So, my question is a simple one. Does such a watch exist that is exclusive (limited run or special edition) but also affordable. Doesn't anyone want to have a watch that almost no one else has?
Limited/Special edition is the excuse to jack up the price. If you want a truly exclusive watch you are better off modding a Seiko 007/009 to your taste.
Alternately get a watch produced in small numbers and not sold, or at least not sold widely, in the US (or country of residency).
For example: I doubt I will ever see another Seiko SARB017 in the wild here. Same goes for most Orient Stars, Certinas, Midos, etc. Similarly, even the AD I tried couldn't get the Tissot PR 516 GL I bought for just over $400 new. A watch can be rare without being artificially limited.
Though in practice, you are unlikely to see anything outside of cheap quartz or Rolex/Tag/Omega/Breitling on anyone's wrist in the wild.
Limited to me should be like 100 or less.Now you probably won't run into anyone else owning that watch.Give it a weird name then jack up the price,this is probably the reason i enjoy LE's.
Every year the Chinese Mechanical Sub-Forum designs and vote's on various styles to come out with a mockup for a watch they make a limited number of. This year it's a dual crown diver. The voting has been over for some time now but the build process is only beginning. It should be a few months before the watches are shipped. If you're interested head over here and take a look:
As for the definitive/exclusive affordable watch that you won't see anyone else wearing I'd have to say anything from the late Noah Fuller. You basically have a 100% chance of finding a WIS attached to one if you ever see one in the wild. I myself saw many months ago, a man wearing a modded monster on a zulu in eastern LI and we talked for a bit. One of the only true WIS I've ever met. So IMO anything modded but especially a Noah Fuller mod should be an exclusive affordable.
I honestly never worry about wearing the same watch as other people. There are so many watches out there, and so few people who actually wear them, and those who do often wear watches they've owned for years. The only watches I own that I've also seen in the wild are very common, readily-available things like the Casio DW5600E.
Some brands are much less likely to be encountered on someone else's wrist... Eterna, Universal Geneve, Girard Perregaux, for example. Think of those brands that are rarely discussed even on watch forums.
Russian/Soviet watches. Since most aren't being made anymore, the ones that are left are exclusive. Since there's not a huge demand for them, they're still relatively affordable.
I think you are looking at this from the wrong perspective. A watch need not be absolutely exclusive to be exclusive, it can also be de-facto exclusive. There are plenty of gorgeous watches beginning around $200 and going on up that you will never see anyone wearing but you if you choose to strap one on because of where they are produced and marketed and only someone who is WIS/WUS would ferret them out. How many Seiko Cocktail Time will you ever see compared to Tag or Movado? What about Seagull 171 or Orient Bambino vs. your average Citizen mall watch? Being selective can be the same as being exclusive because so few other people are selective.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
WatchUSeek Watch Forums
22.5M posts
575.5K members
Since 2005
A forum community dedicated to watch owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about watch collections, displays, watch winders, accessories, classifieds, and more! We welcome all manufacturers including Casio G-Shock, OMEGA, Rolex, Breitling, Rolex and Tudor, Seiko, Grand Seiko and others.