The Meaning of the Word 'Rare'

The word 'rare' has about as many definitions as there are people on this planet. One man's 'rare', however, could well be anothers' 'also-ran'.

Rare is a 'hot button' word that has a lot of clout in terms of influencing buyer behaviour. It relates to how we perceive 'scarcity' and just as the image in this post will at first be perceived to be warped, careful examination reveals another truth.

The word 'rare' can warp our perceptions just as the above image does. It has about as much power as the words 'free' or 'sex' and belongs to a family of words that have been proved to trigger certain forms of human behaviour.

Rarity is also a concept much open to abuse by sellers who use it as part of their speil to hook the unwary and unsuspecting.

In this essay on rarity,  I explore its meaning as it applies to collecting OMega Constellations and offer a set of criteria that may be useful in determining comparative rarity of various Constellation models

Pssst....Wanna Buy a Fake for Xmas?

RULE#1

NEVER BUY AN OMEGA CONSTELLATION WITH REFERENCE NUMBER 091919 OR 163.001 THAT PURPORTS TO BE SOLID GOLD. IT IS A FAKE!

RULE#2

NEVER BUY AN OMEGA CONSTELLATION THAT PURPORTS TO BE SOLID GOLD WITHOUT THE SELLER SHOWING CLEAR PICTURES OF THE CASE BACK

One would have thought with these fakes having been identified as such for around two years now, that people would have wisened up. But, no, they just a keep popping up in eBay auctions and also on some on-line dealer sites, and every week another poor sod gets ripped off.

Frankly, I'm getting tired of providing statements to buyers who, after having purchased one of these watches and discovered their mistake, seek my assistance in convincing Paypal to reverse their transactions.

The lesson is simple: do your research FIRST.

Recently, a number of allegedly solid gold Constellations have emerged with case markings similar to those in the above pictures. My research confirms that such cases are not officially sanctioned Omega cases. The Omega logo used is a logo that appeared on earlier Omega watches and pocket watches. IT NEVER APPEARED ON CONSTELLATIONS OF THE 1950 OR 60S.

I haven't, yet, been able to have someone test these newer impostors for gold content, however it's reasonable to assume that they will disappoint. They are appearing in both yellow gold and pink gold

So please, if you want to have an anxiety-free Christmas, dont touch any of these 'pretenders'.

A Pie Pan Story With a Fairytale Ending

True artists in the field of dial conservation are few and far between, and when encountered should be raised at least to the level of the horological deity.

This essay not only showcases the work of such an artist, but also reveals that patience and research can lead to the unearthing of a major find! The story begins with an encounter with a calibre 503 solid gold Seamaster sporting a stepped/guilloche pie pan dial and has a fairytale ending.

Click here to download the essay