Which is the rarest watch you’ve ever owned?

Professor · Apr 23, 2019

waikee2001hk
the watch i searech very long time in ebay,finally it arrived at my drawer last month.

my watchmaker overhaul and told me the mainspring was for manual watch !when i told him this was the first produced auto watch, approximately in 1928 ,he muted

Love the dial treatment. Deep bold texture.

asrnj77 · Apr 25, 2019

Omegafanman
Second choice would by my Marine C 1511. I think only 900 of these (excluding the French steel bezels) were made. I am not sure how many are left and sadly unlike mechanical at some point the movement will die I guess :0(

Funny. I had never seen this watch before and I saw one just sold last month on liveauctioneers

sliceoftime_ · Apr 25, 2019

Probably this one.

w154 · Apr 25, 2019

sliceoftime_
Probably this one.

Oh my 🥰

Bbturbo · Apr 25, 2019

sliceoftime_
Probably this one.

What an amazing dial.

Bbturbo · Apr 25, 2019

Rarest in terms of condition. Many of these 63' don't age well, particularly the dial and gilt hands.

river rat · Apr 25, 2019

This is not a expensive watch as some have posted but it rare due to watch history wished I did not sell it. Had to look for photo's of it I posted years ago on a few other forums so it has those photobucket marks those fools put on photo from us who don't use them any more. But had the first screw down crown to make it water proof. Made around WW1 some would have a gold disc on the back with USA and the issue number mine it was missing. Miss this watch sold it after I retired needed some moving money when I moved to MT and after moving realized I really did not need the money sold a few watches I shouldn't of because of that move.

seekingseaquest · Apr 29, 2019

This sharp 18k Jumbo Geneve..

boraxman · Apr 30, 2019

I had this same Breitling on bracelet years back - I know it was a limited edition...Kinda wish I would have kept now.

wkimmd · Apr 30, 2019

This guy (which is also my most recent acquisition):

AdInfinitum · May 4, 2019

At 31mm, it's petite according to my wrist size plus modern male trends, but makes an excellent loaner to the Missus

levkov · May 6, 2019

Some amazing rarities here guys 👍

Here's my 3 rarest:

#1. May not be the most desirable, but for sure very, very rare. Never issued to the public, only came along with the 90's McLaren F1 supercar. The surplus (as less F1's ended up being manufactured than watches) were gifted to McLaren employees (such as this one).
Also, unworn.

#2. Gold IWC from 1946, that's unworn (supposedly, I haven't been around long enough to be verify as the first owner😁), with its box and tag with a serial# that matches that of the case#

#3. And finally, a LeCoultre Memovox with a rare faceted bezel, and also rare Deepsea style syringe hands (rather than the usual baton or dauphine)

JimJupiter · Dec 27, 2021

Time to bring back life into this thread. I guess there are more rare watches out there!

In 2020 I got this Russian Kirova Type 59 with Glashütte Urofa Cal 59. What makes the watch rare, is the white dial. Until now, I havnt seen a second one.

Risto · Dec 27, 2021

Not sure how rare these are, but I haven't seen these for sale much.

Omega Seamaster 145.016-69

LeGant Zenith AH2711 1968

Syrte · Dec 27, 2021

JimJupiter
Time to bring back life into this thread. I guess there are more rare watches out there!

In 2020 I got this Russian Kirova Type 59 with Glashütte Urofa Cal 59. What makes the watch rare, is the white dial. Until now, I havnt seen a second one.

Wow, spectacular watch, and there are some real beauties in this thread.👍

Here’s my most rare watch I think, what makes it rare is that it’s a US issued one, most of them are British.
I’m only aware of three others in existence, two in private collections and one which I saw on the open market 6 years ago and neglected to buy as I was too green. I felt lucky to later find this one.

JimJupiter · Dec 27, 2021

Here is another Eastern rarity. The first real East-German Dive watch (with the help of West-German case builders 😁 ).

Glashütte Spezimatic Diver

YY77 · Dec 27, 2021

1 of 24

1 of 100

Canuck · Dec 27, 2021

To know how rare a watch might be, you have to know how many were made. Frankly, I have no idea with any of my stuff, except for one. My sdrawkcab running watch, an exercise I undertook a number of years ago, to see if it could be done. It can. Not many of these around.

seekingseaquest · Dec 27, 2021

seekingseaquest
This sharp 18k Jumbo Geneve..

This one has been replaced by an even rarer Geneve - the only black waffle dial Geneve I’ve ever seen (jumbo 2748 ref).

More photos: https://omegaforums.net/threads/a-very-special-cursive-geneve.127905/

Davidt · Dec 27, 2021

Great thread. It’s been fun re-reading this a year or two later.

It also just shows how rarity doesn’t necessarily equate to value. Many watches from smaller houses were produced in very limited runs. It’s that sweet spot of relative rarity and desirability that counts (like the awesome early Geneve posted by @seekingseaquest above).