There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
So I read the descriptions. One is a Little Old Lady from Pasadena story about buying the watch a couple of years ago from a famous Ginza jeweler (which is named, as well as the date of purchase). The watch was a gift for a family member, but was just too darned heavy and wasn't worn. She took it and had an extra hole punched in the band and wore it a bit, but now wants to sell it.
The other seller is a gentleman who bought it a couple of years ago from a famous Shibuya jeweler, also named. He loves it, but dang, he needs money for a new business venture. His photos are also just blurry enough to not see the watch as clearly as you'd like.
Each posting has the box, warranty, manual, etc. pictured. The stuff seems complete and legit looking, but each is different, with the documents being different in size, wording, etc. One had a document from the jewelery shop. So maybe it's not fake? Maybe it's an even more sophisticated con? They bought one or two real ones for the photos but ship you the fakes?
The auctions are from two different accounts, with no feedback. And the two auctions were posted 13 seconds apart. Very suspicious, except how do you even do that unless you have two windows open at the same time? And why wouldn't you stagger the auctions to avoid their being simultaneous?
At any rate, I've learned that it's probably a good idea to avoid buying watches at auction that are in demand or famous or expensive. Twenty dollar bills are counterfeited, but nobody counterfeits a nickle.