All about vintage watches

Vintage chronographs in the age of "digitalization" acquire their special value. Wearing vintage-style accessories these days is considered chic and the height of aesthetic taste. But in order not to get into a mess, you need to understand the features and be able to recognize vintage watches.

The first thing to know about is how old the thing is. Everything that has arisen over the past decades is classified as modern, but what is more than half a century old is practically antiques. A thing that is considered to be vintage is not younger than 30 and not older than 60 years.

Another item is recognized as vintage if it reflects a certain era, its style or the fashionable direction of that time, carries, so to speak, a semantic load. For example, vintage watches, so popular in the 70s of the USSR, are today again at the height of fashion, emphasizing the status and refined taste of their owner.

These chronographs ushered in the era of quartz watches, which replaced mechanical timepieces. To have such a watch on your wrist today means to wear the stamp of history that conveys the spirit and craftsmanship of watchmaking of that era.

And if it is also a heirloom retro jewel, then there is no price for this accessory. Many people in search of vintage watches visit watch auctions and pawnshops, considering them a good investment - over time, these chronographs will become antiques and become much more expensive.

But how to recognize such a watch? It's simple: such old watch manufactories as Pavel Bure, IWC, Longines, Omega and others engraved their brand on the back of the lid. Their products also have rather complex functions for that time: they are equipped with an alarm clock, a calendar and even an indicator of the lunar phases.

Modern companies can also produce vintage watches.For the manufacture of retro models in vintage style, not only steel and gold, but also bronze are used.

Vintage watches can also be recognized by the dial, which is covered with enamel, paper or patina. In the latter case, it is a thin coating, which is achieved either naturally - by oxidation on copper or an alloy of metals, or by creating an artificial aging effect on the dial.

All time measuring devices from the past are simple and straightforward. An artificially aged leather strap will also complete the vintage look of the product.

Perhaps you should start your collection of vintage watches with pocket watches on a chain. Their body was made of brass and copper, such were worn by our grandfathers and great-grandfathers until the 40s of the last century, when various modifications for wearing on the wrist were already beginning to displace these specimens.

They were like in a box with a factory button to open the lid. A sturdy chain served to fix them in a pocket (for this, our ancestors used an ordinary pin), and so that it was convenient to take them out.

Special watch pockets began to be sewn under such watches in jackets. Pocket watches were produced with three dials, they were of different diameters, but the average indicators are 5 centimeters in diameter, 1.65 cm thick, such a watch weighed 75 g plus 10 g - the weight of the chain, which was 27.5 cm long. Women wore such a watch on the neck.

Among retro watches, there are many wrist watches for men and women with a wide leather strap or a metal bracelet. They have mechanical, quartz or digital (electronic) mechanisms. Among the vintage ones, there is a table clock and a wall clock with a large dial.

In terms of shape, among the items in the retro style, you can find brooch watches, chronographs, mechanics with various complications. Among the unusual ones is the hourglass.

What kind of vintage style watch to have in your collection is a personal matter, no one dares to impose this or that brand. But there are some models that collectors from all over the world are chasing after. For example, Speedmaster watches made before 1970 are so popular.

They contain an exceptional movement that differs from the movements of other watches of that time. A the early model of this Rolex Speedmaster James Bond even flashed in the very first pictures about the super agent on the arm of actor Sean Connery, which gained popularity among the male population of the world.

Traditionally, Patek Philippe watches occupy the leading positions at auctions of vintage items. It should be said about the electronic options. Here the leaders are digital retro copies from Casio. They appeared in the 80s of the previous century. Models from the A151 series made a splash with a stopwatch, timer, automatic calendar and other technological excellence features.

Casio still produces vintage digital copies. The legendary Montana watch with built-in melodies inside the module is still popular. Such products are produced in their original form, as, incidentally, are the turnouts.

But due to the fact that there are no old mechanisms, but there is a desire to make vintage watches more modern, some manufacturers are improving the technical components of retro pieces. So, vintage "re-invented" the watch brand Jaeger-leCoultre, which launched the Polaris series.

The iconic Polaris Memovox model appeared in 1968 in the amount of 2,000 copies. The models were water resistant and let the diver know with a call that the time allotted for scuba diving was over. For their manufacture, steel was used.

When choosing a vintage style watch, you need to pay attention to some important points.

• Old age of mechanisms. There have been decent vintage pieces in every era, but experts point out retro watches from the 1960s. Products from this period are highly reliable and have a stylish design that is popular today. This era is considered revolutionary in watchmaking, since the era of quartz watches began, which widely supplanted mechanics up to the category of collectors.

• Great epochal significance. Vintage watches should be of great importance not only for their owner, but also for history as a whole. They should personify an epoch-making event or a historical fact in the development of the manufacturer. As an example, you can take the company Omega, which in 1966 released two models: the Omega Cosmic and the Omega Seamaster 300. The first was quite simple and cost around $ 200. The second watch had a great design and was water resistant. Their cost then reached $ 3,000. The Omega Seamaster 300 is considered a vintage watch.

• A rare difference. Retro products should have something that sets them apart from the crowd. They may in the past belong to a famous person, stand out with a unique dial design, have, in the end, a factory defect - all this and other differences will make time measuring devices unique.

Those who are buying vintage watches for the first time should contact dealers. This will be safer, and you can firmly know that you have not bought a fake. Dealers find original models that can be refurbished and serviced.

For an overview of collectible vintage watches, see the following video.