Category Archives: Vintage Watches

Watch Collector’s Notebook: The Fascination of Vintage Rolex

Rolex is at once one of the most innovative companies and also one of the most deliberate. Because of Rolex’s conservative approach to changing their watches over the decades you can trace a straight line from the last of the plastic crystal Explorers in the 1980s, for example, back to the Oyster watches they produced in the 1940s. The designs are really quite similar even if some cosmetic things like the dimensions of the watches changed over time.

Speedking ref. 2280, ca. 1942

Explorer ref. 1016, ca. 1985

A Datejust from the 1950s looks relatively similar to a Datejust from the 60s, 70s or 80s.

Datejust re. 6605, ca. 1956

Datejust re. 1603, ca. 1971

And this creates a very comforting and satisfying continuity, the shared heritage of a Rolex Oyster’s ancestry always being present in the next iteration. But–and as a vintage collector this is what hooked me–despite the similarities, there are myriad very small differences. Learning about these subtle changes, sometimes as small as the font on a dial, is the fascinating part of Rolex collecting, as well as often being crucially important to the value and authenticity of a given example. Continue reading →

Watch Collector’s Notebook: So… why watches?

There are a lot of hobbies out there and a lot of collectibles. So how is it that one guy chooses comic books or baseball cards or Impressionist paintings and another guy chooses watches? Well, I can only speak for myself and my own obsession with wristwatches but I wouldn’t be surprised if all of those interests had a common source rooted in our childhood.

For me, the watch enchantment started when I was a kid and my dad and I would take long drives up to his house in Western New York (Upstate, as we always called it, the term Upstaters love to hate). Now this was a long drive in an old red Volvo so it took a bit over 5 hours on a good day. My parents being separated, these road trips had a special magic for me, to spend so much alone time with my dad while he steadily drove northward away from the City. And aside from our talking and catching up, he would invariably hand me his Omega chronograph, which I believe he had got working as an ad man on the brand’s account. It took me some years to remember it correctly but I finally realized it was this one:

A Speedmaster Professional Mark II with exotic “Racing” dial. Continue reading →

Blog of the day– Jake’s Rolex World Magazine

If you want to get heavy into Rolex ephemera, pop culture and the wonderful personalities who wore Rolex throughout history, Jake’s Rolex World Magazine is a fine place to while away the hours. From the brand’s founder Hans Wilsdorf to the ultra cool ambassadors like James Bond, Jackie Stewart, Steve McQueen and (believe it or not) Martin Luther King, Jr., Jake has a passion for rooting out the many tales in Rolex’s storied history and the pivotal players who wore the watches. We’re not sure where he gets the time or the energy for such a massive amount of well done posts but our hat’s off to him–way to go, Jake, you’ve got a real cool blog!

Watch Collector’s Notebook: A golden dream

It won’t happen often but every once in a while as a watch collector you will run into something genuinely rare and special. I’ve been fortunate in my relatively brief years in the hobby to have more than my fair share of these moments. But the one watch that arguably stands out for pure Wow! factor is this early solid 18k gold reference 1680 Rolex Submariner:

Now there is nothing particularly uber-rare about an acrylic crystal “Nipple” dial gold Submariner, although they are not all that easy to come by. But what made this example really special and drew me to it is that the dial was meters-first, which is very uncommon in a Gold Sub. Rolex manufactured the Submariner line for 15 years before they decided to make a version in gold. (This despite the fact that they had always produced a GMT-Master in solid gold from the beginning of that reference in 1955. Who knows with Rolex?) But from it’s introduction at the Basel watch fair in 1954, the Submariner was only available in stainless steel. Also notable is that their dials had always had the proud depth rating with the metric measurement of 200 meters first. Furthermore, no Submariner had ever been produced with a date complication. But in 1969, Rolex was about to change all of these things. Continue reading →

A (very) general hierarchy for vintage watches

Here are some very general guidelines on how to rank and compare vintage watches in a physical sense. Obviously, make and model have the most to do with the overall equation in terms of value but these physical characteristics can still give a collector a basic idea of the overall intrinsic value of a given wristwatch when compared against like examples.

Case Type: A case with screwed back is generally more desirable than one with a snap/pressure fit back due to increased water resistance. Any given multi-piece case is usually preferable to a front loading “monocoque” one-piece case, a style which was popular in the early 1970s but is now out of fashion. A 3-piece case with back, midcase and separate bezel is generally considered superior to a 2-piece case with integrated/formed non-separate bezel. Continue reading →

The Rolex Explorer–A watch for all seasons

Rolex Explorer reference 1016–Matte Dial
The most versatile and cleanly designed model in the Rolex Sports/Tool line is the venerable Explorer. Originally christened shortly after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay successfully summited Mt. Everest in 1953 with a great many men on the team wearing Rolex Oysters (there is some mystery as to whether Hillary actually wore a Rolex or a Smiths), the Explorer has been in the Rolex repetoire ever since. And with good reason. Not only does it possess the toughness and water resistance you’d expect from an Oyster Perpetual but it has an elegant simplicity and low profile that make it perfectly suited to any occasion.

1963 1016 with Gilt Dial

With its black face and instantly recognizable military-style luminous “3” “6” “9”, the ultra-legible Explorer goes perfectly with anything you might be thinking of wearing, from hiking attire to formal wear. (Let’s face it: James Bond may be able to pull off a Submariner with a tux but you probably shouldn’t try it.) With no prominent rotating bezel like the Sub or GMT-Master, as well as a thinner case, the Explorer fits under a French cuff as easily as any dress watch in the Oyster line. But it still looks tough and ready for action.

Modern 36mm ref. 114270

Yes, all it does is tell time. But it does that beautifully, accurately and with unmatched versatility. While Rolex has lately upsized the Explorer to a beefier 39mm, I strongly prefer the traditional 36mm diameter. Don’t mess with a classic.

For more great reading on the origins of the Explorer, check out this terrific post over at Vintage Rolex Forum from one of the big Dutch collectors. It’s a truly great read.

Relatively cheap vintage watches can make you happy

I just wanted to start a series of posts on relatively inexpensive vintage watches that I think are a good way to begin collecting and provide great bang for the buck. I may go into these makes & models in more detail at a later date but for now here’s a quick example with pix.

Vintage Longines Admiral, circa 1970

Vintage Longines are, for the most part, grossly undervalued in terms of the quality they deliver relative to other “sexier” brands. Take this nice blue dialed Admiral from the early 1970s that I recently sold (with a tinge of regret).

Not a big watch at 35mm, it is nevertheless a nice casual dress size and the face looks large due to the narrow bezel. Plus I am a big fan of blue dials and this one is a beauty.

It has a water resistant two-piece all-stainless steel case and screwed back, which makes it ideal for daily wear.

But best of all, its “super power” is that it features a rare in house Longines cal. 431 25-jewel chronometer-grade movement adjusted to temperature and 4 positions that beats at 36,000 bph, which gives the second hand a pleasingly smooth sweep.

This deluxe version of the 431 was arguably Longines’ most technically advanced movement (the more commonly found version is detuned down to 28,800 bph), an engineering pinnacle of sorts before the quartz revolution nearly destroyed the mechanical watch industry. People like to debate about high beat vs. lower beat movements in terms of accuracy (higher beat) vs. durability (lower beat). That notwithstanding, one has to take their hat off to Longines’ commitment to pushing forward with then-cutting edge mechanical watch technology in the face of the rapidly changing world of tuning fork and quartz module competition.

IMO, this watch is a stylish steal at around $600-$750.

Vintage Watch Collecting: The Rolex GMT-Master

First let me say that I am definitely biased: My first Rolex was an old reference 1675 GMT-Master from the late 1960s that I won on eBay before I knew anything about vintage watches in general or Rolex history in specific. But I was lucky because the watch turned out to be both A) genuine and B) a totally awesome choice for a noobe. Here’s what it looked like…

And here’s why it’s a great choice for the guy who just got his first really good payday or bonus: Continue reading →

Some Basics on Vintage Watch Collecting

Just a (not so) brief primer for the beginners on the kinds of things to think about when you start looking for a vintage watch.

First off, most of the watches that us vintage buffs are into have plastic crystals. This can be alien to a lot of people who are used to modern timepieces with their ultra-hard synthetic sapphire crystals. And yes, acrylic crystals are prone to scratches. But you can polish those out easily with some cotton balls and a neat little product called Polywatch. It’s a light abrasive that will smooth out scuffs & nicks. In a pinch, even toothpaste will do. Once you become accustomed to the warm look of an acrylic crystal you won’t be so hung up about it, I guarantee you.

In fact some watches are so iconic, like this mid-1960s Omega Speedmaster Professional (aka “The Moonwatch”), that the companies still put plastic crystals on them today despite the superior hardness of modern crystals. They know very well: don’t mess with a classic!

Secondly, what to buy? And my answer to this is: buy what you like. Continue reading →

What we’re reading now–Killer article on the Heuer Autavia “Viceroy”

Here’s a really cool article over at Ben Clymer’s Hodinkee watch site authored by Vintage Heuer guru Jeff Stein on the integral relationship between Heuer’s iconic Autavia and Brown & Williamson’s Viceroy cigarettes:

How the Number Three Cigarette in America Made Heuer a Household Name

Smooth tobacco flavor–I’m timing it!

Smoking is bad, m’kay, but you’ve got to love those retro ads and chunky chronos. Not to mention that vintage Heuers from this period are some of the hottest collectibles going & Jeff really knows his stuff. Click over to Hodinkee to check it out–its a fun read even if you’re not a big watch buff.