- Posts
- 191
- Likes
- 245
Neeb
·Pretty much as the title.. let’s say a particular case /dial combination had a production run of 100, 1000 or 10,000 in 1970. How rare would it be on the vintage market today?
What sort of production run in the 60s or 70s makes a watch “rare” today?
- Posts
- 6,618
- Likes
- 21,394
M'Bob
·You also have to consider “demand.” A low production run, but unwanted, may not equal “rare.”
- Posts
- 5,866
- Likes
- 42,406
noelekal
··Home For Wayward WatchesYou also have to consider “demand.” A low production run, but unwanted, may not equal “rare.”
There's common, uncommon, scarce, and then there's rare.
Mrs. noelekal is big into composting for her beds, shrubs, gardens. She kept hens where we used to live and swore by chicken droppings as the essential ingredient for lush foliage.
In my retirement I did overnight weekend gun show security for some years for some promoters who are friends of mine. I arrived one Friday evening to find that a circus had just cleared out of the San Angelo, Texas coliseum. I noticed some elephant dung on the asphalt in the back service area so, as a joke I gathered up a singular example for her to place in her composting bins. Now in Texas elephant dung is downright rare. So, rare in fact that it is scarcely ever seen outside of untidy zoos.
She failed to properly appreciate the gift of a rare ingredient for her compost bins.
- Posts
- 2,828
- Likes
- 12,787
Wryfox
·I had vulture vomit land on my head this morning. Now that, my friend, is rare.
Just finished washing it all off.
BTW, it's not at all what you might think. That is, if you think of it....
Bet you are now....
Just finished washing it all off.
BTW, it's not at all what you might think. That is, if you think of it....
Bet you are now....
- Posts
- 654
- Likes
- 742
bananapeanut
·Demand and condition are definitely more important than rarity.
- Posts
- 11,284
- Likes
- 19,764
Davidt
·There's common, uncommon, scarce, and then there's rare.
Mrs. noelekal is big into composting for her beds, shrubs, gardens. She kept hens where we used to live and swore by chicken droppings as the essential ingredient for lush foliage.
In my retirement I did overnight weekend gun show security for some years for some promoters who are friends of mine. I arrived one Friday evening to find that a circus had just cleared out of the San Angelo, Texas coliseum. I noticed some elephant dung on the asphalt in the back service area so, as a joke I gathered up a singular example for her to place in her composting bins. Now in Texas elephant dung is downright rare. So, rare in fact that it is scarcely ever seen outside of untidy zoos.
She failed to properly appreciate the gift of a rare ingredient for her compost bins.
I recall we had an issue at our old house with a cat constantly pooping in our garden and tomatoes/peas. After looking into options for a deterrent, I was told the best one is lion poop as little cats won’t want to encroach on big cat territory. Others included plastic bottles half full with water (that would roll in an unpredictable manner when disturbed) and cocktail sticks half sticking out of the ground to prick their paws.
After mulling it over I decided a bit of cat shit was probably preferable to huge lumps of lion poo and my garden resembling a mini Viet Cong punji field
- Posts
- 20,206
- Likes
- 46,866
Dan S
·There's common, uncommon, scarce, and then there's rare.
Mrs. noelekal is big into composting for her beds, shrubs, gardens. She kept hens where we used to live and swore by chicken droppings as the essential ingredient for lush foliage.
In my retirement I did overnight weekend gun show security for some years for some promoters who are friends of mine. I arrived one Friday evening to find that a circus had just cleared out of the San Angelo, Texas coliseum. I noticed some elephant dung on the asphalt in the back service area so, as a joke I gathered up a singular example for her to place in her composting bins. Now in Texas elephant dung is downright rare. So, rare in fact that it is scarcely ever seen outside of untidy zoos.
She failed to properly appreciate the gift of a rare ingredient for her compost bins.
My father grew up in rough part of the Bronx, not far from the zoo, and used to hang out there frequently with his friends. When the US got into WWII, there was an initiative to grow food to help out the war effort, called "victory gardens". Apparently, there was a vacant lot near my father's apartment building, and he got the idea to try to grow some vegetables. Having heard that manure was a good fertilizer, he walked to the zoo towing his little wagon behind him, asked the zookeepers for a favor, and returned with a load of elephant dung for his little plot of vegetables. That was one of his favorite childhood stories to tell.
Edited:
- Posts
- 2,733
- Likes
- 4,323
lillatroll
·My father grew up in rough part of the Bronx, not far from the zoo, and used to hang out there frequently with his friends. When the US got into WWII, there was an initiative to grow food to help out the war effort, called "victory gardens". Apparently, there was a vacant lot near my father's apartment building, and he got the idea to try to grow some vegetables. Having heard that manure was a good fertilizer, he walked to the zoo towing his little wagon behind him, asked the zookeepers for a favor, and returned with a load of elephant dung for his little plot of vegetables. That was one of his favorite childhood stories to tell.
- Posts
- 2,467
- Likes
- 2,842
- Posts
- 20,206
- Likes
- 46,866
Dan S
·Have to ask....did your father get elephant sized vegetables after using the elephant poop?
That wasn't part of the story. ;-)
- Posts
- 5,399
- Likes
- 8,439
Mark020
··not the sharpest pencil in the ΩF drawerFor Omega's I think it's definitely <100
- Posts
- 5,866
- Likes
- 42,406
- Posts
- 11,284
- Likes
- 19,764
Davidt
·I think less than 100 could be rare but less than 1000 is still uncommon.
The gold 1969 Apollo 11 Speedmaster had a run of around a 1000. It’s reasonable to assume more have survived due to the fact they were solid gold, commemorative watches yet there’s only one for sale on C24.
The gold 1969 Apollo 11 Speedmaster had a run of around a 1000. It’s reasonable to assume more have survived due to the fact they were solid gold, commemorative watches yet there’s only one for sale on C24.
- Posts
- 3,375
- Likes
- 8,521
MRC
·1960's may be have a higher % of survivors so with a batch of 100 pieces I assume the number of survivors will be 5-10
'60-'70s chronographs are my main interest and I have seen comments that about 10% of production are known and online today by people who actively research them with a serial number database. What may be lurking in forgotten drawers and boxes is unknown though. I have a couple of 1960s Heuer Carreras that even one of the biggest collectors of these does not have. I would suggest that "rare" only applies to references of which maybe one or two a year appear for sale. That sadly includes my grail, the 1968/69 Skipperera.
And, as there is a lack of photos in this thread here is a Skipperera -- I think about 40 known.
- Posts
- 191
- Likes
- 245
Neeb
·My reason for asking was that I found out that the production run of a watch I have that I thought was very unusual, bordering on unique (only one other example I can find online) was actually 1170.
It's this 18K Girard Perrregaux HF, with the 36,000bph 42.1 movement:
The solid gold versions of this are more unusual, but with this dial it's particularly unusual. Hudson Time had one for sale a while back (in sharper condition than mine) and claimed that it was the "only known example":
https://www.hudsontime.com/product-page/solid-gold-girard-perregaux-gyromatic-hf-chronometer
Indeed, I can't find any others online.
But when I contacted GP, they said the following:
<<
Ref. 9086 was made between 1974 and 1976.
It was available in steel, rose gold or yellow gold, like yours.
In this last version, 1170 pieces were produced, at a Swiss public price of CHF 1,190.
>>
I asked them to clarify if "this last version" meant all of the yellow gold versions or all of the yellow gold versions with this dial, and they said (not entirely unambiguosuly) "1170 pieces is the amount of your (particular) model produced".
It seems odd to me that only two of 1170 watches like this would have survived to have an online presence.
It's this 18K Girard Perrregaux HF, with the 36,000bph 42.1 movement:
The solid gold versions of this are more unusual, but with this dial it's particularly unusual. Hudson Time had one for sale a while back (in sharper condition than mine) and claimed that it was the "only known example":
https://www.hudsontime.com/product-page/solid-gold-girard-perregaux-gyromatic-hf-chronometer
Indeed, I can't find any others online.
But when I contacted GP, they said the following:
<<
Ref. 9086 was made between 1974 and 1976.
It was available in steel, rose gold or yellow gold, like yours.
In this last version, 1170 pieces were produced, at a Swiss public price of CHF 1,190.
>>
I asked them to clarify if "this last version" meant all of the yellow gold versions or all of the yellow gold versions with this dial, and they said (not entirely unambiguosuly) "1170 pieces is the amount of your (particular) model produced".
It seems odd to me that only two of 1170 watches like this would have survived to have an online presence.
- Posts
- 5,399
- Likes
- 8,439
Mark020
··not the sharpest pencil in the ΩF drawerCouple of reasons I think. Relatively obscure brand and gold case will not help
- Posts
- 20,206
- Likes
- 46,866
Dan S
·My reason for asking was that I found out that the production run of a watch I have that I thought was very unusual, bordering on unique (only one other example I can find online) was actually 1170.
It's this 18K Girard Perrregaux HF, with the 36,000bph 42.1 movement:
The solid gold versions of this are more unusual, but with this dial it's particularly unusual. Hudson Time had one for sale a while back (in sharper condition than mine) and claimed that it was the "only known example":
https://www.hudsontime.com/product-page/solid-gold-girard-perregaux-gyromatic-hf-chronometer
Indeed, I can't find any others online.
But when I contacted GP, they said the following:
<<
Ref. 9086 was made between 1974 and 1976.
It was available in steel, rose gold or yellow gold, like yours.
In this last version, 1170 pieces were produced, at a Swiss public price of CHF 1,190.
>>
I asked them to clarify if "this last version" meant all of the yellow gold versions or all of the yellow gold versions with this dial, and they said (not entirely unambiguosuly) "1170 pieces is the amount of your (particular) model produced".
It seems odd to me that only two of 1170 watches like this would have survived to have an online presence.
If you keep making the definition of a particular "model" more and more granular, then you can make anything rare.
- Posts
- 191
- Likes
- 245
Neeb
·If you keep making the definition of a particular "model" more and more granular, then you can make anything rare.
- Posts
- 20,206
- Likes
- 46,866
Dan S
·Well, yes, I suppose so. But a particular case/dial combination strikes me as a reasonable place to stop. Omega c-case Constellations with white/silver linen/frozen dials are common, but ones with brown/gradation dials much less so.
In that case, I probably have a dozen watches that are one-of-a-kind, based on finding identical dials on the internet. That doesn't necessarily make them particularly desirable, which seems more relevant and important.
- Posts
- 2,438
- Likes
- 3,314
Donn Chambers
·I recall we had an issue at our old house with a cat constantly pooping in our garden and tomatoes/peas. After looking into options for a deterrent, I was told the best one is lion poop as little cats won’t want to encroach on big cat territory. Others included plastic bottles half full with water (that would roll in an unpredictable manner when disturbed) and cocktail sticks half sticking out of the ground to prick their paws.
After mulling it over I decided a bit of cat shit was probably preferable to huge lumps of lion poo and my garden resembling a mini Viet Cong punji field
It's always amusing when these threads turn to s**t almost immediately.
😉