How do you define a rare watch

citizenrich · Sep 3, 2018

Darlinboy
Exerpted from “Darlinboy’s Dictionary of Horological Terms”

rare1
rer/
adjective

primarily used by eBay (and other online and bricks and mortar) sellers of various stripes to sell their all-too-common run-of-the-mill over-polished re-dialed pieces of crap. For reference, there were 28000+ “rare” watches available on eBay at the time of this entry.
synonyms: POS, common as dirt, overpriced, frankened, put together, fake, counterfeit, dishonestly described

2. A polite descriptor used by me to compliment a fellow enthusiast’s relatively uncommon timepiece.
“Very nice! That’s a rare bird indeed”

3. (Archaic) Few were produced, top examples are extremely hard to find, and even if one were available you can’t afford it.

p.s. What the 🤬 is a “meat up”? Some kind of trendy/kinky NYC club-scene thing?😲

Lolzzzzz

kbk · Sep 4, 2018

for me these two are examples of rare....havent really seen other examples in these combos and have searched for similar in years, none for sale anywhere and none sold for years(from what I can find on the web)

kelev_ra · Sep 5, 2018

Definition of rare
rarer; rarest
1: seldom occurring or found : uncommon
2a : marked by unusual quality, merit, or appeal : distinctive
: superlative or extreme of its kind
3: marked by wide separation of component particles : thin

rare air

—
rareness
noun

This one is rare:
It's a Heuer Autavia Kenyan Airforce in it's original state... No polishing, no reluming, no whatever.
That in combination with the fact it has the 11630 dial and hands and a ghosted inlay.... ->

Makes it rare (if you look for Christie's auction LOT 50 you can read that Christie's guess is that there is only one other in the market worldwide...)
😀

Syrte · Sep 5, 2018

My definition is, if I haven’t seen more than one or two for sale in 4 years and have not seen more than a couple posted on Instagram then it’s rare.
Some people call « rare » an expensive watch that dozens of people own and show off-/ sorry but if dozens of people show off a similar watch on IG, it might be « expensive » but it’s not rare.

Draven · Sep 6, 2018

Gold Plated Seamaster Yachting, only ever seen 4, none in this condition.

divetime · Sep 6, 2018

my definition is a unique piece! for example a masterpiece to get a degree from watch maker school...

Technicum le Locle

Edward53 · Sep 6, 2018

None of the Seamaster Geneve range are exactly common. This is a cal. 601 in a 135.041 case. Try finding another! I've seen just two others (and I have looked extensively), neither of which had this dial configuration. Not very valuable but I define this as a very rare watch.

Fost · Sep 6, 2018

I will add a rare watch in my collection tonight ... and it is a Speedmaster ... so it has to be rare for me doIng that ..😁

Tet · Sep 6, 2018

Draven
Gold Plated Seamaster Yachting, only ever seen 4, none in this condition.

Stunning but I would be terrified to wear that being so perfect, imagine scratching the gold plate! 😲

ConElPueblo · Sep 6, 2018

I thought I was buying a pretty worn version of this:

Which is uncommon in its own right; ref. 5601.003 is a fantastic looking steel Certina DS with a dial also found on their earliest divers.

What I got was this:

...Which is an, until now I guess, unknown variety that's red gold plated with matching hands and markers! I've never seen or heard of this variant and I have yet to see another red gold plated DS, let alone an early type with a cal. 25-45. So a rare variety of an uncommon watch..!

Draven · Sep 6, 2018

Tet
Stunning but I would be terrified to wear that being so perfect, imagine scratching the gold plate! 😲

My feelings exactly, hence I have never worn it 🙁, I'm deciding whether to let it go for something I won't mind wearing ... shameless plug😗

Waltesefalcon · Sep 6, 2018

I would say that my rarest watch is an old John Forrest pocket watch from the 1870s, I'll have to dig it out and take some pictures. In general I'd say watches that were only made in small quantities would be rare, things like the Omega Centenary, or the IDF used Eterna Kon-Tikis, or of course anything that is made by hand by a watchmaker, e.g. anything made by George Daniels.

WatchVaultNYC · Sep 6, 2018

Syrte
My definition is, if I haven’t seen more than one or two for sale in 4 years and have not seen more than a couple posted on Instagram then it’s rare.

In my book, that's "unicorn" territory

Mouse_at_Large · Sep 6, 2018

I think I own a (relatively) rare Omega - the tachy rehaut Titane Chrono. As far as I can see, there was one sold on OF in 2014, none currently on Ebay and one on Chrono24, which is the best place to find these and the other less well known members of the Polaris family. And yes, I know - rare does not automatically equal valuable (though it is my most expensive purchase 😉 )

arcadelt · Sep 6, 2018

I have never landed on a definition of "rare" for watches that I am happy with; however, I have elements building to a definition.

One of those elements has to be an element of desirability. Some watches are made in the thousands, but they come up in limited quantities because they are tightly held, and when they do, they trade a prices well above their inherent value and are snapped up very quickly. Other watches are made in very small numbers, and despite the fact that they come up in limited quantities, they trade at discounted prices and may languish in the market for a while.

Dan S · Sep 6, 2018

arcadelt
I have never landed on a definition of "rare" for watches that I am happy with; however, I have elements building to a definition.

One of those elements has to be an element of desirability. Some watches are made in the thousands, but they come up in limited quantities because they are tightly held, and when they do, they trade a prices well above their inherent value and are snapped up very quickly. Other watches are made in very small numbers, and despite the fact that they come up in limited quantities, they trade at discounted prices and may languish in the market for a while.

In my view, rareness and desirability are two completely different, orthogonal properties. A rare watch can be desirable, or a rare watch can be undesirable. A desirable watch can be rare, or a desirable watch can be common. The properties are not connected. It's quite easy to think of examples of each one of these categories.

If a watch is both rare and desirable, then it is valuable! 😀

arcadelt · Sep 6, 2018

Dan S
In my view, rareness and desirability are two completely different, orthogonal properties. A rare watch can be desirable, or a rare watch can be undesirable. A desirable watch can be rare, or a desirable watch can be common. The properties are not connected. It's quite easy to think of examples of each one of these categories.

If a watch is both rare and desirable, then it is valuable! 😀

Fair enough. As I said, I have never landed on a definition I am happy with, so very willing to adjust. Of course, by your definition, some of those "rare" watches on eBay that some scoff at, are actually rare.

gostang9 · Jan 4, 2019

guaranteed.rohu
Rare is not always expensive, picked this original gold 1941 iwc for not too much!

Has anyone called DIBS yet? If not... DIBS DIBS DIBS!

budgewink · Jan 4, 2019

Something you've only ever seen a handful or less of before. I'm hoping to one day find a vintage piece I've only seen 3 examples of before, definitely rare.

How do you define a rare watch

citizenrich

kbk

kelev_ra

Syrte

Draven

divetime

Edward53

Fost

Tet

ConElPueblo

Draven

Waltesefalcon

WatchVaultNYC

Mouse_at_Large

arcadelt

Dan S

arcadelt

gostang9

budgewink

Similar threads

A rare watch, and even more rare provenance (vintage Longines content)...

Is this a rare watch box ?

Not a rare watch, but a rare event to watch :-)

Another Pawn Star thinks he's Got a Rare Watch

While hunting for a rare watch, do you buy a placeholder?