Mike welcome to the club
rare only few in existence
scarce few hundreds
my $.02

Welcome Mike.

If you took this option when signing up you will have or soon have a price guide. Price Guide


Page 101 of the 2013 price guide has a rating scale for rarity.

★★★★★ ………………………… RARE - 1-25
★★★★ ……………………… SCARCE -100
★★★ ………………………… VERY FEW -350
★★ ………………………… SPARSE -1000
★ ………………………… UNCOMMON -2500

I consider any production of 100 or less " Rare " Like a 161B Bunn Special or Washington " Greenwich"
Scarce falls into the 100-500 range- that is where this Lafayette would fall- They are not extremely hard to come by.

Terry

Welcome Mike
As you can tell, the conversation goes many directions here.
I got Rogers watch here and coincidently it sits on the table during the high winds today.
Really fantastic Timekeeper +_ 7 sec/day
Can't help with your question 'rare or scarce'
Maybe just doggone I like that one.
My research indicates Montgomery ward sold these for Illinois
Mike

Wash watch

Oh and by the way, this gets carried in the pocket like meant to be.

Mike that is a good question. In many cases what one person thinks is rare is not necessarily even scarce. As an example the 21 jewel Illinois Bunn Special 16 size is neither rare or scarce although very collectable. However the 19 jewel 60 hour 16 size Bunn of the same time period is in my opinion scarce. By scarce I mean hard to find. An 18 size Ball Hampden is , again in my opinion rare because not many were made and not many exist. Value is really a function of demand. I happen to collect Hampdens and I have 2 John C. Dueber, signed with a full signature, 16 size watches adjusted to 5 positions and featuring raised gold jewel settings. I only know of 1 other and while I would describe those watches as rare someone else might say uncommon or scarce and no matter which description you use you probably could not get $200 for them as Hampden collectors are rare or at least scarce!

Deacon - Great post. As all of them are. The bottom line whether rare or scarce, the value of any watch is what someone is willing to pay.

Just got back my watch back from Chris at Abell Watchmakers and it is sweet. He put the Lafayette movement into the correct case and with the correct dial (thanks again Buster for the lead). He COA'd the movement, changed out the mainspring as it was shot due to being idle for many years, cleaned and polished the case and nicely fixed the one chip in the dial I had sent him. The watch is running great and I will be posting pics in the next few days. Thanks all for all your help to get me to this point with this watch.

Your very welcome Mike, that's the reason this club exists, to help one another. We would love to see the new pictures !! And if you're going to sell it, try it here in our auction venue or in our 'Buy-It-Now',[For Sale] fixed price section.

There has been a lot of interest on your watch and we have lots of collectors and a few dealers among the membership. The best part of IHC185 is the integrity among members, the NO FEE for sellers or buyers and the camaraderie that we share. Best of Luck !!

regards,
bb

Finally got some time to post some pics. Forgot to say on my last post that Chris also changed out the crystal to a brand new one. Enjoy.

Movement

Front

A better pic of the movement

So Nice !! It's a "Rolls Royce" and a "KEEPER" !!

regards,
bb

It has been real fun with the help of you and others on the Board to get this watch "right". I have learned a lot and if I was 30 years younger, would become a serious collector. I am still doing some dd and have been told by some "watch people" to sell it on Ebay because I probably could get more money and it will hit a larger audience.

I have decide when I sell, to sell it on this Board as I am grateful to all who helped and taught me about this watch. I want this watch to find a great home and to someone who will appreciate it.

I have looked a lot on the internet for other Lafayette's that sold and their are not many and I could not find any of the first run watches either. Still looking for any info on this. I did find a serial number log and that showed this watch being in the first run of Open Face, Bunn Special Grade that they made. Also Chris Abell confirmed that the watch is a single roller (you already knew this Buster). Thanks again all for your help.

I just put this watch on the IHC185 MEMBERS ONLY WATCH AND CLOCK AUCTIONS

Great post.

I have re-posted this watch on the IHC Auction venue at a lower starting price.

IHC185 MEMBERS ONLY WATCH AND CLOCK AUCTIONS

Please take a look.