there is only a new movie to watch – it means a new Bond watch to lust and drool after. From Rolex, Seiko, Hamilton, and most recently Omega, actors who have taken on the role of 007 have always had some spectacular timepieces on their wrists. For the first time however, a Bond actor has actually had a role in the design of the watch worn in a film, with Daniel Craig playing an advisory role in creating the last watch he will wear as…
Earlier this week, we shared our thoughts on phrases we are completely guilty of using at times, but wondered if it would be best to retire them. We’re not declaring right or wrong here, but rather just initiating a bit of a thought experiment and evaluating what effect our cultural rhetoric (so to speak) has on our industry and collecting community. It is no secret that tastes have homogenised quite a bit, and a case could be made that our common vernacular is one of the roots of the problem. Arguably, it creates a code of buyer conduct – rules that dictate our purchase decisions and remove independent thought from the equation. Worse still, it engenders yet more snobbery in a pastime that already has a bad rep for being, for lack of a better phrase, up itself and not as inclusive as, say, model trains. We put the question to you, the readers, and now present #shitcollectorssay: the Reader Choice Edition. A quick note that some reader responses were purely words and phrases some find objectionable: “timepiece”, “in-house”, “lightplay” for example, and even overused adjectives such as “stunning”. Thanks to all for getting involved, and answering the call. Giving…
Yes, let me say it again, we love colours! I’ll shamelessly repeat the same statement from part 1 of this delightfully green story, this one coming to you from a more rough-and-ready angle. This story is still meant as an inspiration to move away from the quiet solitude of matt black dials and embrace a bright new world of everything from matte olive to bright apple green, so let’s take a look at a few more of the best green dial watches of 2020. Mood upswing guaranteed. Seiko Prospex “Captain Willard” SPB153J Yes! They did it. After the beautiful SLA033, an almost too beautiful rendition of the “Captain Willard” 6150 diver, of Apocalypse Now fame, Seiko has finally released a more affordable version. As expected, the black-dialled version (SBP151J) as nature intended, an everyday version with the solidity of the 6R35 movement. But wow, how much a little colour can do. Unlike the original black dial, the green dial on the SPB153J in a mossy olive green tint is a stroke of genius. The sharp indices pop against the fresh green stage, and that fresh red pop of the classic traffic light lollipop seconds always makes us smile. Go! Do…