Buying Vintage Watches

[marcbe]

Hi All,

I’m thinking of dipping a toe into the vintage watch world. Probably a 1960’s Omega Seamaster or something similar. I’m guessing that this is a bit of a minefield with many “Franken” watches out there. I’m therefore looking to see if there are any particular websites/dealers you have used and can recommend ?

Many Thanks

Marc

[Robbo12]

I can't recommend a dealer as all my vintage watches come from eBay or antiques fairs , what I can recommend is doing a massive amount of research before you buy .
My first vintage watch was a gold longines flagship purchased at auction , later I found out its a franken watch . Movement comes from a Stainless steel. I didn't do any research before purchase, lesson learnt!
Post up some some decent pics of watches your interested in with movement and caseback shots , there is a few of us on here that maybe able to help.

[Mark lowman]

Londoncentric article but I thought a good article- https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/th...uide-to-london

[Mark lowman]

Londoncentric article but I thought a good article- https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/th...uide-to-london

Should just add the more respectable / high rent area the more you will pay. So yes it is a case of doing research but Chrono 24 may get you something 30% below what you’d pay in Burlington Arcade but a mistake is horrible. It has happened to me before but I’ve also taken a chance before and it’s been ok
Good luck with your search
Btw it’d be interesting to know what style you are after? I.e Seamaster divers or Seamaster round case 34-36mm dress style watches

[marcbe]

I can't recommend a dealer as all my vintage watches come from eBay or antiques fairs , what I can recommend is doing a massive amount of research before you buy .
My first vintage watch was a gold longines flagship purchased at auction , later I found out its a franken watch . Movement comes from a Stainless steel. I didn't do any research before purchase, lesson learnt!
Post up some some decent pics of watches your interested in with movement and caseback shots , there is a few of us on here that maybe able to help.

Thanks Robbo. I can remember buying a 1960s Seamaster in rose gold for around £150 about 25 years ago from eBay. Who knows what it really was…..I kept it for 6 months and then sold it on (again on eBay). It was then another few years before my interest in watches started gather momentum.

I was thinking something along the lines of this:

https://parkersjewellers.co.uk/shop/...mechanical-21/

Or

https://parkersjewellers.co.uk/shop/...-wristwatch-2/

Something more on the dress watch side of things, as large as possible (35-36mm is probably as good as it gets) but I’m just beginning this journey so I’m fairly open minded here.

[marcbe]

Should just add the more respectable / high rent area the more you will pay. So yes it is a case of doing research but Chrono 24 may get you something 30% below what you’d pay in Burlington Arcade but a mistake is horrible. It has happened to me before but I’ve also taken a chance before and it’s been ok
Good luck with your search
Btw it’d be interesting to know what style you are after? I.e Seamaster divers or Seamaster round case 34-36mm dress style watches

Thanks Mark. As mentioned in my reply to Robbo I’m interested in looking for something on the more dress watch side. As you can see, I’ve discovered Parker’s which seem to be in Hatton Gardens. I assume that they are similarly priced to Burlington Arcade, but they do seem reputable in any case. Pricing doesn’t seem horrendous, but I’m not really sure what to expect. As you have said, more research is required on my part.

Thanks for the link to the article, that’s useful since I’ll be in London next month. I’m always dipping into Hodinkee so I’m not sure how I missed this article.

[markbannister]

Parkers are trustworthy, bought from them and sold to them many times. They will discount too. Unfortunately (for me) the Sheffield shop is now closed.

Thanks Robbo. I can remember buying a 1960s Seamaster in rose gold for around £150 about 25 years ago from eBay. Who knows what it really was…..I kept it for 6 months and then sold it on (again on eBay). It was then another few years before my interest in watches started gather momentum.

I was thinking something along the lines of this:

https://parkersjewellers.co.uk/shop/...mechanical-21/

Or

https://parkersjewellers.co.uk/shop/...-wristwatch-2/

Something more on the dress watch side of things, as large as possible (35-36mm is probably as good as it gets) but I’m just beginning this journey so I’m fairly open minded here.

[marcbe]

Thanks Mark, good to know. I think I’ll bookmark their website as I continue my quest !

[Robbo12]

I started collecting during the price rises , so I have never had the opportunity to buy Seamsters at £150 unfortunately.
My first Seamster was a 30 purchased at a local antique shop then sent off to Simon Freese.
The little Manual wind s are cracking watches with 100s of case size and dial designs worth a look . 2990 case reference is a slightly larger size if I remember correctly.
The Parkers ones are nice will come with no worries, all serviced ect .
Trouble is there are so many designs within the range it's hard to make one choice, which is why I own a few and always looking for more .