AboutTime Issue #16 Fall 2018 | Page 29

THE VINTAGE

SWEET SPOT: $ 1,500- $ 2,500

The vintage watch market offers a variety of beautiful watches at more affordable prices.

Many people believe that collecting vintage watches is an ultraluxurious hobby. Yes, it’ s true that vintage watches are currently going through a glamorous time with prestigious auction houses hosting high-profile events littered with celebrity watches, rare timepieces, and never-beforeseen unique models.

It’ s also true that watch media outlets focus on particular models like the Rolex Daytona“ Paul Newman” or the vintage Heuer Autavia, thereby placing these particular vintage watches on unapproachable pedestals. That, coupled with the successful millennium-set clamoring to get their hands on a Rolex Submariner 5513, GMT-Master or a Patek Philippe Nautilus, and it seems that only select brands are enjoying the limelight in the vintage market— and as a result, come with bloated price tags.
As a direct consequence of the vastly unaffordable prices of certain brands in the vintage watch market, some collectors and enthusiasts look to other brands. What these other brands may lack in prestige and popularity, they make up for in appealing aesthetics and solid movements.
In my forty years of collecting vintage and contemporary watches, I have observed trends
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