The Golden Age of Watches
….Is right now. I have a feeling that this may not be a terribly popular opinion, or a widely held sentiment. So perhaps some explanation in in order. I recently found myself at a large antique fair. Much to my surprise there were actually a fair number of watches and clocks. Some of the clocks were very cool. But honestly that is not a subject that I know enough about at the moment. Research is required there before jumping into that pool.
So far as the watches go…..I can say that I am not terribly impressed with everything that the mid 20th century had to offer. This may come as a surprise as I love vintage inspired design. But I have always known that this is much more a “creative reimagination” of the past than actually reissuing it.
I saw piles and piles of watches, and nothing came home with me. Of course the few really good pieces would have been snapped up by pickers and will end up in high priced auctions somewhere. So I wasn’t really expecting to find any vintage Omega, IWC or Longines. By in larger these dealers were knowledgeable enough that no one was going to walk away with a find for the ages. But this was a fair selection of “average watches” worn by average men and women.
And to be honest, it was not all that impressive. Mid century design was bland (or worse) just as often as it was brilliant. The quality of case finishing on most of these pieces was not great even though it was all “done by hand.” Indeed, it reminded one that there was likely a very good reason why machines were adopted en mass. If nothing else it ensures a reliable baseline of quality. And the material that was used in their construction left lots to be desired. We joke about old Rolex clasps being stamped from tin cans, but there was worse stuff out there. Remember, those tin cans were what the masses aspired to own, not necessarily what they had. It was seriously making me yearn for the good old day of pocket watches.
Recently I saw someone on YouTube (I honestly don’t remember who) talking about how much better vintage watches are than modern ones. They declared that the only improvements we have made are incremental ones in engineering, quality control and basic material science. Given that we are talking about tiny (highly temperamental) mechanical devices, one wonders that this could be considered a bad thing? Let just say that it was not a great sign that in the “good old days” there used to be a watch repair shop on every city block. That is another part of the past that we seem to be actively trying to forget.
What is left off of this list is design, and that seemed to be their point. There are certainly many vintage designs that still inspire. A handful have even become iconic. But I think that what is often forgotten is that in the world of design or fashion looking to the past is not cheating, or an activity that lacks creativity. It takes a certain sort of creative genius to look at the cultural debris of the 1970s or 1980s and say that this trend or style is going to work now, while also knowing to stay away from all of the rest of them that will be quietly forgotten. I actually remember a fair amount of the 1980s and let’s just say that my childhood was never as artistically brilliant or creative as 1980s inspired cultural properties like Stranger Things. Those set designers did not copy the 1980s, they reinvented a version of it for the current era, and what that looks like now might be very very different from what other designers will come up with in 2050 when the 1980s are back in fashion again.
I think this is why I became (or rather discovered) that I am fan of Davide Cerrato’s design. It would be fair to say that he has pushed us in the “vintage inspired” direction as much as anyone in the last few decades. Just look at the work he did with Tudor or Mont Blanc for starters. Of course his designs are multi-faceted and spans the gamut from vintage, to futuristic to almost steam-punk (I am looking at you Geosphere). Yet the ability to study the cultural debris of the past, and shape it into a compelling vision of the future is no mean feat.
Will the tides of fashion turn at some point? Undoubtedly. But I don’t think that changes the fact that buyers of luxury watches are in a great position right now. Leaving aside some issues with social media and the availability of a small number of hype pieces, never before have we been offered this quality of material and design at almost every price point. It is certainly true that watches are no longer the mundane tools of daily life that they once were. But that is precisely why this is watch collecting’s golden age.
A student of time and space with a watch on his wrist.
I agree with your premise and disagree with your reasoning. By any objective measure that I can think of watches are undeniably better than they ever have been. They are more accurate, require less service, are tougher and more resistant to abuse. The crystals rarely scratch or break. They are all more water resistant than they need to be.
By subjective measures, opinions vary. Watch design is limited by function, materials, and size. It seems like half of the watch market is a straight homage of watches that are themselves homages or re-imaginings of the companies' back catalogs (folks seem to like Bulova's Sinatra collection - nothing original there). It is true that designers in all fields look to the past for inspiration. The difference is that other fields have a larger palette to choose from while watches are limited. There are fewer ways of recalling a Calatrava or Explorer than the wallpapers of William Morris of the clothing of Coco Chanel. Watches are mostly round and mostly have three hands. There must be points awarded for arriving there first. The Polerouter, the Kontiki, the Antarctic Spider or the pan pie Constellation reached the high ground first. It is like the two minute mile, it is accomplished regularly by high schoolers but we still remember Roger Bannister.
I also agree that we are in the best time to collect. There is sneaky accumulation of wealth in our society. Most of us have more watches than we need or could afford a half century ago. Most watch consumers in all parts of the income range owned only one watch in 1965. Resources were too scarce to devote the money required to fill a watchbox.
But while collecting may be in a golden age, I have to disagree that watches have entered one. I think that they have left one. The reason is that they are no longer necessary. There is a generation of young people who will never wear one. We can make many things better than we ever have, but without a purpose they will eventually fall to the wayside.