A few months ago when I was searching for a TAG Heuer Pilot watch I came across a website called 'Watches of Lancashire' which has a good selection of very high quality TAGs (sadly also at very high quality prices...), and one of the watches they have right now is a WL5114 copper faced Kirium chronometer, just like this one - which is for sale (with a two year warranty) for £800.
Watches of Lancashire's WL5114-0
However, I found the same watch (albeit in a somewhat less immaculate condition) on eBay the other day and watched it up until the auction came to an end. When I first found the watch it was bidding at £328 and I thought if I could get it for say £360-370, then it would be a nice addition to my collection. True, I've already got two Kiriums, but the copper dial is pretty unusual and the seller claimed the watch was keeping excellent time.
I really love the Kirium range, I think they are a seriously under-rated watch and when I went to the TAG museum last month, the curator (Paul) told me that he is sure they are going to go up in value soon. I didn't quite catch why he was so sure about that, I don't think they are about to re-issue the Kirium or anything like that, but he definitely suggested that something was afoot - so we shall see.
As the auction neared it's end I had to look at the watch objectively and decide if I was going to put in a serious bid or not, and if so - at what level. Sadly I don't have a limitless budget, and I really am determined to get an S/EL into my collection before the year is out - so I didn't want to go too heavy on this and undermine my budget for that, but at the same time I was quite tempted.
The copper dial is very cool and quite unusual. I say 'unusual' rather than 'rare' because it's not like you can't find one of these to purchase if you really want one (unlike any number of S/ELs which you can't even find a photograph of!), indeed even while this auction was concluding I spotted another example listed with an opening asking price of £500.
I notice the date window has the same issue as the white dial one I tried to buy last month as well, where you can see the edge of the date wheel. At the time I thought that was some sort of problem with that watch but now that I've noticed it I've been looking for it and I see it on quite a lot of Kiriums, which is unfortunate as it looks a bit rubbish to be honest.
As usual when I look at watches on eBay the first thing I did was try to ascertain the size of the case, but this proved slightly frustrating (as it often does). For example, Watchfinder have this watch listed twice on their site, once as a 36mm and once as a 38mm... I am assuming it's actually the standard 37mm size, but I actually hoped it might be a 39mm seeing that it contains an automatic movement.
In the final hour of the auction the bids started to come in and with half an hour to go it was up to £360, so I pretty much knew getting it for £370 was unlikely. I started to waver slightly and typed in a figure of £417.23, waiting until the last minute to place my bid... maybe. The minutes ticked down and the price went up again to £398. My finger hovered over the keyboard, did I really want it - or not?
In the end my finger stayed hovering, but it was to prove academic anyway. At the last second the price went up to £418, and that is where it finished, just 77p above my proposed bid. But of course, you never know how much further I might have had to go - the other bidder could have put a bid of £700 for all we know...
Ultimately I wasn't that disappointed, I think I liked the fact that it was 'different' and 'unusual', but I'm not sure I was really 'in love' with it - if you know what I mean. I have a feeling I might have regretted the purchase later, or maybe it looks even better on the wrist and it would have become my new favourite watch? There's always an element of gambling when you buy watches unseen after all.
I notice there's also a gold bezel Kirium on Watches of Lancashire's site, it's pretty gorgeous (and 39mm according to the listing) - but at £850 I think it's just a bit over the top really. Still you can't fault the condition of their watches - well worth a look for sure, but the prices are hardcore. I guess you get what you pay for at the end of the day, if you want mint condition and a two year warranty then maybe it's worth the coin?
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