The Wall Street Journal Looks Behind The Curtain At Antiquorum

The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating piece on the world of watch collecting and in specific the Antiquorum auctions. I've covered these auctions a lot here on Luxist, they feature some of the most expensive and impressive collectibles from names like Rolex, Omega, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. As the Journal reports, the watch makers themselves are often the buyers of the watches, buying back older pieces at exorbitant prices to set the prices of collectibles. The co-founder of Antiquorum, Osvaldo Patrizzi, shown here, is quoted in the article as saying that auctions are much stronger than advertising when it comes to promoting a brand. Patrizzi's view is controversial and raises some ethical questions about whether this is price fixing. In fact, Patrizzi is no longer chairman and chief exec of Antiquorum. He was booted a couple of months ago and Antiquorum is currently going over their books. Patrizzi's ouster is not said to be connected to the single-brand auctions.

Watchmakers do often buy back certain watches for their archives much as certain jewelers do with rare pieces they want to hold on to but in the case of Omega it seems that something more might be going on. Omega was seeking to restore its reputation for fine mechanical watches after years of making quartz timepieces. Turning to Antiquorum was part of a multi-tiered campaign that included celebrity spokespeople. Patrizzi thought an Omega-only auction could help give the brand new cachet. One interesting detail though, Antiquorum couldn't vouch for the authenticity of watches that are mass-produced so Omega agreed to guarantee the authenticity of all watches sold at the auction and supplied vintage timepieces from its own collection for the sale. The sale, which was promoted in 11 cities, brought in $5.5 million last April, of 300 lots, Patrizzi says Omega bid on around 80. Did this artificially inflate the prices on some lots? That's the major concern.

Price fixing allegations on collectibles are nothing new. Perhaps the most dramatic example is the Sotheby's-Christies auction house scandal memorably detailed in The Art of the Steal by Christopher Mason. In the world of collectibles where value is determined by what people will pay, greed often takes over.