Dr No
[Moderator Omega - Wristscan]
37614
In late '85 I ran across a guy who had just simultaneously parked his '63 Pontiac Catalina convertible . . .
. . . in my favorite breakfast joint's lot. White, intact, wholly original. Even then it was special, and I was aware of its scarceness.
I struck up a conversation with the driver.
"Nice Poncho," said I. "Mind if I take a look at it?"
He eyed me warily, then said, "Yeah, sure."
I walked around to the front. On the fender was this badge:
I gulped. The engine under the hood . . .
. . . was a Pontiac 421 Super Duty. The baddest ever from GM. He had no inkling.
I asked how he came to own the car. He said he'd just bought it a few weeks prior from a gentleman in South Central LA for $2000. (That was a lot of money back then for a twenty year old car.)
I popped the question: "Would you take $2500?"
He paused for a moment before agreeing. He gave me his phone number.
You know what happened: I never called. I was on my way for an extended overseas trip so I'd have to store it, which would've cost a few hundred dollars a month. I figured I'd call him when I returned.
Of course, I lost his number.
A few years later I was at a newsstand and saw an issue of a Pontiac magazine that featured an article on 421 Super Duty's. At the end of the write-up was a list of 421 SD production.
The rarest? '63 Catalina convertibles. A grand total of two.
So when one of two platinum Constellations comes up for auction, you know which I'd rather have over a fistful of other delectables.
Phillips Auction - What I looked at during the preview
The headline was F.P.Journe and FFC, and there were some other fantastic lots from Journe on sale too. As per other posts on this, the results were phenomenal for the Journe lots. But there was also 100+ other watches to see and bid on. From modern indies...
Platinum Grand Luxe with matching bracelet. The stuff . . .
. . . dreams . . . . . . are made of. 😴
Apparently the Grand Luxe didn't meet reserve. And, it . . .
. . . wasn't the same example as the one auctioned at OmegaMania for 417K Swiss francs. It was its twin . . . both pieces commissioned by the Kuwaiti Royal family in the late '50s.
In late '85 I ran across a guy who had just simultaneously parked his '63 Pontiac Catalina convertible . . .
. . . in my favorite breakfast joint's lot. White, intact, wholly original. Even then it was special, and I was aware of its scarceness. I struck up a conversation with the driver. "Nice Poncho," said I. "Mind if I take a look at it?" He eyed me warily, t...
That IWC is gorgeous. Again, something I didn’t realize they historically would have produced.
Looks like all the pieces you mentioned performed very well. I wonder if that was the expectation for that AP, also a unique beauty.
Thank you so much for sharing, Jay.
The IWC and the Connie really speak to me. Best, Emmanuel
Now that I think about it, the platinum Constellation Gran Lux . . .
. . . might be the very same as the one auctioned at OmegaMania eighteen years ago. A comparison of the two hammers will be interesting. [Note: not the same example, but its solitary twin, both commissioned by the Kuwaiti Royal family in the late '50s.]