every few days, we get a question that reads something like the following: "I would like to buy a such-and-so chronograph, and am wondering how scarce or common they might be?? How often do you see them offered for sale??" sometimes, the question is more like "I have a such-and-so chronograph that my uncle gave me. How scarce are these cronographs and what are they worth??"

the answers to these questions, samples of which you can see by scanning down this page, usually refer to the frequency with which they are offered on ebay. for the sake of sharing some basic language / vocabulary, it would seem useful to have a standard frame of reference for answer these types of questions.

I am thinking that the most useful index / scale / reference might be how often we see a particular model offered per year. the "we" in this sentence refers to fairly serious collectors, who keep an eye on ebay and check a few dealer websites on a regular basis, looking for the Heuers. It's not from the perspective of dealers or others who either frequent big watch shows (or the streets of switzerland). It is the average guy who reads this discussion forum and actively pursues these chronographs.

Here are a couple of quick examples:

• I would estimate that "we" are seeing 100 to 200 Viceroy Autavias in a year, so the "score" is 100-200 . . . maybe the number even approaches 300.
• the Siffert Autavias (Cal 12 automatics) might come in at 4 to 6 per year, so let's call it a "5" on the scale.
• the Carrera, Valjoux 72, white dial with black registers [ sorry to remind you, chuck ] might come in at one every two years, so it is at 0.5 on the scale.