CAZ101AY.FC6591
A few weeks ago I got an email from a guy who told me that he was an ex employee of the Red Bull Formula1 Racing Team, he said he wasn't a watch enthusiast but he had received one of the 'Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing Champions' watches and in researching what it might be worth he had discovered my blog and found it interesting reading my thoughts on his watch.
He said he had listed the watch on eBay for £3600, but perhaps unsurprisingly it did not sell and it was later relisted with a starting bid of £1025 and a buy it now price of £2800. Being that he wasn't into watches I tried to give him the best advice I could, but with a watch like this it's quite hard to advise on what he should expect because it's so difficult to assess.
First of all, who is likely to buy this watch? To me it's clear that it's probably more for a huge Max Verstappen fan than it is for a 'watch enthusiast'... much like the Alec Monopoly Formula 1s were, but this can work for and against you. A watch enthusiast is more likely to to be willing to pay 'thousands' for a wristwatch than a F1 fan who isn't really interested in wristwatches, but watch enthusiasts tend to be more invested in automatics than quartz pieces and with that rather clunky bezel this watch isn't exactly the best looking Formula 1 ever made either is it?
The original 'Alec Monopoly' Formula 1 Quartz - limited to 200pcs
There were only 1257 pieces of this watch produced, and it was only given to staff at the Red Bull factories so it's actually not that limited really when you compare it to something like the green Monaco (600pcs). But I imagine most of the people who own them (at least the ones who aren't really interested in them as watches) are sitting on them and probably feel they can't really sell while they still work at Red Bull. So I imagine there's very few available at any one time since people will probably only part with them as and when they feel they no longer have to answer awkward questions about their 'special' watch from their employer.
I wonder if Adrian Newey eBayed his? 🤣
My contact told me his watch has never been out of the box and never even had the movement stopper removed, which makes me wonder how many other watches will come to market in the future having never been used and potentially containing leaky batteries... at least at the moment that shouldn't be a problem since the watches were only presented a couple of years ago.
But how do you actually value a watch like this? Well, it's difficult for sure, but we now know that the watch in question eventually sold for £2046, which ironically is about £200 less than the 'Red Bull' Special Edition it is based on. I imagine the seller was a little disappointed with that, given he was originally hoping for £3600, but it just goes to show how difficult it is to value oddball watches and that just because something is 'limited' and comes in special packaging, it doesn't necessarily mean very much at all.
On the other hand, I could see this holding it's value better than the standard model, since straight out of the box that will instantly lose 30% of it's value. So maybe in the long run this could be a better bet... and you would imagine it will always have a certain appeal, as long as you can find a buyer. It probably depends on how Max's career plays out and how he's perceived in the future. After all, Vettel won 4 WDCs in a row, but his legacy doesn't seem very strong... but that could be different in Germany of course.
My gut feeling is that Max will have a more lasting impact on Formula 1 than Sebastian, as F1 fans seem to enjoy deifying drivers who they don't really 'like' but have to begrudgingly admit are 'the best' of the lot. And let's not forget that it was Max who finally deposed the most successful driver of all time, albeit with some help from Michael Masi... and sure Max might yet pull off the greatest comeback drive in history this year, but to beat two drivers who are probably no better than many others in poorer machinery.
So it remains to be seen whether Verstappen is the next name added to the list of true 'greats', or whether his success will be fleeting and we won't really know that until he's not in the sport anymore, because simply winning titles isn't enough to make you a 'legend'. I think Max has pretty much proved he is in a league of his own but we have to remember that there are two much rarer Max Verstappen Formula 1s that came out nearer to the beginning of his career, and I think those will always fetch a much higher price.
