Just curious as to what determines the use of the word ''vintage'' when describing a watch,can a digital G-Shock not yet 15 years old be described as a vintage watch?.
Cheers
Paul
To me vintage would have to be pre-1960. Otherwise it's modern (but old).
Personal preference I guess. I'd call a 1970's watch vintage, maybe even an early 80's. But then I usually talk about Heuers, and they have the added complication of trying to distinguish a Heuer from a TAG Heuer. Most understand that a Vintage Heuer is 'pre-TAG', even though it could be from 1985, which I normally wouldn't consider 'vintage'.
Everyone has their own sliding scale I reckon, I think it may largely depends on the individuals age. A 20 year old, may deem a 1985 watch as vintage, as it was well before their time; yet a 55/65 year old would think 1985 was 'like yesterday' !!
I was referring to a G-Shock on sc which stated ''Vintage'' @ 14 years old!which prompted the question, no malice intended.
< 1970 = vintage
1970s and 1980s = retro
>= 1990 = secondhand/used
Can't see how anyone can call a 10 year old watch vintage. Vintage motoring in an Audi TT? I suppose if you are 6, 2003 is vintage.
Surely retro means modern or new, but in an older style?
I guess it has all changed a lot in recent decades - back in the old days 'vintage' and 'antique' etc had real meaning, now alongside 'retro' they are commonly in usage for anything just out of date!
I thought antique was more than 25 years. If that's right I've got antique underpants I might put on eBay - mid-Elizabethan.
:-)
Now, I also have a set of retro Jeans if anyone is interested in making an offer.
I prefer the term Classic, rather than retro, for 70's to mid 80's watches, the same as cars.
Hmmm.
I must be about ten years older than you, as my definitions would be that much earlier!
I'm 50 btw.
Have you been looking at his washing line again? :-)
<goes quiet>.
As long as its only wabi and pattina.
A real antique has to be one hundred years old by definition.
The word vintage doesn't mean anything in real terms as it was just an appellation stolen from wine, i.e the year it was made.
So really, in watches and other collectables the word vintage can mean anything that is not new.
In the old days it would simply be called second hand.
Cheers,
Neil.
It probably depends largely on whether you're buying it or selling it...
In my simplistic mind, tritium and a plastic crystal makes a watch vintage.
In Ireland, to avail of vintage road tax, a car must be 25 years or older to be considered vintage.. so there's one viewpoint.
I think the mid 70s is the cut-off point, coincident with the upsurge in quartz watches which also saw a downturn in quality from some of the Swiss manufacturers as they tried to cut costs. I`d call a late 70s Seamaster with the Omega in-house 1010 movement vintage, but I wouldn`t call an early 80s quartz Omega vintage.
Paul
When the watch is older than the owner lol, but I suppose that's all relative to each owner.
Maybe when they are this age >
:p
I think it depends on the context of the item - e.g if g shocks have only been around for 20 years then a 15 year old one would be very old 'for the type' and arguably a vintage item.
But yes I agree I've got t shirts from 1997 that I still wear and wouldn't call them vintage. I don't even want to speculate on the age of my socks though
After some bad experiences with 'vintage' pieces, I now take the term to mean 'knackered and likely to land you with an expensive repair bill'
I thought it meant fake or tatty and on ebay?
For example:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Ro...item20ca76d4e0
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OMEGA-AIR-...item53eda3601f
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Vi...item2574d39564
My primary interest is Speedmasters and I am happy to refer to all pre-Moon as "vintage". I would probably also consider all 'stepped edge' dial Speedys as "vintage", so that would include early 1970s. My other interests include Heuer, and I'm with Stewart on this, all pre-TAG are now "vintage" in my eyes. Also, pre-Vendome Panerai and the preA series which extend into the early 1990s. I suppose the common theme here is the use of tritium on the dials, which is hardly a sound basis for categorising watches.
for me pre 70s is vintage....the 60s produced some of the best known vintage pieces in the world of watches and cars......
My Dad was an antique dealer. He had a similar query from an American who had wandered into the shop one day. His response was that an antique was anything he was currently selling :)
Anything older than 13years must be antique, I mean that was in last Millennium (insert smilies i cant find)
Seriously I thought vintage was more than 40 yr old,
Retro as someone said is modern but in an older style
There's an old Chinese bric-a-brac shopowner in Singapore who famously has a sign above his door that reads 'We buy junk and sell antiques'...