A. Lange & Söhne

PeterCDE
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Actually price appreciation wasn´t my focus

Hi Jon,

i think we´re on the same wavelength, but i didn´t intend to focus on "monetarian appreciation".

It´s more like with cars.
Just to take an example i happen to like a lot, the classic Mercedes-Benz 300SL (the "gullwing"); some enjoy driving these, others put it in a hermetically sealed plastic and try to "preserve" it as good as possible.
I´d agree in both kind of owners probably enjoy the car, each in his own way.

To me, the car was made to be driven and reports indicate it´s fun doing so.
Thus having it tucked away in a safe place would simply take away it´s function and a good share of the reasons to own it. It would be a pity, apart from the very practical consideration i´d not be able to check whether or not it works at all that easily.

And that´s the impression of typical Lange owners.
It´s good to know the watch will not be totally worthless after a decade or some; i´d guess that´s an ensuring factor. And if some pieces appreciate in value, it seems to create a good feeling.
But it rarely seems to be the main consideration.

Now the comparison is not totally correct, in that the 1950´s MB is long out of production.
Contemporary cars in general seem to be bought rather for their basic function, features and "looks". I´d suspect most SLR´s get to see the street now and then, with probably few being tucked away with zero miles/kilometers.
Yet there´s a common factor; MB is capable to repair or restore any of their cars they ever made and such ensures owners can actually use them.

I think in this the car is comparable with the Lange watch. One can wear and enjoy it, with all signs indicating it can be repaired or restored in decades to come. Even if the Lange watch integrates some innovative developments, there´s no fancy material such as carbon or silicon parts in them, which would require enormous efforts to reproduce once the supplier can´t provide them any longer. Or simply the supplier to physically produce the piece isn´t a partner of the brand anymore, which may create one or the other problem for some brands in the "upmarket" region.

That´s the "enthusiasts" aspect; the Lange watches not to be bought because they may appreciate in value (by far most models by almost any brand won´t do anyway). But they are fun to wear and owners are safe doing so.

Cheers,

Peter