Oct 17, 2009 10:37 pm US/Central
Some Hecker Watches On Auction Block Are Fakes
NEW GERMANY, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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Denny Hecker's lawyer said that yes, according to his client, some of the watches are real and some are replicas.
CBS
The auction of Denny Hecker items was scheduled for Monday with more time for inspections of the items.
There was art, golf clubs and many watches. Some people had already made bids online. But experts warned that some of the watches were fakes.
Jim Nash is a watch aficionado, so his interest was piqued when he saw that high-end watches were part of the Denny Hecker lot up for auction.
"When we got there we began looking at a lot of the different watches, and immediately bells began going off in my head," said Nash.
So Nash jotted down serial numbers and called some of the watch manufacturers directly, including Hublot, whose authentic watches average $17,000.
"There's two of my watches in the auction. One of them is 100 percent fake, not a question about it," said Hublot Sales Manager Michael Margolis.
Denny Hecker's lawyer said that yes, according to his client, some of the watches are real and some are replicas. Some are appraised for few hundred dollars while others are worth a lot of money.
The owner of the auction house handling the Hecker items,
Fred W. Radde & Sons, Inc., did not want to go on camera, but didn't deny that some of the watches are replicas.
Fred Radde of the auction house said that any auction sale is "buyer beware" because people are buying as-is and not paying retail. That's why there's inspection time.
"People are going to be going out to that auction house with the assumption that those watches that they may be buying are legitimate, high-end expensive watches. To not point out that these are not authentic watches I think is dishonest," said Nash.
There was also the question of trademark infringement and copyright violations.
Watches weren't the only things up for auction:
More Of Denny Hecker's Items Up For Auction
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