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Did anyone notice that a Vacheron Constantin 222 Jumbo was up for sale at Sotherby’s New York this evening? Starting price $7,555, estimate $10-15k, sold for... $43,750. Gulp. Guess that’s the end of that fantasy then. Probably should have bought one back when I thought they were a bit too expensive a few years ago. Or was that Bitcoins? Seems to be happening all over at the moment...
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/...4_21-nov-2017#
Heaven knows what the square ones will start going for
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0c6c8c83fb.jpg
That square one is lovely, shame someone has butchered the right hand hex heads.Quote:
Originally Posted by Der Amf
Actually the square one is probably the only one you could still get for a half way ‘reasonable’ price (relatively speaking obviously), they never really caught on. And even the solid gold ones are cheaper than the stainless steel. The 34mm ones are also a lot cheaper, but they’re never going to be as wearable as the jumbo. At least my partner is happy with the ladies model I found for her on eBay a few years back!
BTW, they weren’t actually designed by Genta apparently, though they certainly form part of the 70s Nautilus / Royal Oak / Ingy genre, to which we could also add the Genta designed Rolex ‘texan’, which was the basis of the Oysterquartz.
Cool yes they were, 'jumbo' no they weren't. I had a s/g one and was so underwhelmed it lasted about a month before I sold it (at a small loss).
I remember spare links were impossible to source for the steel or s/g models and I ended up buying two 18ct yellow gold ones..the bracelet btw sticks in my memory as the worst wrist hair ripper outerer of all time!
The round ones were always hard to find though as VC itself had little brand presence in the UK ( always saw more -although few and far between- of the square cased models which resulted in very poor prices s/h in the 80"s and 90's.
It's good to see them doing well at auction as they are rare and funky beasts but 'jumbo' compared to the other Genta designs for AP. iWC and Patek ? Hardly.
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True, at 37mm they are only slightly larger than the similarly proportioned (though less thin) Oysterquartz, or the smaller sized 14790ST version of the Royal Oak - though for me that’s a great size for a watch that’s on the smarter side of sports watches. I find an Oysterquartz wears really well and as the bracelet is very much part of the watch, I’ve never wanted it to be larger, and I imagine the same would apply to the 222.Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe.K
For the sake of adding some pictures to this, here’s the watch in question and a (plastic wrapped) gold 222 in comparison with the Oysterquartz.
https://i.imgur.com/42UGkzP.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/m3YtbB3.jpg
The smaller 34mm version is recognisable due to the second hand. Maybe it’s a bargain considering prices of the Jumbo, but I doubt you’d ever stop wishing it was the 37mm.
https://i.imgur.com/MjIRsmX.jpg
The real bargain is the ladies model, which is tiny, and quartz, but very elegant:
https://i.imgur.com/xgDwggH.jpg
The ladies was (and still imho is) a bonkers bargain. I found an NOS s/g one for £1200 (can't remember when but in the last 3/4 years) and the Mrs didn't like it 😱
I really should have bought it anyway but once aspersions had been cast I just lost the enthusiasm needed for buying yet another safe dweller: A not comprehensive list list of watches bought for swmbo but never worn -she is a datejust bird through and through and eventually sold; AP Royal Oak (tantalum)!, Patek Monte Carlo 40mm model (special edition), iwc ocean500 and there's more, I must be barking.
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