Vintage Chronographs - What's Your favorite period?
Difficult question because there are so many cool vintage chronographs to choose from. Here are some examples from different time periods for your reference:
1930s - Berthoud Geneve (Universal Geneve), Universal Geneve
1940s - Heuer, Leonidas, Marvin, Minerva
1950s - Baume & Mercier, Egona, Movado
1960s - Breitling, Enicar, Hema
1970s - Certina, Girard-Perregaux, Heuer, Le Jour
1980s - Pryngeps
1990s - Zenith
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Mel
I really like chronographs especially vintage ones.
NYC
Member since
Last active: 18 min ago
7.50” / 19.05 cm
Wow! Great presentation!
I think the 50's look coolest to me. The aesthetic seems both ornate and classical, but also look fairly modern - or maybe I only think that because so many manufacturers are releasing "vintage-inspired" pieces?
Meanwhile, the 70's pieces are really, really in your face! In a good way!
So so hard to decide 🤦🏻♂️. I will go with I personaly own and hence have gravitated towards. The 40's, 50's and 60's 😃🙌.
Wow! Great presentation!
I think the 50's look coolest to me. The aesthetic seems both ornate and classical, but also look fairly modern - or maybe I only think that because so many manufacturers are releasing "vintage-inspired" pieces?
Meanwhile, the 70's pieces are really, really in your face! In a good way!
Great point - I should do a post on all the vintage reissues that have come out in the past few years. Very much in the 1930s to 1960s looks with a some 1970s thrown in as magnified by the reissues from Porsche Design for the 1972 and Heuer with the Orange Boy HODINKEE reissue and the reissue of the Viceroy Autavia both from the 1970s.
Although I generally prefer the styling of watches from 1945 to 1965, I think that many choices in terms of font and styling of the chronograph manufacturers in that era made the dials too precious and fussy. I think that 1965- to 1975 would be my choice for vintage pieces.
I love the 6139 'White Helmet'.
I love the 6139 'White Helmet'.
Great choice! I don't have any vintage Seiko chronos yet in the collection. Just the more recent ones like the Flighty and the Gulf colored racing solar powered chrono. Some really great vintage Seiko references out there.
Not to resurrect an older thread, but I really love the transition from 50s to 70s pieces. Somehow they (relatively) quickly went from 'old gold' dressy pieces to funky shapes, bold colors, and sports pieces.
Not to resurrect an older thread, but I really love the transition from 50s to 70s pieces. Somehow they (relatively) quickly went from 'old gold' dressy pieces to funky shapes, bold colors, and sports pieces.
Totally agree - the 1970s is one of my favorite periods. Also, because you can get a fair amount in NOS or close to NOS condition (real NOS not redialed or enhanced). You can really see the change happening about mid-60s when the Swiss brands started to combine the concept of chronographs and dive watches.