Carrera's achieving higher and higher prices..

CajunTiger

The last 4 sales of the NST have been in the $14,000 to $17,000 range. The last one listed on OTD sold in 2 days for $17k. Before that I know of at least two that both sold over $14k pretty much immediately after offered. When you consider the very similar and more common Rolex Daytona starts at $30k...I don't think we have reached the top end just yet.
The one on Ebay looks to be in exceptional condition...one on the cleanest examples that has shown up recently.

Several hours before this sale a 3646 sold for $8500...they were selling for $3500 just 2 months ago...crazy times for sure.

D.C

These are the ones to pick up- pre Carrera series with the Valjoux 72 and many of the design elements of the Autavia (photo source). Usually in the mid $3000s, although rising


Only problem is that this series doesn't have a name..reference numbers only, so harder for collectors

gophishin

I can certainly appreciate these pre-carrera like models and the heritage they bring, and I would certainly be interested in owning one, but they just lack that certain intangible wow factor the 60s models have, at least to me. I don't know if it's the details, finishing, or refinement, but there is something about the 60s Carreras that had me entranced the first time I saw them, and keep my staring at my wrist even after I own one.

dsio

If you lined up those three chronographs in front of a woman, not a man who's heard about the Daytona and knows how much they cost, and ask her which she likes the most, the Rolex will be bottom of the barrel every time.

dsio

I've said this somewhere else but I'll say it again, the 20k range Daytonas are generally polished and pretty shagged out, they don't hold up as well due to the bezel either, and the bezel makes them wear a lot smaller than they should.

Even in 30k range from dealers there's a lot of junk floating around, but really when you separate the hype and Paul Newman ownership, its not a great watch, its small, its lugs are boring and unattractive, and its expensive due to speculators and people jumping on the bandwagon.

Speedmasters were undervalued as hell a few years ago, especially Cal 321s and are now shooting up, with nice 2998s on par with most of those lower end Daytonas now and Christies are even doing a dedicated Speedmaster auction soon. The Speedmaster is a better watch, its bigger, its more contemporary, and its more interesting, it has a history beyond a movie star and dealer hype.

The Carrera is in the same category as the Speedmaster, it wears bigger, it feels more clean and contemporary, its lugs make it far more interesting and attractive, and its still undervalued, such that if market forces were taken out of the equation and the two were priced similarly I'd take the Carrera in a heartbeat.

There's a reason these Daytonas sat on shelves collecting dust at ADs for below retail before the collector market for them took off decades later, there were many better chronographs out there.

If you lined up those three chronographs in front of a woman, not a man who's heard about the Daytona and knows how much they cost, and ask her which she likes the most, the Rolex will be bottom of the barrel every time.

CajunTiger

I think partially because the Monaco was already priced higher than its brothers due to the Paul Newman effect...combined with its unique shape, which to a certain extent limits its demand- the Carreras and Autavias were just under the radar until recently.

As Rolex and other brands have increased in values beyond the reach of many collectors, they have sought out alternatives...Heuer was a natural due to its heritage and relationship with racing...not to mention the similarity of the movements. Suddenly it became desirable to many collectors overnight.