Vintage wristwatches have for centuries been one of the most prized collectors’ items. Not only that, but vintage watches are also hugely popular as hand-me-downs, family heirlooms and as gifts for a variety of celebrations. They do not even have to be ‘vintage’ in the strictest meaning of the word; many companies specifically design and make these watches to resemble a vintage look, and sometimes even have modern features incorporated into them. Those are known as replica vintage watches.
Let’s talk a little about actual vintage watches, though. The year was around 1900 and Dietrich Gruen introduced his line of wristwatches to the world. His mission: To produce the thinnest watch possible by cutting out some of the internal overlapping parts. Doing this, famous watches such as the VeriThin, SemiThin and Pentagon were made substantially thinner than its competitors.
Technically speaking, authentic vintage watches have certain characteristics:
- Typically, they are considered vintage if produced before 1970.
- Watches made in the mid ‘70s until modern day almost always use the Quartz movement feature which is Swiss-invented and is not indicative of a vintage watch.
- Vintage watches serve many purposes, like: as heirlooms, collector’s items, people who love to study in the inner workings, and so forth.
- Classic vintage watches have unique characteristics, such as: dials with Arabic numbers, oversized faces and shells, Swiss military engravings, or individual families’ last names engravings.
- Vintage watches were made by several renowned companies, such as: Wittnauer, Hamilton, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega, Perrelet and Universale Geneve.
- The Vintage Military style is one of the most treasured. It can be either Swiss or American-made, and common manufacturers of Vintage Militaries include Hamilton, Omega, Bulova, Waltham, Universale Geneve and Elgin.
- Of the former, 90% of them were made during or around the time of World War II, and are extremely valuable wristwatches.
- They were made, and are still sold by many antique dealers with metal, leather, or gator-skin bands.
What it means to own a vintage wristwatch
Owning a vintage wristwatch is a symbol that you are a person of integrity, sophistication, tradition and character. In many cultures and subcultures, vintage watches are handed down to posterity once they attain a certain age, or once a specific milestone has been achieved. In other cultures, people collect fine vintage wristwatches that have been fully-restored. They will then either sell these watches to discerning patrons or proudly display them at home and on their wrists.
Vintage watches are so much more than just keeping the time. They are a reflection of taste and an expression of high-style of the owner. They simply exude charm—something which most modern wristwatches cannot claim. In addition, vintage wrist-wear symbolizes an era that’s gone-by: an era where railroad workers used wristwatches and pocket watches to keep track of time, and a period of time in where quality and style in smaller numbers really meant something. We live in a time where goods are produced en masse and sold to the masses. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that. However, if you want to keep alive the times before mass-marketing then go online and browse the great selection of vintage wristwatches.
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