For the Love of Vintage Watches!

Why Collect Vintage Watches? 

The market for vintage watches has been on the rise and the price of new watches has been skyrocketing.  This is mainly driven by the limited availability of watches like Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Patek Phillipe, and even some Omega’s, and, more recently, the Omega x Swatch watch. 

Shopping for watches has never been easier.  Globalization of the watch industry and the simplification of the logistics has made online shopping for watches, whether new or vintage, so much more accessible for all.  With the click of a few buttons, one can buy a watch from sellers all the around the world, and have it delivered in few days. This, in turn, has spurred greater demand for pre-owned and vintage watches.

Now imagine walking into a Rolex Dealership with empty display cases or exhibition just for display dummy watches. What can you do, instead?  Just simply scroll through our extensive collection of vintage Rolex time pieces, and plenty of other major brands, at Experts Watches to see what goes with your style and your pocketbook.

So, why go vintage?  Before we get there, let’s delve into what qualifies as a vintage watch.  

What is considered as a vintage watch? 

Vintage watches are at least 25 years old.  At Expertswatch.com, we classify all timepieces made prior to 1990 as vintage.  There may be others that draw their cutoff at 30 to 50 years old.  Nevertheless, what can’t be debated is that all vintage watches exude a substantial degree of charm and personality that is difficult to replicate in mass-produced modern watches.

Is there value in vintage?

Like good red wines that age with time, well maintained and functioning watches only get rarer with time.  Many older watches were also produced in limited quantities.  This unique combination of significantly limited supply ensures that good vintage watches appreciate in value, while simultaneously ensuring that the wearer look stylish. 

So, why do we like Vintage watches? 

Vintage watches have a historical character in each of them. Every vintage piece will have its unique patina, nicks, dings, and wearage (yes, this is a made-up word!) from years of adorning wrists that gives it its own personality.  All vintage watches have a story to tell – story of its past owners, the lives their owners led, and the care bestowed upon them. Was it worn by a businessman working in an office, a soldier serving his nation, a worker working under the sun all day, maybe by a diver, race car driver, or even Paul Newman? In many cases, they are family heirlooms passed down from generation to generation.

Vintage watches appeal to most people because they connect us to moments in history like 1968 moon landing. The design elements and innovations and spirit of watchmaking link them to the world around them, like a time capsule. From being the first chronograph watch, first watch with alarm, first watch with full complication. These functions were created as necessities to serve a purpose. 

All the watches we carry at experts watches tell a story from Omega Moon watch, Heuer Carrera racing, Breitling Navitimer 806, Rolex Submariner (Oyster case), to a 1939 Longines Lindbergh Hour Angle 10.68Z WWII Military Pilot Watch. They were all created for a reason. That is why we have an enduring passion for vintage watches.

What to look for when buying a vintage watch?

Do your Research -  Learn about yourself, first.  What do you like and don’t like about your style?  Where do you see opportunities to improve your accessories.  Your hobbies, your line of work, your weekday and/or weekend style, your friends, what you drive – all of these will help you know the direction or directions that you may want to consider.  Once you have this, learn about some brands and potential models that could work for you.  Then, make sure that you have a budget range.  Prior to buying any vintage piece, be sure to educate yourself or find a trusted dealer. Contact us at ExpertsWatches.com and we will gladly help you refine your search. Over 50% of our inventory sell prior to posting.

Check sellers’ reputation – Oftentimes, vintage watches are great deal because they can be less expensive than their modern counterparts. However, these watches tend to need servicing, need parts and may have issues. That is why Experts Watches has Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Program, and we are one of the first in the industry to do so. Our goal is to make sure that you are getting an authentic and fully functional timepiece. We are considered one of the top vintage dealers on the web, by providing most detailed information about our watches, certifying our watches, and providing seamless transaction, among other things.

Patina – The character of watch come from its wearer,  a unique look through the watch history. Usually Patina is associated to the watch dial and how it ages based on its exposure to the elements.  These are special characters that differentiate each watch from another (The DNA of the watch). 

We have been providing high quality personalized service to our customers for over 25 years. We are a Power Seller on eBay since year 2000 with over 10,000 happy transactions. For us at ExpertsWatch.com, vintage watches are our passion, and we are only happy to share this experience with you.