String of solid gold Pulsars on eBay

[bruce wegmann]

Has anyone else noticed the incredible run of solid gold Pulsars on eBay? Since Nov. 25, no less than seven [four in 18K] SG Pulsars have shown up our favorite auction site, all from different sellers! Three 18K calculators, a P1, a 14K PRM...fantastic rarities, all appearing in a mere two weeks. A probability wave, propagating across the universe, the wave function collapsing here...? I wouldn't presume to estimate the odds against such an occurance; in all the years I have been watching eBay, I have never seen anything approaching the like...

[Diginut]

Sure have ! As an observer, its fascinating to see all these previously little known rarities appear.

But Bruce, isnt there a possibility that becuase certain people are paying heavy prices then this encourages other owners of rare pulsars to try their luck, and sure enough the various buyers cant resist, out come the snippers and up go the prices to record levels !

Me, I'm waiting for an 18Kt P2 and an 18kt Executive, both with solid links off course ...

... best if I make my own though, as I dont think they exist ... !


(unless you know otherwise, in which case, I welcome PM's !!!!!)

[retroleds]

It was a statistical rarity, but consider: Usick's was one he had tried to sell(unsuccessfully)6-7 months ago. Now he dropped the price and finally sold it. The solid P1 - those people had been trying to sell that about 15 months ago, but they started out thinking they could get $20k, when it apparently had some nasty gouge in it, which they since had "laser welded: in 18k. Hmmm. I think Bruce is right about the other calc - the owner thought they would take a shot at making a great sale. The Pulse - some collector passed away and his estate is being sold off....have you seen what the seller is getting for some of his ink pens?

My bids on the Pulse were strictly for fun - I knew the seller had received solicitations to sell for considerably more than I was willing to pay for it.

I could help you out with both those watches, if solid 14k is good enough. Any thoughts on the value of a solid 18k Date II?

[digibloke]

The thing I found most amazing about that P1 was that they didn't bother to get battery spacers to test it. Saying that it lit up with 0:00 with the wrong size batteries was a bit rubbish really. Can you imagine anyone selling a vintage Rolex Daytona and saying that they've given it a quick shake and it runs a bit but they can't be bothered to test it properly...

That P3 pulse was just

[bruce wegmann]

Legend has it that Time Computer made at least one sample in 18K of every model they produced [I have heard this from more than one source that would have been in a position to know]. That means, theoretically at least, that there could be such a thing as an 18K P2, or Classic, or Big Time, or Mens' Sport. According to Pulsar documentation, there could also be such anomalies as 14K P1s and Calculators. Since none of these are known, it cannot be known with certainty if any were produced, or if so, the few that were, could have met the same fate as the majority of other SG Pulsars...scrapped for melt and consigned to the crucible and oblivion [I will no longer debate the question of whether gold Pulsars were scrapped in the mass-meltings of 1980, when gold spiked at $850/oz...believe me, it happened; the 18K Euro Calculator recently on eBay, only the eighth known specimen of that model, narrowly escaped that fate just weeks ago...I have talked to the seller, and it was a frightening story...I am convinced that, even now, the occasional SG Pulsar goes to the scrapheap, because the finder perceived it to have no value beyond the metal content]. BTW, the 18K Executive does exist [hollow links only]; the only known four specimens were from the New York hoard and have found homes in permanent collections. And Uli's $10K calculator sold for $9500, somebody made the offer and he accepted. The 14K PRM went cheap because two bidders relied on sniper programs; had electronic processing not delayed registering the bids beyond the auctions' end [another reason I like my own finger on the "confirm" button; no better way to get the timing right], this watch would have gone way past $12K...well into P1 territory.

[retroleds]

I'd agree that some solid gold items go to the scrap barrel today...
Recently, a forum member here got a 14k P2 in a lot. The seller just though there was some issue with a person not soldering the botton cap on properly on the inside, which meant the module wouldn't fit in. It was sent to me and I found it had major problems which made it unreasonable to repair. Someone had apparently dashed it hard against something equally hard; possibly, it was intentionally struch with a hammer!! Nasty bump right between the "r" of Pulsar and the button, about 45 degrees toward the side, from the face. All of this crumpled in the button hole. The watch had horrible glass and no band, and had a plethora of other scratches and gouges, including across the case logo.

Scrapping it was the merciful thing to do.

[Diginut]

I remember the 1980 extreme peek in gold, silver and other metals, becuase my neighbour at the time worked for a giant photographic medium producer, and they almost went out of business due to the amount of silver used in the production of films. Apparently, management did discuss halting photofilm development to sell recovered silver and the money that could be had at the time !

Bruce mentions $850g/Oz in 1980, yet only recently Gold has soared to that same point. I wonder if there is a marginal interest in solid gold watches from people interested in their scrap value ??! Maybe theres a flight into gold right now due to the impending stock market crunch ...

This means all my 18kt pulsars, weighting in at up to 175g's or so, that could potentially be worth $6,000 in gold (ignorring the 18k vs 24kt argument).

Hmmm, tempting

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- There are ten types of people in the world:- those that understand binary, and those that dont ! -

.

[The Time Computer]

Legend has it

“Legend has it” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend

As Ronald Reagan use to say . . . “ Well, . .Here We Go Again! ”

If I posted all the “Legends” on the oldpulsars.com website there would be little room for fact.

This “Melting” rumor has been kicked around every time somebody buys a rare 18k Pulsar. It’s a way to make them feel and make others believe the watch is oh-so-rare and to justify the lack of funds in their savings account. Maybe that is why this thread was started now, not a week ago or a week from now! There are at least ten of those standard 18k Euro Calculators out there so they are just not as rare as you think. The rare ones are the Tiffany & Co models, only 2 exist, but more will turn up. I can remember when there were only 6 P1s, now there are well over 50.

Bruce, I realize you don’t wish to debate this but a debate my friend is two or more parties sitting around giving “Opinions”, not discussing “Fact”. Fact is offered with something to back it up other than opinion. Another thing not mentioned is as everyone knows, 18k is not pure gold. The true value is 75% x $850 = $638.00 minus the melting and dealer fee . . . . Maybe $600 per ounce. So, an owner of a P1 would sell it for what he paid for it . . . doesn’t make sense to me, but according to “Legend”, anything is possible in the eyes of the believer!

Honestly, do you really think all those folks who could afford an 18k Pulsar needed to run down to the melting pot so they could make rent? A more logical opinion is that the very few watches that were left behind by the dead and the ones that fell victim to the thieves made it to the pot. The early “Legend” came from the factual story. . . . that many of the P1 cases were defective due to an improper “Pulsar” logo stamp. Yes, these cases were melted down but only for the gold to re mold them, not to put any money in anyone’s hands. Like a joke that makes it around the world, it changes every time it changes hands only to be some altered version in the end!

As for “All models made in 18k” . . . this was an early assessment coming from some of my early research. Turns out, that is only partially true. My friend John Bergey mentioned this years ago but he will admit, he can’t possibly remember how everything was back then. I am the only collector who had access to the king of Pulsar knowledge, the late Jean Wuischpard. There is absolutely no person on this planet that knew more about the watch itself than Jean. He was at the helm of design and had impeccable records to fall back on. I have spent many hours over many years sitting across from this great man. I have discussed most every question I could come up with including many questions gathered from collector friends from around the world. I always contacted other collectors before I visited Jean so I could get a total perspective. My goal has always been to get the total truth, not the “Legend” of the story.

As for Solid Gold models, there are no 14k P1s, I have every version including all the P1 prototype watches made. There there is no 14k gold version and none made according to my sources.

There are a few 18k P2s out there, if you had joined the www.oldpulsars.com forum you would know this. You’re welcome to join in, there’s a lot of facts over there, just follow the rules. Over on my forum, the infamous John Fox has pulled out his pry bar on many of these subjects, again, have a look!

There was an 18k Classic available but no evidence at all of a SG BigTime. There is one report of a 14k Calculator but no physical evidence of it as of yet (just Legend).

There are many models, including the Sport that were NEVER made in 14k or 18k gold. I have 19 Pulsar prototypes, one being a gold-filled Sport, no SG was ever made according to Jean. And as for believing, I will put my money on what Jean has told me, not some legend!

[azimuth_pl]

Great story :)

could any of you post the auction numbers of those gold Pulsars?

btw. do you remember the empty P1 box approx in November that sold for 2000$? well, I contacted the owner so he could correct the description which was poor and I also asked about the watch itself.
he told me that his father melted his nonworking P1 in the beginning of the 1980s together with two Omegas and a Patek !!!!!
I guess some people literally clean their drawers of "junk" that they no longer use