Best vintage watch buy

[VWpete]

I'm looking for a great, unique vintage watch. I want a nice big face and love interesting tanks or a bigger round face. I have checked out previous posts and shopped around. While in NYC I fell in love with a 60's breitling chrono, but the 3,000$ price tag kept me away. I like swiss watches and want a good investment piece (ie quality) for a decent price under $1000 (preferably 500 or so). Am I not being realistic?
Who's got some great watches to keep my eye out for? Cheers,
Pete

 

[Fanthom]

I'm sorry that I can't help you, but I have a related request. Can anyone recommend a book about vintage watches? What I am interested in is a book with pictures of and information (such as price range) about lots of watches from the popular watchmakers, in order to find one or two I like

Thanks in advance,
Marcus

 

[pstoller]

I'm looking for a great, unique vintage watch. I want a nice big face and love interesting tanks or a bigger round face. I have checked out previous posts and shopped around. While in NYC I fell in love with a 60's Breitling chrono, but the $3,000 price tag kept me away. I like Swiss watches and want a good investment piece (i.e. quality) for a decent price under $1000 (preferably $500 or so). Am I not being realistic?

Well, I think if you don't know enough about watches to spy an amazing find at a flea market or pawn shop, you'll have to accept that the big-name vintage pieces are going to fetch big-name prices. Likewise, buying a watch as an investment only makes sense if you're well-educated about timepieces. However, you should be able to find a well-made and aesthetically pleasing vintage watch in your price range. I've steered others to www.wannabuyawatch.com, and I'd suggest you browse through their collection of vintage Swiss watches to get an idea of what's out there and what the market prices are. I took a quick look, and found a few distinctive mid-century Swiss chronographs for under $1K that I think might make you happy: Bucherer Chronograph Tissot Navigator Nivada Grenchen There are a few more in your price range, as well. I can't speak for the investment value of these watches, nor the absolute quality of the movements compared to other makes. They are, however, quite striking in comparison to most of today's watches, particularly anything you can get for a comparable price.

 

[VWpete]

Thanks for the great reply. That site is awesome and your choices are superb. I don't know much about vintage watches, but hope to learn more. You set me in the right direction.
Cheers,
Pete

 

[bigbadbuff]

http://www.finertimes.com/index.html http://www.girards.com/index.html here are 2 more excellent vintage sites...