Tips for buying vintage used watches

You have to know the reference inside out. During the design-by-catalogue years there'd sometimes be subtle differences within a reference depending on the country it was retailed in etc., etc. Movements, dial and/or case manufacturers can differ within a ref and be absolutely correct and genuine, dial furniture suppliers can too . Knowing how a watch that retailed in the UK differed from one that retailed in the States, Australia, Denmark is important if you want to avoid buying something that ain't genuine.

Parts used within the movement during service can be wrong, is the bracelet genuine (if applicable).

It can be a mine field - study what you're going to buy and ask an expert before you do.

• Condition, condition, condition. ☻

• A refinished dial - to be avoided.

• Over or poorly polished case - look for the original case lines. Are they crisp?

• Are the hands genuine and correct and original?

• Has it been re-lumed?

And then there's all the brand and reference particular pit falls. Buy with your brain, not your eyes and definitely not your heart.

☻

Good luck!

There's normally a set of rules for each watch or each brand to look out for,do research on the model you want normally looking at the text to make sure its original dial and not fake or re dial,hands and crown being correct,checking serial model numbers match the watch,checking the screws that secure the movement are in place and it's the right movement for the watch,and checking normal wear and tear nothing soldered or badly damaged beyond repair,hope this helps I'm no expert,ebays the place I always get my vintage watches,chrono24 is worth a look,just take your time my friend easy to see new looking bargain and jump right into a franken watch.👍

If you haven’t already, search WC for vintage as there is good content on the topic:

Suggest you read this post: https://www.watchcrunch.com/Porthole/posts/the-perils-of-vintage-94-or-so-you-want-to-buy-a-vintage-watch-the-vintage-guide-none-of-you-asked-for-17932

Search posts written by @Porthole @Aurelian

Best advice is to buy from a trusted dealer that offers you a warranty that exceeds the legal requirements from your country.

As many will say buy the seller. But my main advice would be avoid the temptation to buy very expensive watches. If you buy something for a reasonable cost it's not the end of the world if it turns out to be a frankenstein watch. Many tool watches of the 50's and 60's may not have been fixed/serviced by dealers and could have been fixed on the cheap.

Good advice already above to take note. Re. buy the seller or from a trusted seller, I also recommend buying from a trusted vintage watch restorer like Gareth @GasWorks. @Guvnor64 will surely agree with me.

Be prepared to walk away from a watch you fall in love with

Avoid pin-pallets

Avoid vintage complications

Avoid pin-pallet vintage complications

Movement is everything - pop the back, or at least get photos

Thanks! will give it a read 💪

Thanks!

Solid advice, very helpful!

The only vintage watch I own I bought from Catawiki, an online bidding place for collectibles, furniture, art, wines, cars and of course, watches.

The listings are curated by "specialist", so there's is some sort of reputation that they want to maintain and that makes me to trust them.

Naively, I didn't do any research, but I am extremely happy with the watch.

"Be prepared to walk away from a watch you fall in love with" its hard!

"Movement is everything - pop the back, or at least get photos"

"Are the hands genuine and correct and original?"

all sound advise!

If you can spend time with the piece before you buy. use a timegrapher (watch accuracy meter app on your phone)

ask about service history.

Remenber: Its an old watch...there is a limited market for the seller. always lowball on the price...usually you can knock off 20-30%

Do the research, actually dive into the rabbit hole and go into old early 00s forum posts. It's like half the fun, too.

Once you fully know what you're looking at and what you're looking for, don't settle. Be patient. Don't limit yourself to "I only buy from a dealer," sometimes worthwhile finds come from private sellers on eBay or the like. If you KNOW what you're looking at, the seller bit only comes down to having a good deal go through.

At the beginning i would not buy from a private person until you bought a few and know what to look at. Only from official Dealers that offers you a warranty. Then do your homework for that modell that you would like to get. Which things you have to look at on your specific modell? Also: condition, condition, condition. Box and papers are not important for a vintage piece (that's just my opinion). Best of luck. 😊🤝

Best advice I can give is to buy from a trusted vintage dealer unless you have a really good idea of authenticity. You’ll pay more from the dealer but there’s added peace of mind. Lots of people claim their vintage watches have been serviced, only to find out later that wasn’t true. Service on vintage pieces can get expensive pretty quickly. This is a case of buying the seller first, and the watch 2nd.

Everyone's given great advices. Having bought a boatload of vintage my first year as a collector, the only thing I can add is try to embrace and love the imperfections. The less pristine the watch, the more likely it's not be buffed or retouched. If patina doesn't turn you on, avoid vintage.

Oh and one other thing, start small. Buy a watch at a cost you're happy to gamble with. The cost of the watch should just be an irritant and not cause for drama or stress if the watch ended up a fail.

When I collected vintage, my friendly trusted watchmaker suggested I look for relatively inexpensive brands( less Franken) in good condition or actively seek out new old stock watches from brands such as Bulova, Wittnauer even Seikos from the late 60s. It was fun until I decided to seek out watches from auctions that was beyond my realistic financial comfort zone that prompted the end to my vintage experiment.

I heard that vintage watches from India are a good deal!

Also waterfront real estate with a bridge attached in Brookland USA

Just created an account over there and I really love it, many interesting items not only watches. Thanks for the recommendation 😎

Can become a bit of a dangerous rabbit hole...