Finding Your Grail: A Guide to Buying Your First Vintage Watch

By:Matthew Lopez | Posted: July 14, 2021

Img 8844 (1)

 

How many times have we been awed by the beautiful watches on our Instagram feed, especially vintage timepieces? There is a common misconception that buying vintage watches can be a daunting task, from servicing issues to high-quality counterfeits in the open market. So, we decided to create a simple guide that can help in buying your first vintage timepiece. Here, we discuss some key points that one must observe when sourcing, researching, and even questioning a timepiece to avoid the pitfalls of vintage watch hunting.

Buy What You Like:

One word of advice that we always offer is to buy what you like. Do not be dictated by overhyped trends or what other people like. Your watch must reflect your taste and style, whether you are going for an aged Rolex GMT-Master or wanting to stand out in the crowd with an unusual Cartier Crash. Buying a watch that is not to your liking always leads to you eventually parting with it. 

Research, Research, Research:

We cannot stress enough how important it is to do your research on a timepiece before purchasing. Make sure that the watch should have the original components as to when it was first produced. Many of the leading watch brands, including Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, and Omega, have an extensive archive of their timepieces and can quickly provide a detailed history of a timepiece. They may even issue an archive extract if requested. For instance, Patek Philippe has recently announced new guidelines to extract from its archives for timepieces up to 1989. Its issuance is limited to a single extract every five years. 

Also, read through past sales on various auction houses like Christie’s, Phillips, and Sotheby’s and in-depth articles on notable watch publications, including the likes of Rescapement, Hodinkee, and Revolution Magazine, to see other examples of a given model. For a deeper look into the various histories of brands through the decades, the Europa Star Archives, one of the oldest watch magazines still in print, has digitized its extensive archive for the perusal of the general public. 

 

Img 8848

Since its founding in 1755, Vacheron Constantin has kept a comprehensive archive of all the timepieces it has produced over the 266 years of its continuous existence.

Be Inquisitive:

With the plague of refinished dials and counterfeits, one must be careful and critical with vintage timepieces. Scrutinize the watch like a surgeon. Check the dial, case condition, and pushers, or even run the movement and serial numbers through a database to check if that watch existed. These numbers can be found on its case or on the movement itself, so a skilled watchmaker can open and close the watch properly. For vintage Rolexes, its serial number is located between the bottom lugs (where the band connects to the case). You will need to remove the band to view the serial number. 

If possible, check the state of the watch movement to see if there are service issues that could cause problems later on. Ask the seller or the dealer to take close-up shots of the watch to know the actual condition of a timepiece. Remember the maxim, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

 

A Vintage Watch Needs Servicing:

As the famed auctioneer Aurel Bacs of the auction house Phillips recounted in an interview: “Every vintage watch has lived a life that a modern watch has not yet lived.” Time accuracy on a vintage watch is not generally guaranteed unless it has a quartz movement. Vintage mechanical watches will require servicing every few years; so, when making a purchase, factor in the costs. It is essential to have a trusted watchmaker who can service the timepiece and source the proper components. We highly recommend some of the following trusted service repair centers that are located across the world:

  1. Classic Watch Repair – Hong Kong
  2. Alkis Kotsopoulos of Swiss Watch Repair Corp. – United States
  3. Russell Talerman – United Kingdom

Roni Patek And Jeff Stein HeuerMany of the best watch collections have been focused on a particular watch style (Left: Patek Philippe Ref. 3424 designed by Gilbert Albert. Roni Madhvani Collection.) or a particular brand (Right: Heuer Autavia Ref. 113.063 made for the Israeli Defense Forces. Jeff Stein Collection.). (© Hodinkee)

Focusing Your Collection:

The best watch collections are often focused on a particular watch brand or a specific variety (e.g., chronographs, dress watches). For instance, Jeff Stein has specialized in vintage Heuer chronographs that have become the backbone of On the Dash, the primary reference database for vintage timepieces from the brand. Likewise, Roni Madhvani has built an impressive collection of time-only watches with the peculiar case and dial designs of the past 20th century. By narrowing down your collection, one can connect with prominent experts and scholars that can help guide you in sourcing only the best examples of a specific style or reference. 

Provenance is the Key:

A watch can tell so much more through its provenance. We have heard of many stories of collectors accidentally owning a watch previously owned by a historical personality or ones that served as artifacts during significant events in history. From watches made for royal families to watches owned by Elvis Presley or Albert Einstein, provenance can hold the value of a timepiece. The ultimate watch with a sterling provenance to ever surface is a Rolex Daytona Ref. 6239 owned by American actor Paul Newman that sold for a record US$17.75 million at a Phillips auction in 2017. 

 

Paul Newman Daytona

 American actor Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona Ref. 6239 sold for a record US$17.75 million at a Phillips auction in 2017. (© Phillips Auctioneers/Wikimedia Commons)


Learn from the Experts:

A good watch collector should be a part of the watch community. It is better to be surrounded by watch collectors who can help sharpen one’s knowledge, especially with this hobby. We have been fortunate enough to know some of the best vintage watch experts in the world through our work, from the likes of Eric Ku, Andrew Sheer, and Eric Wind, who have a wealth of experience in handling and researching various watches. Another recommendation is getting yourself a membership to the Horological Society of New York, the oldest horological society in the United States, where its members have outstanding lectures on educating the public on various topics on watchmaking. 

There has been a rise of the invite-only social media app Clubhouse during this pandemic, where watch collectors and watch brands have held in-depth discussion rooms on watches. We highly recommend listening to the discussions on the Vintage Grail Clubhouse Room: The Collector featuring in-depth conversations with prominent personalities in the world of horology.

 

Build a Reference Library:

In collecting vintage timepieces, it is crucial to have some scholarship in building your watch collection. There have been countless watch books and publications that can act as your primary references for collecting. We highly recommend the following publications that should be in your library today:

  1. Vintage Rolex by Guido Mondani 
  2. The Watch, Thoroughly Revised by Gene Stone and Stephen Pulvirent
  3. The Art of Breguet by George Daniels
  4. Patek Philippe: The Authorized Biography by Nicholas Foulkes
  5.  Cartier Time Art: Mechanics of Passion by Jack Forster


Image

There are countless watch books and publications focused as reference material on specific brands. (© Skira/© Bloomsbury Publishing)


Owning a Watch without its Box and Papers is Okay:

Noted vintage watch expert Eric Wind once said, “You can’t wear a box and papers…:”. Let us face it, having a timepiece with its original box and papers is a godsend, but with vintage, it is sporadic. There is a preference among collectors towards purchasing a new-old-stock condition watch in recent years, adding a significant premium. There have been cases where authentic timepieces can come with forged documents to match their age. 

Keep Track of Your Collection:

Like any asset, you need to keep essential records of your watches. Collectors should keep a detailed profile of their timepieces, including photographs and serial numbers. Given the rarity and the value of vintage watches, it is vital to note these small details. Good record-keeping ensures a database for any untoward accidents or incidents towards your collection and can be recovered later by the authorities. 

There is no doubt that buying a vintage timepiece is a risky endeavor. But as we have mentioned throughout, if diligence and the right mindset are placed into practice, extraordinary watches will be within your reach. We hope you find this guide helpful now and, in the future, as you venture onto the quest to find your grail. 

What high-caliber vintage timepieces do you fancy owning today? Find out more at the Vintage Grail website. For more information, contact us at [email protected] or contact us at (+63) 917 159 1211

Vintage Grail
X