Vintage watches have been a timeless and classic fashion statement for centuries. With their unique designs, high-quality movements, and unique stories, vintage watches are more than just timekeepers. They are a symbol of personal style, history, and luxury. If you are looking to buy a vintage watch, here are some of the top choices to consider.
1. Omega Constellation Pie Pan Dial
Image courtesy of Fifthwrist.com
This is just such a stunning watch. Available in multiple variations, there is one for everyone! It was released and produced between 1950s to late 1960s in three different metals, stainless steel, gold capped and solid gold.
What's unique about these Omega will always be the dog-leg lugs and the 3-dimensional pie pan dial coupled with the conservative case size of about 35mm, it is a very classy and elegant timepiece. The unique lugs and dials always make them recognizable from a distant and the pie pan dial makes it inherently stunning under a warm sunlight.
Image courtesy of @stemandbezel
Personally my favorite variation is a stainless steel ref. 14900 with its original Rice-of-beads bracelet. It perfectly embodies the style of the time and has such a clean aesthetic. Paired with a plain t-shirt tucked into some nicely tailored chinos with some well patinaed loafers and you have the whole 'old-money' look knocked out of the park. However, that being said, it is also an extremely versatile watch looking good both on a strap and on a bracelet for whenever you might need to switch things up or down.
Various examples do exist on the market with most having the date complication. You should be able to pick one up at a price of 1000-3000 € depending on the condition.
2. Must De Cartier Tank
Image courtesy of @stemandbezel
Another quiet and classy piece that I feel is one of the best embodiment of the 'old money vibes'. The Must De Cartier Tank we're talking about here are not the ones that were relaunched recently but those that were very much present during the late 70s as Cartier was looking to sell more to the masses. Hence cheaper, gold plated cases were used as opposed to the solid gold cases.
However that does not mean that there is no value in these watches. In my opinion, its a great value proposition. A great brand with huge history behind it, a mechanical movement from ETA, and just such a good looking watch. You really can't go wrong with buying a watch like this. I am a firm believer that every collector needs at least one Cartier in their collection.
These are surfacing the market for around 1000-2000 € depending on the dial variation and condition.
3. 1950-1960s Omega Pre-seamaster
Image courtesy of @reverecollections
Now these are an interesting range of watches from Omega. Created in the 1950s to 1960s post WW2, they were created initially as tool watches and descended directly from the Dirty Dozen watches that Omega had put out during the war. They did not even have a model name like Seamaster, Constellation or any of the later lineup names. Their dials only printed the Omega logo and that was it.
They can be identified easily through their 4 or 5 digit reference numbers (5 digit was used towards the later years of 1962/63). They are also commonly found in 36mm size with movements descending from the legendary 30T2 family. In terms of value proposition, there is definitely value here with a good brand, reliable workhorse movement and various dial combinations. There's one for everyone to uniquely own.
Again, these can be found for below the 2000-3000 € range depending on the dial variation and condition.
Conclusion
As a collector, I have always bought things that I liked but also things that are a good value proposition. These are my picks based on what they offer to me, by no means do I think these are goingo to skyrocket in value but I feel that they offer a lot or at least more than what the market charges for them right now.
So if you agree with me do go snag them out before it's too late! I know for sure I am adding one of them to my collection this year for sure.