RPM interview with Elvio and Maria Piva from Tempus.

Today I like to share with you my interview from the in Italia, Padua based with RPM dealer Elvio & Maria Piva from Tempus. Many thanks again to Maria for putting it together! Below are their answer they gave to my questionary…

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# Which watch made your heart skip a beat during your worldwide search for vintage models?

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# Which vintage watch would you never sell?

# Which watch do you regret not having bought?
  • Many times, prices drive you out of the games, you think they are too high, and watches become impossible to reasonably re-sell , but then, months later, you regret not having bought those stunning pieces when you find yourself buying for the same price a piece that does not worth the value only because the market is moving too fast and we have to follow it. So, just an advice: don’t be too scared by the prices and buy if you feel it, no matter the price, the market will recover it soon!

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# Tell us your greatest vintage watch anecdote of your collecting history
# What was your most lucrative deal?
# How far did you go to get your hands on a particular vintage watch?
# Describe the perfect day for you as watch collector

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# Most collectors look for quality, age, uniqueness and complications. How do you calibrate the value of a vintage watch to avoid overpayment?
# Which features are your core collection criteria, year, model, style, complication, material or …?

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# Should a collector always strive for a 100% original vintage watch or are periodically correct but not- authentic-to-watch parts allowed?
# Which brand met/exceeded your expectations in terms of creating a true vintage watch identity? Which brand could have done better in terms of creating a true vintage watch identity?
# Which brand is the dark horse at the moment, having potential to gain collector’s interest in the near future?
# Which contemporary watch models have the potential to become the classics of tomorrow?
  • Lange & Sohne with their complications that for me are under estimated in price/quality relationship.
# Do you expect a shift in collecting vintage watches towards less rare models, given the high prices the extraordinary examples fetch at auctions?
  • No, the classics will remain the dominant part. Rarity is the fundamental of our luxurious research of the perfect watch. Collectors are looking for those little characteristics that make their watches unique. We are not going to lose uniqueness just to collapse in front of the too high market prices.

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# Do you think collecting vintage watches has become a bubble of ever increasing prices that will burst one day?
# The word passion is used frequently in the vintage watch community to mark a common driver to collect. Isn’t this word misused too often nowadays and collecting has become a cold hard cash business?

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# What is your view on the development of the increasing number fake vintage watches that are almost impossible to detect with only the eye?

# How would you compare vintage car collecting with vintage watch collecting? What are the differences and similarities?

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# The art world resembles a meritocracy where talent eventually is achieves the highest status. Do you see any similarities compared to the vintage watch world?

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# Two events are organized at the same time: a classic car fair displaying some of the rarest vintage cars out there and a vintage watch fair showing some of the most complicated watches ever made. Which event will you attend and why?
  • Well, that’s a tricky question… Most of the time the major complications are the ones represented by a new model of watches, and despite my fascination for those minute repeater watches or the hyper famous patek cal.89, they are too far from my pocket and too far from my interests, it’s the maximum point in which engineers meet watchmakers. I will be more confident in the vintage watch event, a world that is closest to mine.

# If you could travel back in time, who would you choose to have lunch with: Hans Wilsdorf or Antoni Patek & Adrien Philippe?

# What is your golden tip for novice collectors?

Maria Giovanna & Elvio Piva
Check the vintage Rolex for sale by following this link to their trusted RPM dealer page. 
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