Rare Accessorised Omega Constellation De Luxe Model 2954

People throw around the term ‘rare’ with as much zeal as a Matsusaka beef connoisseur, but rarely does the nomenclature live up to the timepiece so described. The word “rare” is almost as seductive as the words “new” and “sex”. It’s one of those trigger words that causes us to bypass our critical faculties, and that’s why it’s a favourite of all kinds of snake oil salesmen and some vendors of antiques and vintage watches.

If you’ve been collecting vintage watches for any length of time, experience clicks in when your retinas register the word “rare”. Scepticism overrides the tendency to behold the watch with awe, and questions tend to surface like, “Rare, compared with what?”, “Rare, according to whom?”, and “Rare, by what standards?”

Thankfully, every now and again a vintage timepiece shows up that truly merits a description other than “decidedly uncommon”: a piece that deserves the respect and admiration that comes with a legitimate label of “rare”. The ensemble pictured is one such example, and you can see the full reveal here.