Cool old watches

I've been inspired by the WAYWT thread in here to find myself a vintage Swiss (or maybe Hamilton) watch for everyday-when-dressed-up-a-bit wear. I'd like to keep the cost in the few hundred dollars range because I don't know how much I'll actually use it, or if I'll get addicted and want to buy a bunch of other ones, etc. It would be best if it were self-winding, because I don't know what kind of winding discipline I'd have... though it would be something much nicer to fiddle with when bored than a cell phone. I'd also prefer stainless because I don't like gold and don't want to pay for it, though white gold might be okay.

Can anyone give me ideas for watch makers/models to look at, and tips on buying on Ebay, or where else to find/buy them?

Here are a couple of old Omega Devilles I really liked:





I also found a couple of Longines with "fancy lugs" that I thought looked pretty cool. I have small wrists compared to my hands and a tank shape seems to work best.

Any help/opinions/experience would be much appreciated.

Best bang for the buck (and an instance where some older models are better than modern editions) - Soviet. Older Chinese mechanical watches can be rather nice, also, like Zongshan (sp?) - but hard to find in the west.

Poljot made dress watches as well as military chronographs. Pobeda and Raketa also made some nice watches with sturdy movements and nice cases. Hard to find in pristine condition, unfortunately.

The other great thing to look for is companies that are no longer around... the ascendancy of the quartz movement was the death of many companies that made some beautiful watches. Many Swiss and German manufacturers either folded or were acquired - those can be some screaming good deals.

P.s. eBay can be a very bad idea. Seriously. It is at the point that you even find fake "military Soviet USSR Russian Commanders watches" where even the original would go for only $40.00. In most cases, avoid!

Watchuseek's Vintage watch forum can be a great resource - more democratic and less pretentious that some other horological fora I can think of...

that Omega looks like something "watches_u_want" sells on ebay

I'm kinda in the same boat as you J, I want a vintage watch in the under $200 range as a starter. I was looking at a really cool NOS 60s watch by Camy and some ****** BIN while I was reading the auction and about to pull the trigger. fugger

Timezone forum, search "vintage" -- eBay always seems to be overpriced compared.

Keep in mind that vintage watches are cheap to buy, costly (if at all possible) to maintain and repair. There are not that many professionals nowadays that can do anything more complex than change a battery. You may want to get some literature and some basic tools and explore basic maintenance and repair, if you end up getting the bug.

The Omega 600 is a nice solid watch, can be had fairly cheaply. Try and stay away from the refinished dials like in your first pic.




http://www.omegablogger.com/archives/112


The "non-round" like your second pic aren't very popular, which is great if you like them as they go cheap. I have a few new old stock, mainly from ebay via swiss and german sellers. Search for "Omega NOS" "Omega new old" or "Omega UNGETRAGENE"




http://www.omegablogger.com/archives/116

I prefer a manual wind to an automatic [quartz is a no no].

Another thing I would like to add: if you want to play it safe, see if you can locate a knowledgeable and reliable specialist in your area before taking the plunge. The majority of mechanical/automatic watches will require work or servicing at some point, and being NOS means in many cases clogged up movements and sludge for oil - another ding for many ebay sellers. The real condition can be hard to ascertain without opening the watch and evaluating it properly. My luck so far with eBay has been so-so. Even seemingly reliable sellers can be dicey.

Originally Posted by Omegablogger

Click to expand...

I prefer a manual wind to an automatic [quartz is a no no].

This is an interesting thread, and I, too, have been wondering about getting a decent vintage watch. I was wondering why you say this, Omegablogger.

Would you knowledgeable types recommend a vintage watch store? I know of a very legit-looking place in the West Village here: a couple of old guys in a tiny shopfront that look like they've been doing watches and typewriters since the last world war. I looked in their shop once, but had no idea what to look for or what to look at...

Just purchased from TZ.. 1957 Croton-Nivada

I've been checking this one out. Not really vintage bit new either.

http://www.goantiques.com/detail,ome...e,1381964.html

>I was wondering why you say this, Omegablogger.

Well a quartz watch is like a no iron shirt, does the job but lacks the style, the craft,the hand work. I like the fact that a mechanical watch is a piece of engineering on a very small scale, delicate but yet robust. When you take one apart, or on some models look through the display glass at the rear, they are a thing of great beauty. If you want to tell the time a $5 quartz watch will probably beat any watch I own for accuracy, just as a lands end no iron beats a kiton shirt in the creasing department.





Plus the seconds hand on a quartz jerks its way round, a mechanical seconds hand sweeps majestically

Of course, I really like vintage watches. Omega is a fine choice as is Longines. There are a whole variety of other makers who do a higher quality of movement, but then those cost more. For $200, you can't get a solid gold case even if the movement is middle-ground, like a Doxa or Cyma. However, if you do buy from a dealer, $200 is somewhat difficult for an Omega or something of that rank. You can, though, get a nice gold-filled Hamilton. All those modern watches are huge--I was looking at A.Lange & Sohne and the women's models fitted me best.

http://img451.imageshack.us/img451/2360/img1417td2.jpg

I love my gold Longines. The best money I have spent in some time -- I am now looking for a stainless everyday Longines.

~ Huntsman

...I got a 1960s Omega deville - see WAYWT - and would wear it everyday if it wasn't for the black leatherband. So I need a second nice watch with a brown band to go with brown belts and shoes...

...actually I got a second one. A 6ts Stowa - but this is just a piece of decoration as it doesn't keep time at all. This would have a metallband. Hope to get it repaired sometime but as it is kind of a cheap watch I don't want to spend too much...

...metallbands are more versatile if you just got one watch and tend to care about matching all leather (shoe, belt, watchband) on your body...