COLLECTING
IT’S ALWAYS BETTER TO OPT FOR A
WATCH WITH ALL ORIGINAL PARTS
IN LESS THAN STELLAR CONDITION
THAN A WATCH IN MINT CONDITION
Vulcain Chronograph Panda dial
WITH REPLACEMENT PARTS.
and fluctuations in price, size, and designs. Today, you have tremen- design, functionality, movement, and they are increasingly becoming
dous opportunities to buy affordable watches in the $1,500 - $2,500 more popular.
price range. Not only do these watches offer great looks and decent
calibers, they can also present good investment opportunities.
I classify brands into four levels. There’s the most exclusive tier
with brands like Patek Philippe. Then there’s the luxury tier with brands
like Audemars Piguet. Furthermore, there’s the upper-level tier with
For example, I have noticed an increased demand for Croton
and Nivada Grenchen watches. Moreover, for watches that offer more
functionality beyond timekeeping, there’s the Vulcain Cricket, the
Universal Genève Polerouter and the Lip Nautic Ski.
For military style watches, BMC, Airain, and Omega have some
brands like Breitling. And finally, there’s the middle tier with brands like fantastic options. On the other hand, for handsome timepieces with
Baume & Mercier. Today I will discuss watches that sit in the lower beautiful dials, there are plenty of choices from Vetta or Eberhard—
price range of the upper-level tier. particularly those watches with snail and/or mono pusher.
Brands that are currently undervalued yet emerging due to a solid
THE $1,500 - $2,500 PRICE RANGE appreciation from collectors are Movado and Oris, while other names
While there are dozens and dozens of brands I could discuss, I I’m hearing more frequently talked about in the market include Gallet,
have selected less than twenty of them to highlight here. These are Angelus, Favre Leuba, Girard-Perregaux and Heuer.
brands that I have personally owned or worked with as a watch deal-
er. They are brands that offer a great package of name recognition,
30 | AboutTime Magazine
Some of my personal favorite affordable brands are Universal,
Vulcain, Wakmann, LeCoultre, Minerva, Lip, Zenith and Movado.