Reply With QuoteI don't think that in 18 years time young women will be wearing watches that are 20mm wide.
My advice would be if you're spending that amount find a good 14060 and put it away.
Hi
A relative had a special birthday recently. This got me thinking about women’s watches and a quick scan highlighted beautiful looking vintage Patek’s. A few examples are below from chrono24, i am sure there are others.
I had a daughter recently and half thought this might be a nice gift to buy and hold as present for her when she is older for a special birthday.
What does the forum think of them as a watch class? Does anyone have any experience of these or similar patek ladies watches? Is there anything to look out for or be mindfull of? should you worry about the lack of box and papers? what are they like? Who buys them in the current market? Why are they so cheep vs Men’s Patek?
illustrative examples:
https://www.chrono24.co.uk/patekphil...-id4670445.htm
https://www.chrono24.co.uk/patekphil...-id4670366.htm
https://www.chrono24.co.uk/patekphil...-id4673636.htm
https://www.chrono24.co.uk/patekphil...-id4673647.htm
I don't think that in 18 years time young women will be wearing watches that are 20mm wide.
My advice would be if you're spending that amount find a good 14060 and put it away.
You may well be right; i am not very good a predicting what woman like now, let alone in the future. Lets park that element.
They look like such a good deal, when compared with the men’s pateks of the same period, i am left wondering what the catch is?
There is not the same market as for men’s watches, hence the price differential. If I was buying a ladies Patek, I would definitely be going pre-owned and definitely consult the lady in question. You don’t want to be reselling these watches.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The article below suggests you are right, with current market being 30% / 70% female to male buyers.
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/amp.tim...-watches-women
So is it just that:
- women view watches differently and prioritise spend to other things
- those that do buy, or are given, expensive watches, purchase Men’s watches or smaller modern women’s variants.
- perhaps these old Pateks are just not particularly good or technologically interesting or they were produced in too high numbers
When we look back, could these gorgeous Women’s vintage Pateks be the modern day equivelant of the Daytona in the 1990’s or will we think about them like high quality pocket watches.
Does anyone have any experience of them?
T.
Last edited by timc; 3rd January 2018 at 11:29.
lol The women’s watches linked above look rather dull compaired to the ones in this FT article:
https://howtospendit.ft.com/watches-...ellery-watches
Interesting article.
It's about time. Pardon the pun.
I have no experience of women's patek so can't help with that.
Not a fan of the linked examples.
As mentioned by verv, I doubt a young woman in 18 years would be keen on them given their design and size.
Hektor, so to use the analogy above ‘more a future pocket watch’?
My opinion is that girls now seem to favour the larger watch. This leads me to believe the trend is the larger watch. Who knows what the future holds.Originally Posted by timc
My 29 year old wife prefers a 36mm datejust over the smaller sizes. She even has an eye on my sub & GMT. Thankfully her wrists are thinner than mine.
This is interesting, so the first choice when making a purchase is size vs brand, composition, mechanism or associations with female role models.
Do any of the female forum members collect and wear vintage ladies watch’s? if so what do they have, what is their grail, and what do they have their eye on?
I think plume does, small vintage anyway but suspect they were men's of the era.
I don't. Prefer current men's sizes of 36+
I’m afraid not. The watches I have that were designed for women are relegated to the back of the drawer.
I’m with Verv on this one. Whilst I do have very small wrists, I still prefer watches that were originally designed for men.
Thank you Sazzle and Verv, I appreciate this.
Last edited by timc; 3rd January 2018 at 19:42.
The watches the OP’s linked to are very much in the style of the day, which is late 60s to mid-70s. Personally, I like them, but I like lots of things from that era because I remember it fondly! I can’t see this style of watch appealing to fashion-concious women thesedays, but who knows how future fashions may change?.......I wouldn’t take the risk!
From a technical standpoint, any vintage watch that features an integral bracelet is a risky buy. If it’s a steel bracelet there’s a fair chance it’s still in good condition, but there are no guarantees. Gold integral bracelets are far more risky, gold doesn’t stand up to wear and tear very well. Furthermore, there’s a fair chance the bracelet has been sprained, stretched or distorted over the years.......and these watches have been around for many years!
A Patek Philipe is always going to be expensive to service and maintain; unfortunately most old watches have been neglected to a greater or lesser extent so there’s a fair chance that an old watch will need servicing and it’s likely some parts will need replacing. Most repairers won’t touch Pateks, so the watch will end up going back to the manufacturer for servicing and that’ll be costly.
Unless one of these watches is a family heirloom I wouldn’t go near it. If the watch had recent service history from Patek that would make it a better proposition.........but that still doesn’t resolve the questionable desirability! Strongly advise the OP to rethink this one.
Paul
Last edited by walkerwek1958; 3rd January 2018 at 23:57.
A ladies' Patek for someone who presumably hasn't shown a keen interest in watches, let alone dated-looking ones that cost a fortune to service, is pretty much the definition of "white elephant".
Many thanks Paul and Belligero,
Tim
I would second the excellent advice of many above and say that it might be wise to check that the lady in question likes the design of the watch. My wife turns her nose up at all kinds of watches that I would consider classic designs.
I think they're all pretty horrid. As watch nerds we find it difficult to look past the logo on the dial. Image all of those with DKNY on the dial - would you, or more importantly, your daughter find any of those designs appealing? If not, leave 'em.
The feedback is great, constructive and helpfull. I appreciate the course correction. I am sure the seller will find the right owner. I think i will put the money into an child isa for her.
Thank you
Tim
Last edited by timc; 4th January 2018 at 19:51.
I’d go along the lines of white elephant. Some of those examples to be quite frankly remind me of Granny watches. Often bought from Ratner style jewellers . All my aunts had them. Least I know now that the style was based on high end Patek.
When I spot woman wearing watches at the moment and in general this is less than men. It seems to split between Michael Corrs, classic round faced Daniel Wellingtons and ornate fancy jewellery style. Otherwise it’s the main brands Rolex , Omega , Longine , Tag.
I got my wife to try on a variety, she picked her Tag and loves it.
Trying to guess a ladies taste is risking disaster. I’d let the lady try it on. I know a lot of girls would go for a £100 Watch, more on a handbag and a £4000 runabout car.
Many thanks Mark,
Tim
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