WA1216 377.508
For a long time now my wife has been wanting to get hold of a black/pink Formula 1 (377.508) but every time I would find one either the bezel was damaged or the pink hands were faded almost white, or both. So when my regular Japanese eBay supplier listed this one she was very interested indeed. Similarly I've been after a black/yellow Formula 1 ever since my wife got hers back in April... and as luck would have it the same seller also listed this WA1216 for sale ending almost simultaneously.
Thankfully both these auctions were timed to end during waking hours here in the UK and so I was able to do my usual trick of swooping in at the end; which was a little more nerve wracking this time as both of these watches already had bids placed on them, although as it turned out only slightly more than the opening bid price. As usual the pieces arrived pretty promptly, wrapped in some sort of bizarre money belt thing... I guess it makes a change from the camera pouches I've received previously.
The ladies 377.508 was £183 and the men's WA1216 was £154 plus £25 carriage, which is pretty reasonable considering a) the condition and b) the usually inflated prices asked in the UK. For example, I would also like a black/pink model (the larger 34mm size though, obviously) and there is one for sale in the UK presently, but I can't really bring myself to pay £300 for it. But then again it is in good condition and to be fair it's probably the best one I've ever seen in the UK, but I know if I bought it then no doubt one would show up in Japan for half the price within a week...
So no, I won't be doing that... well, I'm pretty sure I won't be doing that. Let's hope someone else buys it sooner rather than later and I don't have to think about it anymore!
Unfortunately these photos don't really do these watches justice. The pink is very vibrant despite looking a little muted here, and the yellow is also pretty bright (though not quite as bright as my wife's watch I don't think, that one is really 'acidic') and both are in excellent condition.
It seems like every time I try to take a picture of the yellow model outside it bleaches out and no amount of colour bias can bring it back. Which is a shame because this is a decent picture, except it looks like the whole damned this is rendered in white!
It still surprises me how often I pick a classic F1 up to wear, I would say I wear one at least every third day, and that is probably a conservative estimate. They are so endearing and easy to wear, which is probably why my classic F1 collection is now into double figures...
I was looking at a 1991 price list yesterday and I noted that all the Formula 1 pieces of this era were one price, regardless of size or case material: £79. According to 'Inflationtool.com', £79 in 1991 is worth about £150 in today's money, so while these haven't gained much over time they certainly haven't lost anything and bear in mind that these are Japanese bargain prices!
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