The irony of Speedy price increases...

M'Bob · Apr 4, 2015

I'm always surprised when Omega collectors are shocked at the rapid price increases of both whole cal. 321 Speedmasters and their respective parts.

The vintage Rolex Daytona and pre-Daytona iterations, arguably the Speedmaster's nearest collecting competitor, has been around $28,000-$35,000 for quite a while now, with no signs of dropping anytime soon.

The cal. 321 is at least as good as the Val. 72, and the Speedmaster has probably a better history, and comparable if not superior aesthetics to the Rolex.

So why are die-hard Omegaphiles, who appreciate the brand more than anyone, surprised when the high-quality pieces they've been attracted to are skyrocketing in price? I'm surprised it took so long. There's a big financial divide between your $10k Ed White, and a $28,000 6238. So if you think prices are high now, just wait. I, for one, see parity down the road, or at least close to it.

M'Bob

ock2915 · Apr 4, 2015

Well written M'Bob , yours are exactly my thoughts 👍

dsio · Apr 4, 2015

Just need to convince all the vintage Rolex guys to buy Hamiltons instead

richardew · Apr 4, 2015

When Ed White's hit $10,000, it might be time to sell! The problem is that I'm a collector/buyer and haven't sold a watch yet. Can't part with any of them.

Fritz · Apr 4, 2015

dsio
Just need to convince all the vintage Rolex guys to buy Hamiltons instead

What! and drive the of Hamiltons up..... naw, leave the Rolex guys to they're overpriced toys.

proximal · Apr 4, 2015

Those vintage Daytonas are the mystical combination of Rolex and rare.

I think that in a watch collecting context, the Submariner is probably closer to the Speedmaster. Both have historical significance and were produced in relatively large numbers. Of course they will go up in value due to increase in demand, but not quite to the insanity levels of the Daytona.

bazamu · Apr 4, 2015

^ Agree with the above. I think straight lugs will continue to appreciate in the near future, though not to Daytona-type levels (with the exception of 2915's). Wouldn't be surprised to see good examples of 105.003's surpassing $9-10K in the market with regularity in the future though. The price gap between 105.003's and the other straight lugs was especially pronounced up until recently and was bound to correct itself eventually, IMO, especially as the best, all-original examples are snatched up.

Drawarms · Apr 4, 2015

Rob, you hit the nail on the head. Rolex will price out lots of collectors and people will start turning to other brands/models for alternatives.

CajunTiger · Apr 4, 2015

I don't know the exact numbers, but the 60's and 70's Daytonas were produced in much smaller numbers than the Speedster which would account for some of the price difference...obviously not even close to all of it. The 6262 for example was only made for 1 year with about 1600 produced and they are commonly found under 25k. Personally I find the Daytona a far better looking watch than the Speedmaster, but thats just my opinion. There are also far more variations in dial types in the Daytona line.

ulackfocus · Apr 4, 2015

Is there really such a thing as a "rare" Rolex? They've always made fairly large quantities of each reference.

MSNWatch · Apr 4, 2015

The speedmaster numbers are relatively low and for the 2915 and 2998 models come to about 12,000 total - about 1,000 for each of the 11 different iterations over about 5 years or so. And today, there are a lot more say Paul Newman Daytonas available for sale than 2915 and 2998 speedmasters. I would say less than 10 nice, original 2915 and 2998 speedmasters have been publicly sold every year for the past 6-7 years or so. I would wager a lot more early Daytonas (pre-1970) were sold at auction or by dealers over this same period.

CajunTiger · Apr 4, 2015

U ulackfocus
Is there really such a thing as a "rare" Rolex? They've always made fairly large quantities of each reference.

did I say "rare"? I said in smaller quantity.

The 6262 only saw 1600 produced...of the model I posted above with the flat registers- only 400 were made.
but I could be wrong on the other references which were made in larger quantities- I didn't realize only 1000 were produced. ---
see MSNWatch's comment:

MSNWatch
The speedmaster numbers are relatively low and for the 2915 and 2998 models come to about 12,000 total - about 1,000 for each of the 11 different iterations over about 5 years or so. And today, there are a lot more say Paul Newman Daytonas available for sale than 2915 and 2998 speedmasters. I would say less than 10 nice, original 2915 and 2998 speedmasters have been publicly sold every year for the past 6-7 years or so. I would wager a lot more early Daytonas (pre-1970) were sold at auction or by dealers over this same period.

Eddie · Apr 7, 2015

It took me 2 years to find a 105.003 that was amazing quality. That was 4 years ago, I now realise I was very, very lucky. I haven't seen any exciting quality specimens publically available since (I've probably missed a few but I have been annoyingly vigilant). The very good ones just aren't coming on the market anymore, even in the auction houses. Damned chewed bezels. Damned replacement bezels. Damned polishing. Damned replacement hands. Damned lume 'touch ups'. Damned replacement crowns.. always...

MSNWatch · Apr 7, 2015

I think also that since the Daytonas have been considered valuable watches for a longer period than speedmasters, it's quitely likely there are more better preserved daytonas that exist to this day. This is pure speculation on my part but I think given models with similar production numbers, it would be harder to find a nicely preserved original speedmaster than a daytona since more speedmasters were probably used heavily or even thrown away.

BASE1000 · Apr 7, 2015

if you want a daytona, go, choose and buy the one you like if you have the money. If you want a 2915 good luck in even finding only one to be offered 😁

MSNWatch · Apr 7, 2015

BASE1000
if you want a daytona go, choose and buy the one you like if you have the money. If you want a 2915 good luck in even finding only one to be offered 😁

Not just 2915 but also 2998-1 or -2.

calalum · Apr 7, 2015

I would concur that Daytonas can be found if a buyer is willing to write a check, even really nice ones, and that early Speedies, particularly in good condition don't seem to be as available. Of course, it is hard to know if that is due to relative production numbers, how Daytonas were cared for vs. Speedies, or something else. Maybe a better comparison from just an availability perspective is an early Speedy vs. a Rolex 6238 ("pre-Daytona"), which seem less commonly available. Keep in mind that many of the 62xx Daytonas that are floating around are from the '70's and '80's, that the Daytona didn't exist in the '50's, and that there don't seem to be too many from the '60's (6239s?).

BASE1000 · Apr 7, 2015

to me also there is a difference in watches from 50ies and 60ies and those from 70ies and 80ies. I find it strange that the daytonas are that much sought after. Kind of hype like with the Speedmaster MK IV aka holy grail. A really nice 5508 is like a 105.003 or a 6536 like a later 2998 the 6538 or a 6200 etc. is like the 2915 and early 2998.

For me personally the latest desireable watch in my collection is the apollo-soyuz from 1976.

Kringkily · Apr 7, 2015

Most of the top 2915 examples I know of exchange hands privately and not publicly disclosed. If you want to deal in the best of the best you need to have deep pockets or be in that level of collectors.

MSNWatch · Apr 7, 2015

Kringkily
Most of the top 2915 examples I know of exchange hands privately and not publicly disclosed. If you want to deal in the best of the best you need to have deep pockets or be in that level of collectors.

And have similarly nice examples available in trade. Many times, money and connections aren't enough to get that nice vintage omega (not just the 2915s) - you need to be able to trade for it.

The irony of Speedy price increases...

M'Bob

ock2915

dsio

richardew

Fritz

proximal

bazamu

Drawarms

CajunTiger

ulackfocus

MSNWatch

CajunTiger

Eddie

MSNWatch

BASE1000

MSNWatch

calalum

BASE1000

Kringkily

MSNWatch

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