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| Tag Heuer |
The world of vintage watches is a funny thing. Not funny “haha,” but rather funny “hmm, I see." The peaks and valleys in prices of wristwatches sold a generation ago are related to many things – certainly the macro-level economy as a whole, how the brand / watch is perceived today, and how certain aspects play into collecting trends of the day. In this list, we’ll taken you through ten watches that we think should be selling for more money than they are, and we’ll tell you why. Oh, and there isn’t a single Rolex on this list.
1. THE HEUER BUNDESWEHR FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH (PICTURED ABOVE)
There is a whole sect of collectors out there that go for nothing but true military-issued timepieces. What’s the appeal here? Well, they were A) never issued to civilians, which, in theory, should make them rather rare. B) They were designed with robustness and purpose in mind, meaning they are generally manufactured quite well. And C) they have, depending on whose army we’re talking about here, played a role in saving the free world. The Heuer here has so, so much going for it, and yet these suckers can still be had for almost nothing. It’s great looking, with a black dial, rotating bezel, and often found with cool mil-markings like “3H”, of a completely modern size (42mm), and it’s a freaking manually wound fly-back chronograph! Heuer did not make many fly-backs, and this one was built especially for pilots. Also, they all have badass issue numbers on the caseback. They were also built in Heuer’s hey-day, when the company's chronographs were as legit as any in the world. While Heuer’s connection to motorsport may dominate the dialog of their collective nostalgia, this is a watch that we think should be right up there with the Monaco. And you can get em for between $3,000 and $4,000 all day long.
2. IWC MKXI
Continuing with the military theme, IWC’s Mark XI is as pure a modern pilot's watch as one can find. Originally launched in 1948, this guy was built to spec in Schaffhausen for the British MOD and again was constructed solely with function in mind. The 36mm case housed what can now be described as an archetypal pilot’s dial with an anti-magnetic cage surrounding the epic IWC caliber 89 movement. Many consider the Cal 89 to be one of the great manually wound movements of the 20th century, and it went through a 44-day testing period (in five positions, ranging in temperature from -5° to +46° C). The dial is just so clean, with later models featuring the circled “T” at 6 o’clock (just like those Rolex MilSubs). This is the watch that inspired countless others, including IWC’s entire range of Pilots watches, and just about every modern pilots watch on the market today. While other manufactures were included in the Mark XI contract (including JLC), it is the IWC that made the most ground in watch collecting lore – and yet, they can be had for roughly the same price as IWC’s current basic Pilot’s watch offering, the Mark XVII, which houses an ETA 2892. The MK XI is an absolutely epic watch, rather rare, and it should be selling for much more. We’d like to see you pay around $5500 for a MK XI with original dial and hands – but be careful, the circled T tritium dials weren’t put into place until 1962, so if you see any MK XI’s with issue dates prior to 1962 with a tritium dial, you know it’s been replaced – though some people actually prefer the replacement dial.
3. 1970S HEUER CARRERA CALIBER 11
Ask a man on the street “in which watch was the caliber 11 launched?” and he’ll probably give a blank stare and then walk backwards away from you quietly (because let’s be honest, most people don’t know two hoots about mechanical watches). But, ask the average WATCH guy on the street the same question and you’ll likely hear this “The Monaco of course!” And he wouldn’t be wrong at all, but he wouldn’t be entirely right either. The Caliber 11 from Heuer – arguably the world’s first self-winding chronograph – was launched in the Monaco, the Autavia, and Carrera all at the exact same time. While certainly the early Monacos and even the early Autavias have really hit their stride with collectors, the earliest Carreras (save the super early “Chronomatic” Carreras) are still available for just a little bit of money. Why? Maybe because the case isn’t quite as funky as the Monaco or the Autavia, but if you ask us, it’s ultimately a beautiful watch with an important movement and a look that is far more versatile than the two other Cal 11 guys. The Caliber 11 Carreras are fantastic watches, and while the Autavia’s and Monacos give you that cool retro feel with their large bulking cases, the Carrera isn’t quite so dated, and it’s every bit as cool. Price range on these is based on condition and dial configuration, but you should budget $3500 for a nice one. Once these catch on like the Autavia’s and Monaco’s have, you’ll be paying double (side note, I bought my “Siffert” Autavia for $3200 about four years ago – I sold it a few months back for over $9000).
4. BREITLING TOP-TIME
As our friend Bradley from Autodromo once pointed out, while Heuer gets all the attention in motorsport, Breitling had a pretty good thing going too. The Top-Time from Breitling, of which there are many different varieties, generally housed a manually wound movement in a host of traditional cases with just fantastic looking dials. When you consider that the earlier Heuer Carrera is very much the same as the early Rolex Daytona at a fraction of the price, consider that the Breitling Top-Time is very much the same as the early Carreras, at a fraction of the cost of that! Great looking, big name brand, all you need. You can get a mint, and we mean MINT Top-Time for $2500.
5. GUB LANGE CALIBER 28
A. Lange & Sohne made truly exceptional pocketwatches way back in the day. They now make truly exceptional wristwatches – in between they made very little. That’s because they were enveloped by the German government to produce inexpensive timepieces for both military and consumer use during the war, under the moniker “GUB” or "Glashutte Uhrenbetriebe". The GUB absorbed all Glashutte-based watchmakers and quickly transformed top tier manufactures into simple watch factories churning out very basic timepieces. Before they could make the exceptional the unexceptional, a movement called the Lange 28 made its way into production. The Lange 28 was the only wristwatch caliber ever designed and built by Lange prior to 1994. It was based on a pocketwatch caliber and given the “Q1” mark, indicating the finest quality Lange could manufacture. These watches are quite rare and the value is often diluted because most of them have “GUB” signatures on the dial and movement instead of Lange's own signatures. It is only the few true watch nerds that know when they see “Q1” on the dial and the number 28 on the caliber that they aren’t looking at some mass-produced product of cold-war Germany, but rather a solitary relic of the original Lange and pre-cursor to the magnificent brand we know today. We should note that you must be careful when cruising for these watches because GUB signed watches without a Lange 28 in them are a dime a dozen, and worth about as much as your dirty tube sock, AND, while Lange did make wristwatches before the war, they, in most cases, used movements from a host of suppliers. So, even if the dial reads “Lange” or “Lange VEB” that is no proof there is a Lange 28 inside. Tricky, we admit, but to own something of this quality and importance in a price range around $2,000-$3,500, you’re going to have to work for it.
6. JAEGER-LECOULTRE MEMOVOX ALARM WATCHES
The 1950s and 60s automatic Memovox watches from Jaeger-LeCoultre are about as good a deal as you can find in vintage watches. JLC is one of the finest manufactures around, and has been for a while – and the Memovox alarm watches are quintessentially Jaeger. The Memovox was made in both manual and automatic versions, in an innumerable range of cases and dials. Most of them use the exact same movement you’ll find inside the much loved Polaris dive watch, which sells for $15,000 - $20,000 regularly, and even compared to the modern JLC Memovoxes, they can be had for a literal fraction of the cost. Why? There are just a lot of them out there – but that doesn’t make them any less cool, especially if you can track one down with in a steel case with a black dial. You’ll want to pay around $2,500 for a nice, original self-winding steel Memovox, more for the special ones, less for the odd balls. Pay attention to those center dials – they are often times replaced.
7. GOLD DRESS WATCHES FROM VACHERON, AP, AND IWC
You can own a beautiful vintage dress watch from a big-time brand like Vacheron, AP, or IWC for way less than you think. It’s actually shocking to most people when I tell them how little they’ll have to spend to get into a solid gold dress watch from the 60s. Why? Well, you have to be OK with yellow gold, because most dress watches of the day come that way (though rose gold can be found, and very occasionally white gold, but you’ll pay much more), and you have to be comfortable with a “vintage” size, like 35 – 38mm. But, we’re talking gold, and we’re talking a watch for formal occasions, so you wouldn’t want one too big. Again, there just a lot of these time-only, relatively simple, sometimes dated-looking watches out there, so you can find deals left and right if you look hard enough. The finishing on these pieces are every bit as impressive as today’s dress watches from the same marks – which can sell for $30k+ – but you just won’t be able to see it through the solid caseback. Who cares, though? For a solid yellow gold IWC dress watch, you’ll want to pay between $2,000 and $4,000 depending on case size, dial, and condition. For AP and Vacheron, they’ll probably start in the $4,000 - $6,000 range, with exceptional pieces like this going for more. Still, a bargain when you consider these watches are cased in 18k solid gold, and who made them.
8. THE OMEGA CHRONOSTOP
The Chronostop is one of those weird, often forgotten pieces of Omega history that, to us, is just plain awesome. More than a watch, but less than a full chronograph, the Chronostop featured essentially just a 60-second timer. It came in all sorts of weird dials and cases, with our favorite being the “driver’s” version meant to be worn under the wrist, and the clasp was intedned to be used a an ID bracelet. Hey, at least Omega was trying something back then. The watch has always been a dud in second-hand sales, and you can get them anywhere between $400 and $800.
9. CARTIER TANK WITH MECHANICAL MOVEMENT
From 1910 to 1960, Cartier made less than 100 tanks per year (all were mechanical, of course). By 1969, they were making about 800 per year - still not very many. And the beautiful thing about vintage Tanks is that you of find them with all sorts of awesome movements in them, like those from Piaget, and even Audemars Piguet (as pictured above). So, you get a watch that is one of the most important designs from the best design house of the 20th century with a seriously mean, manually-wound movement in it - and you can expect to pay under $10,000 in most cases.
10. JUST ABOUT EVERY MECHANICAL SEIKO, EVER
What is there to say about vintage Seiko besides “Jesus, these are great watches for the money?” Seiko has been making mechanical watches since 1913, and Grand Seiko has been around since 1961 – with a host of cool designs and interesting, even high-beat, movements. Again, prices range considerably from even less than $100 for some Seiko 5 action, to a few thousand for the early GS pieces. But just because these guys hail from Japan and not Switzerland is no reason to discount them. If you’re looking for investment type stuff, stick to Grand Seiko, and the earlier the better. If you're looking for just a nice old watch, any vintage mechanical Seiko will do.
(Via Hodinkee)
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