A person can begin collecting vintage timepieces, but it is another to recognize what to buy, when and for how much money they should spend for their collection. Some vintage timepieces have attractive designs at reasonable prices to aid you in becoming a knowledgeable collector. Vintage timepieces are reassuring, evoking simpler times, and they sell like hotcakes. The resurgence of retro-influenced designs inspired by the past has indeed spurred interest in the originals themselves. When it comes to smartwatches, consumers are looking for the best deals by focusing on a specific decade. Buying vintage may be like the wild west, even if you get a great price. Hence, to help you pick the best vintage watch, here is the article for you.
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Tudor Prince Date + Day
Excellent condition for this 1970 Tudor Prince Date + Day ref 7020/0 from the Tudor Prince collection. The casing is very durable, with just minor scratches. All of the bevels on the casing are still in place. There are minor scratches on the case back. The dial and hands are both in great shape and have acquired a patina over time. The hour markings have acquired a patina over the years. The Cotton Bowl lettering on the dial shows indications of wear on the letters “O,” “B,” “I,” and “C.” The “O” and “B” letters are particularly worn. Unless otherwise noted, the lume plots are all in a satisfactory quality, except for the plots at 4, 5, and 7 o’clock, which show indications of wear. The inscription “STAN CLARK” is etched on the case back.
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Longines Aviator
Longines has been in business since the 1830s and is best known for their ‘Aviators’ timepieces. The company director was a colleague of Charles Lindbergh, who commissioned the creation of a pilot watch for the business after completing his transatlantic flight. Longines watches are still relatively unknown outside of the areas of chronographs and sports watches, despite their widespread appeal in these fields. Longines watches are a conventional and basic design that can be purchased for less than $1,000, but interest in the brand has increased with the debut of its heritage collections. Take advantage of this opportunity while you can, before the company’s prominence—and pricing—soar any higher.
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Breitling Navitimer & Top Time
It wasn’t until the 1950s that Breitling’s iconic aviation chronograph, the Navitimer, was first released. Its innovative”navigation computer” is competent at doing every calculation necessary for a flight route. To this day, pilots and aircrews still adore it, even though it’s not a very practical timepiece for the rest of us to carry daily. The Breitling Top Time, a watch that was previously worn by James Bond, is a preferred idea for those of us who aren’t concerned with velocity and rate of descent calculations. The Top Time is identical in appearance to a Heuer Carrera, however, it is considerably more difficult to locate in the wild.
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OMEGA Speedmaster
The OMEGA Speedmaster chronograph was introduced as a sports and racing timepiece. The name of the model was derived from the revolutionary tachymeter scale on the bezel, which was unusual at the time. Since then, several notable chronographs have been produced under the Speedmaster brand name, one of which was carried by astronauts on the Apollo 11 space shuttle mission during the first lunar walk. A classic Speedmaster is a definite hit, so buyers can’t go wrong. Despite its iconic status, the Speedmaster is still a moderately priced watch that has held its value throughout the years.
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Heuer Autavia
The Heuer Autavia was used as a dashboard timer on vehicle dashboards between the 1930s and the 1950s. Despite being updated in the early 1960s, it functioned as a wristwatch until the 1980s. Although the chronograph was designed to time car and aircraft operations, it has also been utilized for several other applications throughout history. Other Heuer models do not provide a wide variety of shapes and styles. So, whatever your preferences are, there is almost definitely an Autavia model that will meet them. Given the availability of more luxurious choices, the most popular is the least priced.
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Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox
When Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced the world’s first automated watch with an alarm function in 1956, the company created history. The Memovox watch was given this name because it means “voice of memory.” The Master Memovox, a reimagining of the 1960s horological classic that was only available for a limited period in 2010, is what you’re truly searching for if you want to own a piece from the original run. Be prepared to pay between $2.5k and $3k for the opportunity of owning one of these vintage timepieces, which are still regarded to be among the hottest watches on the market more than four decades after manufacture ceased.
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Eterna KonTiki
Eterna is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer that was founded in the 1850s by Josef Girard and Urs Schild in Grenchen, Switzerland. The business has been credited for several breakthroughs throughout its history, including the first automatic wristwatch in 1938, the smallest manufacturing wristwatch with a Baguette movement in 1930, and an upgrade in self-winding watch technology in 1948. An interesting watch to have a look at is the Eterna KonTiki, which was titled after the raft that a Norwegian adventurer used during a voyage across the Pacific Ocean to the Polynesian Islands from South America in the 1800s. He was, of course, dressed in an Eterna at the time of the incident.
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Enicar
The Enicar Watch Company was formed in the 1910s and is located in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. Enicar became one of the world’s most successful watch companies in an amazingly short amount of time by using Radium to illuminate the hands and dials of their watches in the dark. Enicar began producing chronographs in the mid-1940s. Two decades later, the firm began developing automated motions. The Enica Sherpa was one of the best-selling versions, and it was utilized on a Mount Everest ascent. It was very skeptical to leave my rolex watch refurnishment to be repaired, but I am so pleased with the results.
In A Nutshell
A vintage watch has history and illustrates how watchmaking has changed through time. If you do your research on the watch you want and trust your seller, it’s a great way to save money on a well-known brand model compared to buying new.
