It's not clear if you were interested in bidding on this Luger. The last time I checked it was at $931 and I thought that was a good [buyers] price. It's up to $1450 now with 10 minutes left. That's a bit on the high side I think, but not outrageous. I've done some re-barrels and made two and even three piece barrels, and they all turned out well. The straw and bluing look good on this Luger - I wouldn't have minded owning it.
I think the corporate entities you referred to used silver-soldering or even brazing rather than actual welding.
Edit: $1450 was hammer price, 30 bids, but only 11 bidders and only 2 from $1200 on.
I hope the new owner brings it here for comment. It's an interesting conversion.