Crazy Watch Bids Proves Sydney Airport’s Lost & Found Auction Is Horological Minefield

• A $435 Moonswatch is attracting bids of $1,400 at Sydney Airport’s annual lost property auction.
• Last year’s auction saw a clearly fake Audemars Piguet fetch over $10,000.
• The auction is packed with quirky finds and no authenticity guarantees.

Sydney Kingsford Smith’s lost property auction is back for 2025, and it’s just as weird and wonderful as ever. After a pandemic pause, the annual fire sale of confiscated and forgotten goods left at the airport has returned, offering everything from high-end liquor to hairdryers, power tools, and designer handbags.

But as usual, it’s the watches haul that’s causing the most chaos, duping people into making some risky bids.

This year’s standout isn’t a Rolex or even a fake Audemars Piguet. It’s Lot 2331: A Moonswatch, specifically the Mission to the Moon, currently sitting at $1,400 AUD. For those who don’t know, the OMEGA X Swatch MoonSwatch collection is a playful collaboration between the two timepiece powerhouses, offering watch enthusiasts a unique and playful daily wearer that doesn’t break the bank. But they’re certainly not worth $1,400.

Step into any Swatch boutique across the country and you’ll manage to snag yourself a model for just $435 AUD. And it’ll be new out of the box. But because it says “OMEGA” on the dial, people are bidding like it’s a legit Speedmaster.

If this were the real deal, $1,400 would be a bargain. But it’s not. It’s a clever collaboration, one we’ve always said we’re big fans of. But this collection doesn’t fall into the luxury category. Yet here it is, climbing toward the price of a respectable entry-level watch thanks to 27 hopeful bidders who either don’t know better or don’t care. I’d hate to be the last one with my hand up when the hammer drops.

It’s not the first time this auction has delivered a horological dud. Last year, a fake Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, complete with cracked mineral glass and a cheap quartz movement, attracted more than $10,000 worth of bids. At least this year’s watch is real… it’s just not what people think it is.

Theodore Bruce, the auction house running the event, does cover itself with disclaimers, offering prospective buyers any guarantees on authenticity, brand or value. But when bids start soaring on what’s essentially a $400 plastic watch, you have to wonder if a few warning signs aren’t enough.

The Sydney Airport auction remains a fun, chaotic, and very Aussie tradition. Just don’t expect to walk away with a grail watch. And if you’re spending four figures on a MoonSwatch, you’ve probably already lost.