Transitional reference

A transitional reference is a reference produced for a short period between two generations of the same model, and which mixes their features: the case of the old one and the movement of the new one, or the reverse. Collectors also use the term more loosely for examples of a single reference made at the moment a part was changing: the last dial of one type, the first calibre of another.

Why the market cares

A transitional reference was often produced in small numbers, since it only served to bridge one generation and the next. That brevity gives it real scarcity, which the market rewards when the model is sought after. It also documents a stage in the model's history, which matters to collectors who want a complete series.

The effect is not automatic. A transitional reference of a model in little demand remains an ordinary watch, and a transition that comes down to a detail invisible to the eye only attracts specialists. As with any discontinued reference, demand comes before scarcity.

Examples and precautions

At Rolex, the Submariner 168000, produced in the late 1980s between the 16800 and the 16610, is the most quoted example: it introduced 904L steel on the Submariner before being replaced within a few years. The Explorer II 16550, produced for only a few years before the 16570, introduced the independently adjustable hour hand.

When buying, transitions are also fertile ground for assembled watches: a seller may present as "transitional" a watch that simply mixes parts from two periods. Insist on consistency between serial number, papers and parts, and beware of any frankenwatch presented as a rarity.