Tudor Prince Oysterdate Jumbo. What is your favorite vintage piece that still looks great by today's standards?
The Tudor Prince Oysterdate Jumbo is a fantastic vintage watch, perfect for those with larger wrists. Its 38mm diameter case wears beautifully, even by today's standards, and features the classic Oyster case design, complete with a Rolex-branded caseback, crown, and buckle. With a date cyclops, the Jumbo model can easily be mistaken for a Datejust from afar. The lighter sunburst dial of this watch pairs exceptionally well with textured leather straps (like this Two-Stitch Vintage Cognac). It truly is one of our favorite vintage pieces, and we highly recommend it to anyone looking for a timeless and sophisticated watch that will stand the test of time.
What is your favorite vintage piece that still looks great by today's standards?
We take pride in handcrafting our watch straps from the finest quality leather. Our strap manufacturing process is highly time-consuming, and each strap is meticulously handled with great care and att...
Omega Speedmaster st 105.003 pre moon, pre professional Ed White. Straight lugs, t Swiss made t on the dial 39.7 mm caliber 321
He was wearing a 1964 for his space flight.
The Tudor Submariners are high on my list. As are the neo-vintage Omega seamasters. I guess the Speedmaster Profeasional always looks great because who wants to mess with an icon?
My Omega Quartztilation ✨ ?
The Smiths De Luxe Everest line does have a lot going for it. Classy dial, beautiful Arabic numerals, decent movement, and around 33.4mm it wears like a mid-size Air-King. Even on my 7 1/2” wrist it has a presence, and sits in between the versatility of a field/sports/dress combo. I think this sort of style doesn’t really go out of fashion: Longines would quite easily release something like this today, and microbrands such as Vario, Baltic, or even Baltany or Undone would smash something like this out of the park. Plus, these Everests need more exposure, not the damn Timefactors versions.
@WatchYourIntruder and I waxed lyrical over these Chronostops in a recent thread, but the Tachy version for me has that 1960s racing vibe that is still popular in the Heuer or Omega lineup, and various random microbrands are trying to recapture.
The ATP, to me, are pretty much perfect. Ranging between 28-33mm depending on which of the 20 models you find, the combination of rugged field watch specifications and elegant Swiss execution put these again in the middle of this Venn diagram of hardcore/elegant/utilitarian all-rounder of a watch. These are often now overshadowed by the WWW (or the Dirty Dozen), and even by the later W10s or G10s when it comes to UK service watches, but these watches did the majority of the heavy-lifting in WWII and demand the greatest of respect. Kuoe Kyoto, Baltany, MWC, and Timor do modern versions of these, and are definitely worth a look.
Not too many other enthusiasts sport Felca-Titoni watches but I'm kind of obsessed with this 100+ year old family owned maker. Their general lack of popularity outside of Asia makes these Swiss made, ETA driven pieces an affordable option even with fine condition examples like this mid-century Airmaster. IMO avoid buying one from India where there seems to be the largest concentration of bastardized Titoni Airmasters ever assembled by nefarious sellers.
Not too many other enthusiasts sport Felca-Titoni watches but I'm kind of obsessed with this 100+ year old family owned maker. Their general lack of popularity outside of Asia makes these Swiss made, ETA driven pieces an affordable option even with fine condition examples like this mid-century Airmaster. IMO avoid buying one from India where there seems to be the largest concentration of bastardized Titoni Airmasters ever assembled by nefarious sellers.
Similar to Favre-Leuba, and as you’ve inferred, these are very rarely found unmolested. Unfortunate, but true. They are handsome, but you have to consider that not all stylistic flourishes are necessarily original on these.
Similar to Favre-Leuba, and as you’ve inferred, these are very rarely found unmolested. Unfortunate, but true. They are handsome, but you have to consider that not all stylistic flourishes are necessarily original on these.
Definitely riding the gravy train on their stylistic choices but I'm more accepting if they are built well and most importantly of the era. I collected classic cars and it was similar in that when one automaker discovered that fins were selling then others adopted fins as well. Same with vinyl roofs, hood scoops, etc. BTW as a married collector (hoarder) of all things I can vouch that it's easier sneaking a watch into my dresser than a car into the driveway.
I think this Hamilton Thinline still looks good at 35mm.
So does this Tissot Seastar.
Wait, did I miss something? Have today's standards of beauty deviated from historical standards of beauty in any meaningful way? Do people still think of Beauty as a Platonic ideal, or is that just me?
(That's three decades worth. Beauty is more in the eye of the beholder in the 1970's)
Definitely riding the gravy train on their stylistic choices but I'm more accepting if they are built well and most importantly of the era. I collected classic cars and it was similar in that when one automaker discovered that fins were selling then others adopted fins as well. Same with vinyl roofs, hood scoops, etc. BTW as a married collector (hoarder) of all things I can vouch that it's easier sneaking a watch into my dresser than a car into the driveway.
I have nothing against franken-watches, but I just thought it prudent to point out that not all vintage Titoni are necessarily the Real McCoy. That’s not to suggest that aren’t handsome; I have a couple of franken-Rado, and owned a couple of franken-Enicar that are very nice, just not necessarily legit, and thus the desirable embellishments are aftermarket.
Oh no worries! I think I understood exactly where you're coming from. Better safe than sorry. The few Frankenwatches I unknowingly bought early on where due to my rookie status rather than me being knowledgeable about where they were coming up short. A bitter pill to swallow and sobering each time I look in that corner of my watch box and see how obvious my early ignorance was. Nothing wrong with this community looking out for each other and that's the spirit in which I read your comment. I now have some pretty authentic and amazing Felca-Titoni watches like this one. Cheers mate!