Vintage or No?
Vintage Discussion:
- Are you into Vintage pieces?
- How'd you get into Vintage?
- What would you tell the newbies who want to get into it?
- If you're not into Vintage pieces, why?
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Shawn - The Watch Titan
Watch enthusiast/collector. Watches are an art form, a muse of sorts, an inspiration from the past for the future. A watch does more than tell us the time of day....They should inspire us. Reddit: htt...
Midwest, USA
Member since
Last active: 1 day ago
7.00” / 17.78 cm
The main reason I’m not into vintage pieces is a lack of knowledge. I don’t think I’d know enough to know if an old watch was going to last me whereas the modern watches I buy all from reputable brands (including the micros) I feel pretty safe with. Also if you like the vintage look plenty of brands do copy that with some of their lines. I’ve just discovered Dan Henry but Tissot have also gone with a 70ish look with some of theirs. I’ve got a lot of respect for people who know what they’re talking about and buy vintage but with all the modern options available I don’t want to take that risk.
Having purchased and resold at much lower price about three vintage Omegas over the course of my collecting life, I've realized that I have no talent or ability to determine the authenticity or functionality of vintage watches.
Cards on the table, I'm probably going to try again at some point and swear it off again. It's a sickness.
I like vintage. I only have a couple pieces but I do like then a lot even with the smaller size. The more patina the watch has the better in my opinion. But of course the risks are there. The fun of it is researching the brand and model, with that comes confirmation the watch your looking at is original.
2. I got into vintage because I saw an early 60's Hamilton in an antique store and thought that it looked so much better than the early 90's quartz watch that I was wearing.
3. Advice to newbies:
Read what you can find online about a watch and a brand. Know what they should look like so that you can eventually avoid the traps. Nothing is rare (and everything is). Don't buy hype. Look at movements even if you don't know what you are looking at. You can see water damage or rust. Starting out stick to 15 jewel movements and up. Watchmakers are less easily accessed and more expensive than ever. A $100 watch will require 2-3x that in service costs in the near future. A seven jewel watch may never be worth service costs. Avoid pin pallet escapements. Most vintage watches will brag about their jewels (rubies, etc.). Those that don't may be pin pallets. There is no such thing as "wound too tight" or "overwound".
Vintage buying is a bet and you will lose some. Just like anything else you are buying the seller. It is hard to have just one or two vintage watches because at any given time a third will not be working properly. Sufficient volume of watches lets you wear one when you want to.
If you can mod a Seiko you can keep 90% of vintage watches going by yourself.
I have said all of this and more elsewhere here. The vintage collectors have lots more helpful knowledge.
Oh, I took a friend to lunch today. This cost less than that lunch:
I have a drawer of mistakes, but the successes are worth it.
Might I recommend picking up the Shugart book? It used to be updated every year, (I think that has ended) but you can pick one up and it has a lot of info on vintage pieces.
The bottom line is the more you see and handle the more you know. You use the information to make good decisions. The mistakes become lessons as you learn from them.
2. I got into vintage because I saw an early 60's Hamilton in an antique store and thought that it looked so much better than the early 90's quartz watch that I was wearing.
3. Advice to newbies:
Read what you can find online about a watch and a brand. Know what they should look like so that you can eventually avoid the traps. Nothing is rare (and everything is). Don't buy hype. Look at movements even if you don't know what you are looking at. You can see water damage or rust. Starting out stick to 15 jewel movements and up. Watchmakers are less easily accessed and more expensive than ever. A $100 watch will require 2-3x that in service costs in the near future. A seven jewel watch may never be worth service costs. Avoid pin pallet escapements. Most vintage watches will brag about their jewels (rubies, etc.). Those that don't may be pin pallets. There is no such thing as "wound too tight" or "overwound".
Vintage buying is a bet and you will lose some. Just like anything else you are buying the seller. It is hard to have just one or two vintage watches because at any given time a third will not be working properly. Sufficient volume of watches lets you wear one when you want to.
If you can mod a Seiko you can keep 90% of vintage watches going by yourself.
I have said all of this and more elsewhere here. The vintage collectors have lots more helpful knowledge.
Oh, I took a friend to lunch today. This cost less than that lunch:
I have a drawer of mistakes, but the successes are worth it.
Thanks for this! Very helpful.
I started collecting vintage Hamilton in the usual way. That is to say that I bought tons of inexpensive gold filled models. I quickly found out that service is a sunk cost that adds no value to basic, inexpensive models.
In addition to @Aurelian’s suggestions, I humbly suggest to leave the bargains alone and focus on iconic pieces, outstanding designs or precious metal pieces with intrinsic value. I lost more money on my ”bargains” than all my signature pieces combined.
Even as a percentage, it makes more sense. If you buy 10 x $100 watches and perhaps four need a service, you are potentially $1600 into a $1000 collection. If you buy one $1000 vintage piece and need a service, you are potentially $1200 into a $1000 watch but this better example also has a better chance of increasing in value with a good service, time and a healthy vintage market.
The large vintage collection has genuine appeal until you are spending $200/week on service.
I think the safe way to get into vintage is target a specific brand or model, then do your research, follow the market and buy a safe example from a known seller. Don’t speculate on value. Buy what you like and will wear. With more knowledge and experience, you can start to target much nicer and more desirable models with much more confidence and less risk.
I started collecting vintage Hamilton in the usual way. That is to say that I bought tons of inexpensive gold filled models. I quickly found out that service is a sunk cost that adds no value to basic, inexpensive models.
In addition to @Aurelian’s suggestions, I humbly suggest to leave the bargains alone and focus on iconic pieces, outstanding designs or precious metal pieces with intrinsic value. I lost more money on my ”bargains” than all my signature pieces combined.
Even as a percentage, it makes more sense. If you buy 10 x $100 watches and perhaps four need a service, you are potentially $1600 into a $1000 collection. If you buy one $1000 vintage piece and need a service, you are potentially $1200 into a $1000 watch but this better example also has a better chance of increasing in value with a good service, time and a healthy vintage market.
The large vintage collection has genuine appeal until you are spending $200/week on service.
I think the safe way to get into vintage is target a specific brand or model, then do your research, follow the market and buy a safe example from a known seller. Don’t speculate on value. Buy what you like and will wear. With more knowledge and experience, you can start to target much nicer and more desirable models with much more confidence and less risk.
I understand @Davemcc 's point about the bargains, but I still do the "more is more" approach. But, I will add that I have access to lower cost repairs than most. I might start in bargains and work up once you gain confidence. It would really hurt to guess wrong on a vintage Omega, Rolex or JLC. My best piece is probably my Omega and it has caused me nothing but trouble for the last couple of years.
The best examples of Dave's advice in action are the collections of @WatchYourIntruder and @SimplyVintageWatches . There is nothing to criticize there and so much to admire. I think that @chronotriggered and I are more similar in that we take more risks for lower stakes, although his better pieces are better than mine. You can always try @ChronoGuy 's approach which is to buy every watch. He has brands that I have never heard of in incredible condition. For that privilege he had to sell his soul down at the crossroads.
Yes, but really only vintage (or neo-vintage 😀) electronic digital watches. I have a collection of digital watches from the '70s and '80s.
My parents both enjoy watches and are one of the main reasons I am a collector. My dad had some of the early LED and LCD digital watches from Seiko, Citizen, Texas Instruments, Bulova, and Armitron (those are the ones I remember). When I decided to dip my toes into the vintage market, I ran across a Citizen CQ Solar Digital watch from 1977, and it brought to mind my father's small, digital collection from the '70s and '80s. This was my first vintage purchase.
I removed it from the bracelet and put it on a Vario World Time strap.
If you are going to look at the budget level in vintage collecting, only spend money you would not mind flushing down the toilet. 😂 All watch collecting is somewhat superfluous and spends money that could be better spent elsewhere, but you really need to be willing to throw money away to try to collect budget vintage watches. I have found some real gems for less than $100, but I have also received the equivalent of a transmission packed with sawdust, and when you buy as, you buy as is. 🤣 I have opened more than one unsuccessful dispute (an a couple successful disputes, to be fair) when a watch I received arrived with an unmentioned defect or shot craps within a week of purchase.
I found this Texas Instruments digital watch from the 1980s for around $50 and it has been working great.
I really didn't notice it for the longest time, but this Citizen digital watch has one LCD bar out in the one for 10:00, 11:00, and 12:00, and all of the pictures of the watch were taken between 1:00 and 9:59. The watch works great other than that, but I was unaware of the slight defect.
For a long time, I avoided the vintage market and really only purchased new watches. I have purchased some pre-owned or open-box watches, but they were of new or recent models, not watches watches from half a century or more ago. It was only earlier this year that I purchased my first, and I am still hesitant to purchase a vintage analog watch, although I am looking at a couple Seiko 5s.
I understand @Davemcc 's point about the bargains, but I still do the "more is more" approach. But, I will add that I have access to lower cost repairs than most. I might start in bargains and work up once you gain confidence. It would really hurt to guess wrong on a vintage Omega, Rolex or JLC. My best piece is probably my Omega and it has caused me nothing but trouble for the last couple of years.
The best examples of Dave's advice in action are the collections of @WatchYourIntruder and @SimplyVintageWatches . There is nothing to criticize there and so much to admire. I think that @chronotriggered and I are more similar in that we take more risks for lower stakes, although his better pieces are better than mine. You can always try @ChronoGuy 's approach which is to buy every watch. He has brands that I have never heard of in incredible condition. For that privilege he had to sell his soul down at the crossroads.
Yes - I did my deal like in this clip from "Crossroads"...😉
https://youtu.be/wXguZwR7NOE
Excellent points already made in the previous postings to this thread.
To reiterate some and expand a bit...
Hope this is useful.
N.B. Just remembered one more resource to add - the indispensable and excellent site hosted by Dan Henry: https://www.timeline.watch/
Q1 yes but I like modern especially retro repros
Q2 because I like the look of them
I am not a collector, but I own and wear a bit of vintage for two simple reasons. They are sized properly and look more interesting than modern bloated blandness.
Of course I have all kinds of "vintage" things that are just normal use items to me as I'm of the "use it or lose it" school of preservation that has no interest in coddling and tucking things away.
I am partial to a vintage watch (understatement of the year there).
I would argue I have always been into vintage. I inherited a vintage quartz Omega Seamaster when my grandfather passed nearly 30 years ago, along with some other Swiss junkers. I didn’t really get into watches properly until my early 20s, and it was mainly his Seamaster I wore on the regular.
I decided I needed a watch for more day to day, so I bought a Tag. Decided it was too modern and nice, so bought this vintage Omega instead.
Decided that was too nice, so ended up down the rabbit hole.
I don’t like modern watches for many reasons, but the main ones are that they are too large (and I have big wrists) and they lack character. I find myself drawn to heritage pieces when looking at new watches, but as a result I might as well go vintage. Yes, it’s a risk, but I’m quite battle-hardened and have a clear set of rules I follow: avoid obvious rip-offs, be sceptical of dial condition, avoid ridiculous complications, 15 Jewel minimum, no pin pallets (although I do break this one from time to time).
I think I am amazed what I can pick up for next to nothing, and that keeps me going. I think a 70 year old watch with a decent movement, and keeping good time, is much more interesting than a new Tudor or Seiko. I like watches with stories and scars, like this one:
One more thought to add...I forgot to mention this YouTube channel which is a great resource for you if you are planning to collect vintage watches.
This current episode is particularly relevant...
https://youtu.be/JZa2uzHlh7s
I understand @Davemcc 's point about the bargains, but I still do the "more is more" approach. But, I will add that I have access to lower cost repairs than most. I might start in bargains and work up once you gain confidence. It would really hurt to guess wrong on a vintage Omega, Rolex or JLC. My best piece is probably my Omega and it has caused me nothing but trouble for the last couple of years.
The best examples of Dave's advice in action are the collections of @WatchYourIntruder and @SimplyVintageWatches . There is nothing to criticize there and so much to admire. I think that @chronotriggered and I are more similar in that we take more risks for lower stakes, although his better pieces are better than mine. You can always try @ChronoGuy 's approach which is to buy every watch. He has brands that I have never heard of in incredible condition. For that privilege he had to sell his soul down at the crossroads.
Thank you @Aurelian for the flattering comment 🙏.
Q1: The answer lies within my name 😂. Simply Vintage Watches, meaning, "let's put this bluntly, I'm all about Vintage Watches".
Q2: I use to think that I have an old soul and that that was the reason I got into Vintage Watches. The real reason is that since I was a little boy I have been influenced by cinematic adventures and the thought of discovering something mysterious, special and unique was always a goal of mine...like "treasure hunting". I use to draw up maps and play Indiana Jones ☺️. On top of that, as a kid, I was always a collector of some sort. Figurines, comic books, semi precious stones, rocks, etc...of course, my parents thought that was a healthy way to keep a little boy interested and out of trouble. I guess I'm a sort of failed archeologist 😂.
As an adult I have collected Vintage Star Wars toys, the real deal original Kenner action figures and playsets (1977-1985), vintage Shwinn bicycles, RC hobby grade helicopter Kits where you choose your own electronics built them and fly them 3D style. I guess I have the need of feeling that I am somewhat "ORIGINAL" even if I know I am not 😉.
One day I became friends with a guy that use to work at a pawn shop. He was a fashion watch guy and got me into Nixon wich was a very popular brand at the time. I got a few of those but quickly felt that they we're not really unique. He showed up one day with a few old pocket watches and what I later discovered was a Vintage Bulova Computron. I bought the "lot" of him for maybe $80.00.
The Computron was in very good working order and made me feel like a kid again, like I had striked treasure 😃! From then on I started researching everything I could about Vintage Watches. I trully got hooked!
If you made it this far, remember, I am a failed archeologist 😂 so researching where it all began and discovering truthfull aspects of watchmaking are a must for me. That is why the focus of my collection is mainly "world firsts" and Patents.
Here is a video of my collection from last year. All the pieces are still in and I have aquired others that are just the right fit for my personal collecting philosophy wich redundantly lies in my "love of wisdom" when it comes to Vintage Watches and on any subject I become interested in for that matter.
https://youtu.be/6MAs22tidXhttps://youtu.be/6MAs22tidX0
Q3: If Vintage Watches appeal to you, follow that feeling. Fullfill your curiosidy, be an interested individual, be passionate and never ever lazy!
I like vintage. Of my collection I’d say half is vintage. Another 25% is pre-loved, up to 30 year old watches. My reason to go a vintage route was partly the wearable, or I might dare to say proper, size for a dress(ier) piece. The type which is my preferable choise. Partly cause, for me, the 50s and 60s produced the best watch design.
Most tips and warnings had been said already in a better way than I could provide. With some of the ”advice” already mentioned I can share what my strategy has been so far:
I kept it simple. 3-handers with, or without) date function. That is my prefered look and I also hope and believe that this type of watches has had a smoother ride through their existence than sport watches.
I’m not a nerd of moments. I tried to do my homework on reliability and and the possibility to have it serviced locally. In most cases I listened to the advice (an Omega 1022 beeing the exception).
I buy my watches from vintage dealers directly or through Chrono24 over internet. That gives we 14 days of graze period after delivery. That gives me plenty of time to take the watch to my local AD/watchmaker for a 2nd opinion.
I’m no flipper. So I can’t loose money on my watches. I can overpay, and in some cases I might done that. But I kept them. My advice is the obvious one to buy what you like. If the version is close to 100% of what I look for I might pay premium for that watch but my watches is not the result of rare collectables rather, IMO, nice samples of quite common models. Mostly I avoid watches labelled unique or rare. I think often ”yea, there is a good reason for that rareness”
I like vintage. Of my collection I’d say half is vintage. Another 25% is pre-loved, up to 30 year old watches. My reason to go a vintage route was partly the wearable, or I might dare to say proper, size for a dress(ier) piece. The type which is my preferable choise. Partly cause, for me, the 50s and 60s produced the best watch design.
Most tips and warnings had been said already in a better way than I could provide. With some of the ”advice” already mentioned I can share what my strategy has been so far:
I kept it simple. 3-handers with, or without) date function. That is my prefered look and I also hope and believe that this type of watches has had a smoother ride through their existence than sport watches.
I’m not a nerd of moments. I tried to do my homework on reliability and and the possibility to have it serviced locally. In most cases I listened to the advice (an Omega 1022 beeing the exception).
I buy my watches from vintage dealers directly or through Chrono24 over internet. That gives we 14 days of graze period after delivery. That gives me plenty of time to take the watch to my local AD/watchmaker for a 2nd opinion.
I’m no flipper. So I can’t loose money on my watches. I can overpay, and in some cases I might done that. But I kept them. My advice is the obvious one to buy what you like. If the version is close to 100% of what I look for I might pay premium for that watch but my watches is not the result of rare collectables rather, IMO, nice samples of quite common models. Mostly I avoid watches labelled unique or rare. I think often ”yea, there is a good reason for that rareness”
Very insightful and I appreciate your "process" and the focus on what lane you have chosen to stay in with Vintage. The pool is vast and if I'm honest, it makes me nervous to look at vintage. In reality the only piece I really want is my birth year watch. There are some super cool pieces, and I know it won't stop there for me.
I still kinda new into this hobby I just for now own one simple digital vintage and oh yeah it works. But in the future I got my eye set on that Bulova Accutron my birthday year. Ran across some Timex Qs And Marlins very beat up just taking my time and see. I see like this... Is like you ready to go to Vegas and really feeling upbeat and lucky to roll some dice and win.
I still kinda new into this hobby I just for now own one simple digital vintage and oh yeah it works. But in the future I got my eye set on that Bulova Accutron my birthday year. Ran across some Timex Qs And Marlins very beat up just taking my time and see. I see like this... Is like you ready to go to Vegas and really feeling upbeat and lucky to roll some dice and win.
Super cool! What I like about this hobby is the longevity. Often times, and I include myself in this, there's a race to get all of the watches one wants. I find myself going crazy, but I have to have some self talk and take my time.
Super cool! What I like about this hobby is the longevity. Often times, and I include myself in this, there's a race to get all of the watches one wants. I find myself going crazy, but I have to have some self talk and take my time.
Thats right, I find myself with this on going desire when I see a certain watch makes me think hmm, maybe, nah or I just wait. Its all comes down do I really really need it? or its ok I just wait and maybe by then I change my mind. It always comes down to that one and only certain watch.