Vintage Watches

The vintage watch market is vast and also a very detailed and sometimes complex area to invest in. No matter if you are a new to the pre owned watch market and are buying a piece or two for pleasure or if you are a seasoned watch collector with years of experience and a substantial collection. You are going to need knowledge and you are going to need to persist in learning, perhaps indefinitely.

There are many different areas of vintage watch types that you may need to gain knowledge in..

Movements and complications.

This is definitely one of the most detailed areas, from simple chronograph features to multiple time zones through to tourbillons and everything in between. Automatics to manual wind pieces. Eta and Valjoux. The movements are the heart of the watch, and are as varied in available selection as the variety of outer appearance.

Brands and watch houses.

Everywhere from new brands to centuries old watch houses. Breitling to Panerai, from Patek Phillipe to Vacheron Constantine. The number of of names is huge and ever growing. Each has its own history and theme.

Era and innovation.

Movements today have evolved from movements of years passed. Such is said of many forms of mechanical design. A vintage watch movement of the 1960's may be significantly different to a movement from the 1930's. Though they may have a lot in common at face value, there may be revolutionary changes to the trained and informed.

Original condition and limited editions.

An area that is very important to gain knowledge in before purchasing a vintage watch is the original features and variations released on the watch you are considering. The "after market" area of vintage watches is an immensely important aspect of pre owned watches. So many people buy watches and customize them or have them repaired with unoriginal parts, that it is an area of great importance that could make or break a deal on a watch. A common occurrence is the changing of original crystal screens with thinner more modern, and to be fair, stronger sapphire crystal screens. Now this may seem like a good idea at the time, but it also negates the originality of the watch and greatly affects value. Changing dial colors or designs is another common area of modification. Imagine your dismay when you learn that the 1965 blue dial watch you just purchased was only released in black or silver dial versions and your watch is greatly reduced in value due to a previous owners whim and preference.

Diamond bezels are another common addition. There was a time when Rolex only put full diamond bezels on its full precious metal pieces. Only partial diamond bezels were allowed on two tone editions and under no circumstance were diamond bezels produced on stainless steel pieces. This lead to an incredible amount of people paying independent jewelers to attach a diamond bezel to their stainless steel Rolex. As attractive as this added feature may be in some cases, it also completely eradicated the integrity of the watch. It also caused problems with the warranty and any kind of service by Rolex. The company at hand only allows watch makers certified by them to work upon their watches to prevent any unnecessary internal damage that may be caused accidentally by an untrained watch maker working on their watches.I personally think this is completely fair, after all why should Rolex pick up the repair costs under warranty terms for damage that has been caused by an untrained third party?

Rolex is not the only company or brand who have legitimate concerns with the after market modification problem. Pretty much every brand does and it is strongly advised that you only buy watches that fit the standard release specs and have been repaired by the individual watch houses preferred technicians.

Now of course, there is never any certain way to make sure your watch has never been worked on by watch makers uncertified by that specific watch house, but you will find that most owners of vintage watches tend to take care when it comes to their watches warranty and integrity.

Your next area of knowledge, should of course be a local reputable dealer. There are plenty of vintage watch dealers, and a little bit of research online with watch forums and review sites will give you a decent foundation in that respect.

Buying a vintage watch can be a fun and rewarding experience, one that you will most likely repeat. Very few people tend to stop at one vintage watch, most move on to building a collection.

Good luck with finding your dream vintage watch!

Vintage Watches