Underrated & Undervalued Vintage Brands
Everyone knows about vintage Rolex and Omega and that is reflected in the prices you pay to enter those spaces. Thankfully, there are brands out there which are under appreciated and can be enjoyed at a much more approachable price point. A prime example for me is Certina, I picked up mine for barely more than £100 and I absolutely love it!
I’d love to see what other budget gems people have sourced and hear about some niche vintage pieces
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James
Mechanical Engineer with a love for new and vintage watches, particularly those issued to the British Military
Wales, UK
Member since
Last active: 1 day ago
6.50” / 16.51 cm
I don't know about underrated, but I will give you one I think is perhaps undervalued. There are many rare vintage watches. Many small brands never produced many watches. They are rare without being valuable. In my thinking it has to be a brand that produced many watches but whose prices seem reasonable compared with others. I think vintage Mido fits that criteria.
Neither of these was a "bargain". I think that I got value, but it wasn't like some of my finds. By comparison, a similarly aged Movado or Invicta would have cost much more. They would have been fine watches, but not "undervalued."
Congrats, that's a real beauty!
Congrats on your new "old" watch.
Here are the bargains from my collection:
Seiko Cronos from the 60s
Westfield military from the 40s
Ceres military 1940s
All around 100USD and overall great pieces.
My vintage Ulysee Nardin felt like a relative bargain, the yellow is simply stunning and its a bit overlooked brand.
Vintage Nivada is awesome.
I have two Camys, which I both got at good prices. They're really great watches if you like simple vintage timepieces, but there is just an abundance of Mumbai specials going around.
Here's mine.
🔥
I don't know about underrated, but I will give you one I think is perhaps undervalued. There are many rare vintage watches. Many small brands never produced many watches. They are rare without being valuable. In my thinking it has to be a brand that produced many watches but whose prices seem reasonable compared with others. I think vintage Mido fits that criteria.
Neither of these was a "bargain". I think that I got value, but it wasn't like some of my finds. By comparison, a similarly aged Movado or Invicta would have cost much more. They would have been fine watches, but not "undervalued."
The hands of that Mido put it right over the top for me. Lovely. Nice bracelet choice too. 🎯
Classy. I like it.
Vintage certina is special, because of the ds cases. The movements are very protected. I have no knowledge about the calibers though, so if anybody has any please let me know.
I have been collecting mostly Bulova's from the 50's and Lord Elgin's. I don't think many people realize that Bulova was a prestige brand in the US and was used for timing sporting events. They were also very innovative in other areas, being the first watch company to advertise on the radio and the first to advertise on TV. Unfortunately, I don't feel like Citizens has done a good job representing the brands heritage.
Lord Elgin's were more a fancy "everyman's" watch, but they came up with some beautiful designs. I have a couple of their swing lug drivers from the 40's and a mystery dial watch from the mid '50's.
I don't know about underrated, but I will give you one I think is perhaps undervalued. There are many rare vintage watches. Many small brands never produced many watches. They are rare without being valuable. In my thinking it has to be a brand that produced many watches but whose prices seem reasonable compared with others. I think vintage Mido fits that criteria.
Neither of these was a "bargain". I think that I got value, but it wasn't like some of my finds. By comparison, a similarly aged Movado or Invicta would have cost much more. They would have been fine watches, but not "undervalued."
Exactly the sort of thing I had in mind - that Multifort I particularly love! The bracelet on the Ocean Star is awesome too, is that OEM?
Congrats on your new "old" watch.
Here are the bargains from my collection:
Seiko Cronos from the 60s
Westfield military from the 40s
Ceres military 1940s
All around 100USD and overall great pieces.
Never even heard of Westfield or Ceres, glad to have them on the radar now!
My vintage Ulysee Nardin felt like a relative bargain, the yellow is simply stunning and its a bit overlooked brand.
Such a cool case shape, thanks for sharing!
Vintage Nivada is awesome.
I have two Camys, which I both got at good prices. They're really great watches if you like simple vintage timepieces, but there is just an abundance of Mumbai specials going around.
Never heard of Camy, will definately start looking for them! The dial on that second looks so good 👌
Agreed on vintage Nivada. I fear prices will rise with the revival of the brand.
I only have this one which transports me straight back to the 70s.
Now that is 70s dial!
Never even heard of Westfield or Ceres, glad to have them on the radar now!
Westfield was Bulova's bargain brand. It was replaced by Caravelle.
Wowsers! Some great suggestions there - that eterna particularly, value for money is off the charts 🤯
Long may the current snobbery about "in-house" movements last... It depresses the prices of much of the quality ETA-based stuff from the 80s-2010s.
Long may the current snobbery about "in-house" movements last... It depresses the prices of much of the quality ETA-based stuff from the 80s-2010s.
Suits me just fine!
Exactly the sort of thing I had in mind - that Multifort I particularly love! The bracelet on the Ocean Star is awesome too, is that OEM?
Alas, it was an Amazon bracelet. I thought that it was a good match.
Westfield was Bulova's bargain brand. It was replaced by Caravelle.
I had no idea - I've seen some Caravelle divers which are very appealing
Alas, it was an Amazon bracelet. I thought that it was a good match.
Certainly looks the part
I have been collecting mostly Bulova's from the 50's and Lord Elgin's. I don't think many people realize that Bulova was a prestige brand in the US and was used for timing sporting events. They were also very innovative in other areas, being the first watch company to advertise on the radio and the first to advertise on TV. Unfortunately, I don't feel like Citizens has done a good job representing the brands heritage.
Lord Elgin's were more a fancy "everyman's" watch, but they came up with some beautiful designs. I have a couple of their swing lug drivers from the 40's and a mystery dial watch from the mid '50's.
I love that President.
My 1976 Bulova Accutron
Rado Diastar, first tungsten watch with sapphire Crystal.
This is the best resource I've found:
https://www.vintagecertinas.ch/en/movements-en/
Movements are very nicely decorated and are pretty bullet proof in my experiance, this is the one in mine:
Ty, I appreciate it
Agreed on vintage Nivada. I fear prices will rise with the revival of the brand.
I only have this one which transports me straight back to the 70s.
That's a very nice piece. While I'm not hoping for prices to go up, if they do, my Nivada Antarctic Spider becomes a more powerful tool for storing capital. I'm not in it for the money, but I got this watch at a bargain price, so if I ever mess up and need some quick cash, I have something.
Never heard of Camy, will definately start looking for them! The dial on that second looks so good 👌
Thank you! They were a lower-middle-range Swiss brand back in the day. They made fairly run-of-the-mill watches like mine, but also had some very good-looking divers and worldtimers.
Thanks for sharing. Am a Certina fan.
What a stunner! Totally agree that there are so many fantastic vintage brands out there other than Rolex and Omega including:
#elgin
#oris
#zodiac
#smiths
#longinesvintage
#benrus
#seikovintage