After Sotheby’s, I made a quick stop at Antiquorum’s offices for a preview, which felt more like that flea market than the perfectly staged previews at the other houses. I handled and photographed all the top lots completely unattended, scaring only myself as I tried to figure out how the hell to keep the Patek “Chameleon” upright for photographs. It ended up as the top lot of the sale, selling for CHF 387,500 (again: we want the crazy stuff!). A truly new-old-stock 6263 followed at CHF 312,500 – again, condition is everything. At the preview, I sat next to a large table of The Italians, who seemed to judge mostly by feel, picking up a watch, running a few fingers over it, then gesturing emphatically at each other about whether or not the watch had “a soul.” As I waited for that table to finish viewing a few watches on my list, the viewing assistant remarked not to worry because “they’re fast,” seeming to understand the same as me: these guys make up their minds quickly, based on some sort of gut feeling built up over the years, for better or worse. I’m still building up that intestinal fortitude.