As we quickly touched on in our vintage watch buying guide, the prices of watches with a history can cause counters to explode. This is a concept partly linked to that of scarcity and seniority that we have just discussed. For example, in the guide, we talked about a pocket watch that belonged to Abraham Lincoln, which would be exchanged for impressive sums.
The same goes for watches worn by all the other greats of this world, like kings and queens or presidents. These are added watches worn during special events, such as the Omega, which went to the moon, the Sea-Dweller, which accompanied the world record holder for deep diving, or the Paul Newman Daytona watch record for the most expensive wristwatch. Collectors highly prize all these watches with a history, and their prices far exceed those of new models.
Abraham Watch
Watches like the Rolex Watches for Women (นาฬิกา โร เล็ก ซ์ ผู้หญิง which is the term in Thai) with rare options and characteristics, or driven by very special calibers that are no longer used today, can be very expensive on the second-hand market because of what they represent for collectors and lovers of history.
The Famous Veblen Effects
Luxury watches are among the products that best demonstrate the importance of the Veblen effect. The economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen put forward in 1899 the fact that certain products sold less when their price fell and sold more when they were more expensive. Therefore, it is the exact opposite of more traditional consumer goods, which sell better when prices fall and sell less when prices rise. The Veblen effect is also called the snobbery effect; you can see why.
Therefore, these few aspects are part of the plausible explanations for the prices sometimes considered indecent for luxury watches. It’s when you add all these parameters together that the craziest prices start to emerge.
