Does scarce mean valuable?

[rlayer]

I agree with you Roger -- Piping Rocks and Pacers are great examples of relatively easy to find watches that retain their high values. I would throw the Ventura into that mix also. But as an example of TRUE rarity, last year a uber-rare 1928 Yankee Piping Rock that had been the gift to Joe DiMaggio after the Yankees World Series victory. This INCREDIBLY rare and desirable watch sold for 6 figures at Heritage Auctions. Now THAT is scarce and valuable! Somewhere out there is a similar watch engraved to Babe Ruth... if and when it ever comes to auction, one can only imagine that it will likely sell for even more.

Rick - Are you referring to Lou Gehrig's Piping Rock? Oddly, we know of only about 5 of the 32 distributed 1928 Yankee Piping Rocks and two of those are owned by the Hall of Fame. When you look at the names of the players who received those watches, Gehrig, Ruth, Dickey, Hoyt, Pennock, Lazzeri, they represent some of the greatest players ever to have taken a baseball field. Ruth's version would be valuable and so would the others (we know where Gehrig's and Hoyt's watches are located). I could easily believe (based on nothing except his personality), that Ruth gave his to some one night stand, who hocked it for the cash. If you ever see one of these watches in person, you will notice that the reverse is engraved nicely, but the player name (on the lip of the watch) is extremely hard to read.

[HamiltonIllinois]

Rick - Are you referring to Lou Gehrig's Piping Rock? Oddly, we know of only about 5 of the 32 distributed 1928 Yankee Piping Rocks and two of those are owned by the Hall of Fame. When you look at the names of the players who received those watches, Gehrig, Ruth, Dickey, Hoyt, Pennock, Lazzeri, they represent some of the greatest players ever to have taken a baseball field. Ruth's version would be valuable and so would the others (we know where Gehrig's and Hoyt's watches are located). I could easily believe (based on nothing except his personality), that Ruth gave his to some one night stand, who hocked it for the cash. If you ever see one of these watches in person, you will notice that the reverse is engraved nicely, but the player name (on the lip of the watch) is extremely hard to read.

LOL, I just realized my typo... SORRY, yes, it was Gehrig's PR. Actually, Will has stated (and shown) that he owns Pat Collins' PR (the Yankees catcher) so that is one more. Rene has said before that the Babe's PR came to Hamilton for service from a family member in the 60s... so it likely resides in some baseball collection somewhere. I bet Gehrig's PR results will bring a few more out into the light of day. Too fun!!

[rlayer]

LOL, I just realized my typo... SORRY, yes, it was Gehrig's PR. Actually, Will has stated (and shown) that he owns Pat Collins' PR (the Yankees catcher) so that is one more. Rene has said before that the Babe's PR came to Hamilton for service from a family member in the 60s... so it likely resides in some baseball collection somewhere. I bet Gehrig's PR results will bring a few more out into the light of day. Too fun!!

Hoyt's is in the Hall of Fame. Not sure which other one is in the Hall of Fame, though.

[HamiltonIllinois]

Hoyt's is in the Hall of Fame. Not sure which other one is in the Hall of Fame, though.

If memory serves, it might have been the owners watch... or perhaps the son of the owner who I think also got one. It's been discussed here before.

[cj415]

Thanks for the info... it's as I suspected... scarce doesn't indicate value. Other examples come to mind where the rarity and value don't always go hand in hand. The Liberty Coin Watch on the mechanical side, and the see-through Electric Clearview on the electric side should be selling for much more (more than Piping Rocks and Venturas) if scarcity was the only determining factor of value.

To me, the other interesting pricing element has always centered around personalizations. Some collectors like a pristine case back, while others really enjoy a great birthday, wedding, Christmas, or graduation personalization engraved on the case back. I tend to favor non-personalized backs.

So... based on the comments above, I think I'll post my Winslow in a week or two and for those interested, I'm willing to let it go for less and Gehrig's Piping Rock. And it doesn't even have any personalization like Gehrig's does.

[GeneJockey]

An interesting question would be, "What vintage Hamilton watches are valuable and why?

Not just Hamilton watches. I think the psychology of what is and isn't desireable to collectors is fascinating. With vintage watches, I think I'm safe in saying that many collectors are, like me, Baby Boomers, so we're now in our 50s and 60s, and what we find desireable are watches that have some tie to our memories and youth. Also, perceptions of quality and desireability that we learned then stay with us. I used to think that we wanted the things we saw our parents wearing, or driving, etc. But I think what we REALLY want are the things our parents wanted.