Buying a vintage watch

Whatever you wear, there are two items a man can own that add a touch of style to his appearance. Whether worn with formal, evening wear or weekend casual a good vintage watch and a pair of good quality shoes make up for many sartorial shortcomings.

Daniel Craig wears a vintage Rolex Daytona

Buying a new watch can, with a very few exceptions, be like buying a car - your purchase drops in value as soon as you've bought it. There are, of course, advantages to buying new - the seller's warranty and the sheer pleasure of owning a new, high quality, timepiece, but you may want to consider buying vintage.

A good collection of old Omega and Lemania watches (image Grey Fox)

If chosen with care, an older watch will reliably at least retain its value and is a pleasure to own. It will accumulate signs of its owner's character; the battered leather strap, the scratches on its case and glass and, in due course, the development of rich creams and browns to the luminous markers and dials of a watch older than 20 or so years.

Most older designs are simple and well-proportioned and, while there are many beautiful modern designs, new watches can be oversize, fussy and sometimes blingy in appearance - choose wisely.

Many makes have fascinating histories. This 1968 Omega Speedmaster is of the type worn by NASA's astronauts from the sixties through to the age of the International Space Station and was worn on the Moon. Omega still make this model, albeit with a different movement to that used in these early examples.

Omega Speedmaster Professional 1968 model - as worn on the Moon - image courtesy of Ming

The most beautiful part of an old mechanical watch is very rarely seen by the owner - the movement is a tiny glistening engine that's a marvel of micro-engineering, as this Omega movement from a simple military watch from 1953 shows -

Movement of an Omega '53 RAF pilot's watch - image courtesy of Ming

If you're knowledgeable, the best place to buy such watches on watch enthusiast fora and marketplaces - but even though you will deal with trustworthy and enthusiastic sellers, you may still make mistakes. For the newcomer, a generally safer option is to buy from a well-established and reputable dealer from whom you will obtain a warranty and reasonably reliable guarantee of authenticity.

What to buy as your first vintage watch depends on your taste and the depth of your pocket. You'll rarely go wrong with a Rolex Submariner or GMT Master or older Rolex Datejust. Some models of the Omega Speedmaster or Seamaster will also be a good buys. These will be ideal starters to a larger collection or will make ideal choices as watches to wear every day if properly looked after and serviced. Mechanical watches like these are capable of being accurate to within a second or two a day.

Finding a reputable vintage dealer isn't too hard. I see that Hackett has opened a vintage watch department in its Regent Street shop; they had a small but outstanding selection when I was in there last week. I'll give you more information about that in a future post.