Vintage watches???

There was once a kind young man who wrote a guide...actually, it was @Porthole. His advice is sound.

I own a few. I have made mistakes and had some successes. And, I wouldn't have if I had listened to the wisdom of the crowd.

Wow thank you for this

I would recommend to start with quartz vintage. Less risk involved.

I Love vintage watches. I find ones I'm interested in the do thorough research on them before pulling the trigger. I don't pay much attention to bracelets/straps nor crystals (especially acrylic) as both are easily/cheaply replaced.

You should pay more attention to movements as well - that Newmark has a high percentage chance it could be housing a pin-pallet, but then again, it would always count as due diligence to know what movements brands were using around the decades in question. Newmark were using Roskopf-type…

I would avoid pin-pallets at all costs as that will also kill any curiosity in this.

How about checking out some reissues? You can get the look without all the risk of vintage.

I wish there was more vintage options in size 38mm+. I can’t wear anything less

Lots of wisdom in this thread especially when it comes to more expensive vintage watches which you want to keep in the long term (tread carefully, know your stuff, service immediately etc)

However, to get a feel for what I liked and to reduce the chance of taking a large financial hit from a mistake I took a different approach, what could be called the "bottom-feeder strategy".

I would look for quality watches in the sub-£30 range described as working on a site like ebay which has a good returns policy for items not as described, i.e. seller pays return postage. This mostly means gold- or chrome-plated brass and generally dress watches though other styles are possible to find, if rarer.

My method for finding quality at that price is to look for defunct or unknown brands. Anything more famous will cost more.

I do a search in title and description for terms like "Incabloc", "Shockmaster", "Shockproof", "Shock-protected" as these were often used to market watches with decent 17 jewel Swiss lever movements with shock protection.

Another term I try is "electric", "electronic" and "transistorized" as they were used to market watches with electrically/electronically controlled balance wheel movements. They often have funky designs and I've had good luck with them working.

I also search for the quality mass-market brands of the past - in the UK Rotary and Accurist used to be Swiss Made. I also have a saved search list of French brands which used quality French movements, all of which are now bankrupt and largely unknown.

I then look for condition. Signs of water damage or mould? Avoid. Minimal case wear often means a watch hasn't been worn that much. Check the edges near the lugs and the crown for places where the gold plating can wear through. Work out whether any marks on the dial are caused by damp/damage or are just the shadows of scratches. You can do this by comparing photos taken from different angles and seeing if the marks move or not.

I also look at the seller's other items and feedback and sometimes ask where the watch is from and why they're selling it.

Once I'd done that for a while I got a better sense of what to look for, what represents good value for money and what I like. You can then resell some of your cheap purchases and start to acquire some more expensive vintage watches if you want, armed with knowledge to avoid being ripped off. I can now often find vintage originals in good condition which cost considerably less than similar reissues even including cost of service.

Here are some examples that I've picked up for under £30 and still enjoy wearing:

Lots of wisdom in this thread especially when it comes to more expensive vintage watches which you want to keep in the long term (tread carefully, know your stuff, service immediately etc)

However, to get a feel for what I liked and to reduce the chance of taking a large financial hit from a mistake I took a different approach, what could be called the "bottom-feeder strategy".

I would look for quality watches in the sub-£30 range described as working on a site like ebay which has a good returns policy for items not as described, i.e. seller pays return postage. This mostly means gold- or chrome-plated brass and generally dress watches though other styles are possible to find, if rarer.

My method for finding quality at that price is to look for defunct or unknown brands. Anything more famous will cost more.

I do a search in title and description for terms like "Incabloc", "Shockmaster", "Shockproof", "Shock-protected" as these were often used to market watches with decent 17 jewel Swiss lever movements with shock protection.

Another term I try is "electric", "electronic" and "transistorized" as they were used to market watches with electrically/electronically controlled balance wheel movements. They often have funky designs and I've had good luck with them working.

I also search for the quality mass-market brands of the past - in the UK Rotary and Accurist used to be Swiss Made. I also have a saved search list of French brands which used quality French movements, all of which are now bankrupt and largely unknown.

I then look for condition. Signs of water damage or mould? Avoid. Minimal case wear often means a watch hasn't been worn that much. Check the edges near the lugs and the crown for places where the gold plating can wear through. Work out whether any marks on the dial are caused by damp/damage or are just the shadows of scratches. You can do this by comparing photos taken from different angles and seeing if the marks move or not.

I also look at the seller's other items and feedback and sometimes ask where the watch is from and why they're selling it.

Once I'd done that for a while I got a better sense of what to look for, what represents good value for money and what I like. You can then resell some of your cheap purchases and start to acquire some more expensive vintage watches if you want, armed with knowledge to avoid being ripped off. I can now often find vintage originals in good condition which cost considerably less than similar reissues even including cost of service.

Here are some examples that I've picked up for under £30 and still enjoy wearing:

I would generally agree, but you need to be careful to avoid crappy reworked watches with aftermarket parts!

You'll get used to it 😁

It is a pin pallet, the highly jewelled Baumgartner BFG 158. Its one of the better ones and it does keep decent time.

A pin-pallet with a high jewel count is a turd rolled in glitter. The problem is, they are found in a lot of very desirable late 60s - late 70s watches that are affordable, and “cool”.

Always allow for the cost of a full service when buying vintage.

And never look to Youtube for DIY fixes

Can you quantify the cost of a full service though? This is going to be different for a three hander to a perpetual calendar but by how much? Is there a ballpark figure for each? Is a 1960s Omega going to be massively cheaper than a 1940s PP? The rabbit hole of cost (and knowing there is so much more that can go wrong with vintage therefore likely more time spent servicing, at least in the short-term) makes me pause. When I buy new I pay a premium but there is huge comfort in knowing new watches likely won't need servicing for say 5+ years and when they do require service that's unlikely to be major or complex due to lack of parts/service knowhow (at least for established marques).