just seen the typo in the title, is there any way I can edit that?
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As someone who usually buys at the affordable end of the watch spectrum, I find that many of the brands that get the most coverage are not something that I would be looking at. I have found a number of wonderful vintage watches from less talked about brands, which look great and are well made. I would be interested to see what other people have in their collection that falls into this category.
So to start off here is one of my Cortebert watches. It has a stainless steel case, domed champagne coloured dial with rose gold hands and indices. I think it is from the 1960s.
I look forward to seeing what gems you all have tucked away!
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Last edited by Zook; 25th October 2020 at 20:51. Reason: typo
just seen the typo in the title, is there any way I can edit that?
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Yeah, click on "edit", then click on "go advanced". You can then edit the title.
As with you I am firmly in the affordable end of the market. What makes it so exciting is finding a lovely vintage watch from an obscure or defunct brand. Some watches just speak for themselves but sometimes it is something about the brand that attracts me. One day I will have an Enicar just to have a watch with the Saturn symbol on.
Anyway, here are a few of mine.
I'm sure my grandfather's Choisi fits to this category.
Favre Leuba - the world's second oldest watch brand, after Blancpain.
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How about Damas? You never hear anything about them, but the parent company (Beguelin) supplied movements to very early Rolex. This particular one from late '30's - early '40's with an in-house movement and 36mm 'jumbo' case required Brendan to perform some magic to get it working, but it's a beauty.
Oriosa!
they made some wonderful stuff
I was lucky to pick this up with serious issues, but perserverance paid off, I think, ittook 18 months to eventually sort.
That Bakelite bezel is wonderful and the monnin-cased watch is now spot-on, just the lightest patina, and has certainly given me the taste for more
ebay in Italy seems to throw up some gems
Oriosa carried on into the quartz period - here's a diver of mine.
Cheers,
Neil.
Most of my gear is "name stuff" so no good on this thread but here's a Continental that has a look of an Omega Dynamic about it.
Cheers,
Neil.
And a NOS Questar - anyone else seen one?
Cheers,
Neil.
I have this Nicolet with rotating bezel. It’s not the same company as Armand Nicolet.
Bunch of them were just different brand names for different markets or joint ventures.
Some local I have owned
- Darwil
- Omikron
- Orex (truly weird, Romanian brand with chinese and russian movements)
- Lanco (Tissot subbrand)
- Mimo
- Kelek
- Mortima
- Meister Anker
- Kienzle
- Lado
- Partex
- Jumbo
- Precimax
- Tavannes
Etc...
CROTON
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I'd go with Eterna. Though now owned by a Chinese company, it goes back 150 years and it is responsible for the founding of ETA (SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse). Some nice vintage stuff specially chronos equipped with Valjoux 72.
Well here is the watch my dad wore the most by far. He bought it in the fifties and was still wearing it fifty years later.
Not much out there about the Watra brand, appears to have been a French manufacturer.
He also had this Swiss made Avia watch probably dates about the same time or just a few years later. Very nice satin dial.
My Father in Law had this which turned out to be by Glashütte from their GUB days and has the good old Spezimatic movement in there. Dates from the late Sixties I would think.
Mitch
A few from my collection
Roamer
Grana
Moeris
Record
If it was not for our host Precista, Smiths etc would be on the list
Great post, here are some of mine (please excuse the awful photo quality)...
Another from me - not exactly ‘unheard of’ but under-rated in my opinion - late ‘40’s Cyma ‘bumper’ automatic:
Last edited by Neil.Ldn; 27th October 2020 at 09:32.
Lanco is actually a sub-brand of Langendorf Watch Co.
You can find many vintage adverts from some well known and also lesser known companies here:
https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/e...#post-18114298
Herma
BWC
Loads of interesting things out there…. Most of my watches are from smaller brands - lots of interesting stuff and great variety
Baylor are another , I use to own a Baylor Norseman , a cracking watch for what I paid .
Just wanted to add a new purchase of mine ,from the bay and a brand that I didnt know alot about .
Ogival , As 1916 auto movement , approx 43mm really nice watch and my only world time. [IMG] [/IMG]
This is for sale on a French forum. Now, my latin is not so strong, but I would have thought recta is the plural of rectum.
Most people would have heard of Fortis but an Audax - Fortis??
Two separate firms, although the caseback is marked Fortis.
Cheers,
Neil.
Also I’m guessing that the 2376 marked on the back refers to the ETA movement inside. Is that right. According to Ranfft there is an ETA2375 and a 2377 but not a 2376. Or at least not documented on Ranfft - surely it must be likely that there is one.
This was my first vintage watch. I've since sold it on, but it's amazing how cheap these unknown brands can be. Trafalgar was apparently a small UK watch maker in the city of London just before the quartz crisis.
I recently sold a NOS Trafalgar I had for a while.
I don't think they were a small city based watchmaker . Trafalgar was just a company that bought cheaper watches and branded them with their name.
The quartz crisis didn't bother them as they never actually made anything AFAIK and I have seen and owned LED and other quartz Trafalgar models.
Cheers,
Neil.
My first mechanical watch bought at a car boot sale thirty years ago. It was the red seconds hand that caught my attention. Although small by today’s standards it’s weightless on the wrist so supremely comfortable.
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Last edited by mylofitz; 22nd November 2020 at 10:40.