Once upon a time (circa 1962), a man (or woman) purchased a Heuer chronograph for around $100, and because he either wanted a chronograph with countdown / regatta function or liked the look of regatta watches, he had the minute recorder painted with the classic red / white / blue of the regatta timer. No big deal . . . just a man customizing his watch, to suit his taste. What the hell . . . it's just a watch!!

Once upon a time (circa 2017), a man (or woman) purchased a Heuer chronograph for around $70,000, and because he either wanted a chronograph with countdown / regatta function or liked the look of regatta watches, he had the minute recorder painted with the classic red / white / blue of the regatta timer. Oh My God . . . he did what?? That’s right, he took a $70,000 watch, and by putting red and blue paint on the dial, he destroyed the value of the watch.

Now (circa 2018) either of our friends offers the watch for sale and he receives the following offers – First, an offer of $15,000 from a guy who considers it to be a “parts watch”, comprised of a case, a movement, and a pair of hands. Second, an offer of $20,000 from a guy who would like to put the watch away, and hope to find a replacement dial for the watch. And guess what he doesn’t receive – an offer anywhere near the price that the watch would have fetched, had the previous owner left the dial alone.

Once upon a time, customizing this watch may have been no big deal at all . . . maybe like the guy who swapped out the engine on his Shelby GT. But today, in this crazy world of collecting, we have to see it differently.

What a shame . . .

Jeff