Q: Years ago, I bought a Rolex Oyster chronometer wristwatch in the PX. I didn't like it because I had to change the battery. A friend told me that Rolex didn't make many, so it is worth more because it is rare. Your comment?
A: When we first read the query, we thought, "Whoa! Rolex doesn't make battery watches." As the joke goes, when someone on a street corner offers you a battery Rolex, run.
Chicago jeweler Jeff Cohen specializes in fine pocket and wristwatches. He also buys, sells and appraises vintage and antique jewelry, and he set us straight.
"Ninety-nine percent of Rolex's don't take quartz batteries," he told us. But in the 1980s, at the height of the Japanese quartz battery boom, makers of luxury automatic watches saw the writing on the wall. A few, including Rolex, produced several battery-powered models.
By the 1990s, mechanical watches were popular again. Today, very high-end, complex, artisan-made automatics and signature vintage/antique watches rule. Battery timepieces are definitely down-market.
By the traditional laws of collecting, the fact that fewer battery watches were produced should mean that they are rare and therefore pricier.
But smart collectors know that collecting has many quirks. The rule that rarity equals value flies out the window when there is no demand. In this case, Rolex buyers don't want to even think about a non-mechanical watch, no matter how unusual it is.
According to Cohen, Rolex made about three battery models, all for men. Value on those today is as a pre-owned, not collector, watch. No cachet.
Matter of fact, he added, they are "just a little less desirable" than vintage automatics. An all gold vintage battery version of Rolex's best, the Presidential model, now sells for $6,000 to $8,000.
www.swiss-wrist.com
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