Patek Philippe

cazalea
[Seiko Moderator]
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Rarity in my watch case, yes. In the greater world, no.

I have one Patek - just one out of my 100 watches. So it's a rare watch in my household. But then I have just one Rolex - that doesn't mean Rolex is rare in the watch universe.

Using the automotive analogy as others have, Porsche 911s are "relatively rare", but Porsche still built 600,000 between 1963-2006, and perhaps half their total production ever is in SoCalif where I live, so they are considered quite common here. But very nice cars. Perhaps the Rolex of sports cars?

On the other hand, Lotus only made 10,000 Esprits between 1976 - 2004, so they are much more rare. But that doesn't an Esprit a "good" car by most peoples' standards. Nor will they last as long as a Porsche. No Lotus will ever win an all-makes concours - they're just not finished well on the insides (I've had 4). But driving fun - now that's something else. Definitely not the Patek of sports cars. Maybe the _______ (fill in your brand of choice).

So back to Patek.

Are they finished well? Yes.
Are they built to last? Yes.
Are they conservatively attractive and tasteful? Generally yes.
Are they made of precious metals? Most of them are.
Are people over-the-long-haul desiring them? Yes.
Are we constantly talking about them? Yes
Are they scarce? Relatively, yes. Compared to a Bugatti Royale (7), no.
Does that impact their desirability? For me, no.

I don't see rarity as an issue for Patek compared to most high-end watches.
If you want it, you can find it. Eventually and at a price. Like many desirable objects.

Cheers

Cazalea