Horological Meandering

I see this term used frequently in the watch collecting community and I’m curious what everyone’s definition actually is. For me it’s less than -100 known to exist as this cuts out the typical limited edition games that the manufacturers play to sell new ... 

I like to say 25 or less and end of story…don’t create 25 of this, another 25 of that, in this color, that dial blah blah. This movement, case and dial config, done, no more. It’s a tough one, because many brand customers will be hard to please then what ... 

And I agree that number depends on who’s making it. I would think that small independents like Shapiro, Gronefeld, Rexhepi, etc will always be rare, where a rare Rolex is something quite old or an off catalog model. As you said CC something that really an... 

I exclusive and rare are different. You can get Cartier to make you a watch to spec but that doesn’t mean they would make another if you asked.

-100 lets say from Airain or Jacobs is not really rare, but from Zenith - depending on the model - it might be! And it certainly is from Rolex! Almost independent from the model! -Also yes, of course, the LE nr. is very much related to the actual nr. this... 

But if you try harder ...

In relation to the whole world and total number of watches in it, the majority of luxury watches would objectively classify as rare .... Beyond that it's just personal bias........

If the production is 100 and you can't get one, it's rare. If they made 10,000 and only 1 is for sale, it's rare

I’ve seen plenty of watches where you can’t find one last year and there are suddenly 59 for sale at the same time. Liquidity is perpetually sporadic

Suppose I have #1 of 10 for sale; it's been for sale for months on a popular for-sale site, but no one has offered to buy it. Does that make it rare or just obscure? Does rare=obscure or are they opposites? Is rarity a function of price, or is Rarity due ... 

It is complicated

Rare but nobody cares

Actually, two of them: Rolex reference 1018. If you are looking for one (especially a good example), there are far fewer of them available than of almost any other Rolex reference. Nevertheless, despite what I consider to be a unique combination of size, ... 

that's the oyster Perpetual 36?

Not rare, at least here !

Does it make you love the watch more? Either you love it and appreciate it a d want it or you don’t. I get that people want what they can’t have but being rare doesn’t change the watch or what it is.

I personally think Brands like Omega and IWC release lots of limited editions cynically as they (think at least) that collectors of the brand will have to have them.

Without attaching any concept of value, production number, or collectibility, to me it is simply rarely seen. However whats rare to me may not be rare to the others, it could be just me that wasn’t paying attention. if a brand does a limited run of a vari... 

This post was prompted by someone who said a particular PAM was “rare” because only 2000 were made which got me thinking. In that context I’m not sure any big brands produce “rare” watches. I have watches that were never produced for sales (only awards) a... 

and I agree with what you are saying 100%. I also would like to add that for me it is important that the pen I have in my pocket, the watch on my wrist or the perfume I have on me is rarely seen/noticed by me. Cheers Pelle

and I would look at total years of production and number released per year. Philippe Dufour has released 220 Simplicity since 2000 with 0-7 pieces made per year. To me that's rare although we see them regularly in auctions. On the other hand, if a manufac... 

I think we all need to remember that almost every wristwatch is rare when viewed against the population of the world! Most people don’t own or wear watches and even the highest production numbers are still very low when considered in this context. It is v...