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Vintage Watches

Every vintage watch has a story to tell, and that’s what makes them special. Each piece offers a unique window into the past that traces back through generations, and owning one means getting to enjoy a piece of decades-old mechanical art. Welcome to the world of vintage.

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Popular Brands
  1. Rolex Rolex
  2. Omega Omega
  3. Cartier Cartier
  4. TAG Heuer TAG Heuer
  5. Panerai Panerai
  6. Breitling Breitling
  7. IWC IWC
  8. Tudor Tudor
  9. Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre
  10. Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet
  11. Hublot Hublot
  12. Patek Philippe Patek Philippe
  13. Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin
All Brands
  1. Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet
  2. Baume et Mercier Baume et Mercier
  3. Bell and Ross Bell and Ross
  4. Blancpain Blancpain
  5. Breguet Breguet
  6. Breitling Breitling
  7. Bremont Bremont
  8. Bvlgari Bvlgari
  9. Carl F. Bucherer Carl F. Bucherer
  10. Cartier Cartier
  11. Chanel Chanel
  12. Chopard Chopard
  13. Corum Corum
  14. Eterna Eterna
  15. Franck Muller Franck Muller
  16. Frederique Constant Frederique Constant
  17. Girard Perregaux Girard Perregaux
  18. Glashutte Original Glashutte Original
  19. Grand Seiko Grand Seiko
  20. Hublot Hublot
  21. IWC IWC
  22. Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre
  23. Jaquet Droz Jaquet Droz
  24. Longines Longines
  25. Maurice Lacroix Maurice Lacroix
  26. Montblanc Montblanc
  27. Omega Omega
  28. Oris Oris
  29. Panerai Panerai
  30. Parmigiani Parmigiani
  31. Patek Philippe Patek Philippe
  32. Piaget Piaget
  33. Porsche Design Porsche Design
  34. Rado Rado
  35. Roger Dubuis Roger Dubuis
  36. Rolex Rolex
  37. TAG Heuer TAG Heuer
  38. Tudor Tudor
  39. Ulysse Nardin Ulysse Nardin
  40. Union Glashutte Union Glashutte
  41. Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin
  42. Zenith Zenith
Series
Case Size
The size of a watch is very important for style and comfort. If you prefer an oversized watch like a Panerai Luminor, you’ll probably want Large. If you’re looking for something more discreet like a Rolex Lady Datejust, you’ll want Small. For everything in between, Medium.
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Stock Type
  1. Watchfinder Watchfinder
Case Material
  1. Bronze Bronze
  2. Carbon Carbon
  3. Ceramic Ceramic
  4. Platinum Platinum
  5. Rose Gold Rose Gold
  6. Steel Steel
  7. Steel & Rose Gold Steel & Rose Gold
  8. Steel & White Gold Steel & White Gold
  9. Steel & Yellow Gold Steel & Yellow Gold
  10. Steel & Yellow Gold Plated Steel & Yellow Gold Plated
  11. Titanium Titanium
  12. White Gold White Gold
  13. Yellow Gold Yellow Gold
  14. Yellow Gold Plated Yellow Gold Plated
Dial Colour
Black
Blue
Bronze
Brown
Champagne
Diamond
Green
Grey
Ivory
Mother of Pearl
Orange
Pink
Red
Salmon
Silver
Specialised
White
Yellow
Strap
  1. Bracelet Bracelet
  2. Fabric Fabric
  3. Leather Leather
  4. Rubber Rubber
Box and Papers
  1. Original box Original box
  1. Original papers Original papers
Movement
A mechanical watch is powered by a spring. Manual mechanical watches must be hand wound. Automatic watches are also mechanical, and are wound by a weight that spins with the wearer's movements. A quartz watch is battery powered and extremely accurate.
  1. Automatic Automatic
  2. Manual Manual
  3. Quartz Quartz
Promotion
Limited Edition
  1. Limited Edition Limited Edition
Reset Results (164)
Results (164)
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Rolex Air-King 14000 415399
Vintage

Rolex
Air-King
14000

Box
Papers
Year 2000
€5,060
Rolex Datejust 16233 402536
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16233

Box
Papers
Year 1995
€7,015
Rolex Datejust 16030 401038
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Datejust
16030

Box
Papers
Year 1964
€5,690
IWC Pilot's Double Chrono IW371304 419761
Vintage

IWC
Pilot's Double Chrono
IW371304

Box
Papers
Year 2001
€5,170
Rolex Submariner 5513 419745
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
5513

Box
Papers
Year 2001
€10,695
Rolex Datejust 16234 419743
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16234

Box
Papers
Year 1995
€7,245
Rolex Datejust 16220 417865
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16220

Box
Papers
Year 1991
€5,575
Rolex Oyster Precision 6694 417906
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Precision
6694

Box
Papers
Year 1970
€4,370
Blancpain Villeret 1185-1418-55 400827
Vintage

Blancpain
Villeret
1185-1418-55

Box
Papers
Year 2001
€5,460
Rolex Datejust Lady 6917 389585
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
6917

Box
Papers
Year 1981
€9,750
Rolex Mid-Size Datejust 68278 390969
Vintage

Rolex
Mid-Size Datejust
68278

Box
Papers
Year 1986
€13,740
Rolex Mid-Size Datejust 68279 380945
Vintage

Rolex
Mid-Size Datejust
68279

Box
Papers
Year 1989
€13,710
Rolex Submariner 16808 380922
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
16808

Box
Papers
Year 1981
€27,600
Rolex Day-Date 18238 382579
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
18238

Box
Papers
Year 1994
€24,090
Rolex Day-Date 18238 382062
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
18238

Box
Papers
Year 1990
€21,850
Rolex Day-Date 18238 382070
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
18238

Box
Papers
Year 1994
€27,900
Rolex Day-Date 1803 389979
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
1803

Box
Papers
Year 1968
€10,170
Rolex Day-Date 18238 380901
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
18238

Box
Papers
Year 1997
€15,525
Rolex Day-Date 118239 380943
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
118239

Box
Papers
Year 2001
€24,090
Cartier La Dona De Cartier WE600251 381005
Vintage

Cartier
La Dona De Cartier
WE600251

Box
Papers
Year 2001
€11,440
Vacheron Constantin Patrimony 30050/000J-7604 319337
Vintage

Vacheron Constantin
Patrimony
30050/000J-7604

Box
Papers
Year 1997
€50,000
Rolex Sea-Dweller 16600 419252
Vintage

Rolex
Sea-Dweller
16600

Box
Papers
Year 2000
€7,990
Rolex Datejust 16233 419251
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16233

Box
Papers
Year 1992
€7,530
Rolex Oyster Precision 6694 419250
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Precision
6694

Box
Papers
Year 1968
€4,485
Rolex Yacht-Master 68623 419241
Vintage

Rolex
Yacht-Master
68623

Box
Papers
Year 1998
€7,070
Rolex Turn-O-Graph 16263 419240
Vintage

Rolex
Turn-O-Graph
16263

Box
Papers
Year 1998
€7,645
Cartier Cougar W35002F5 414203
Vintage

Cartier
Cougar
W35002F5

Box
Papers
Year 2001
€2,470
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 1501 417465
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual Date
1501

Box
Papers
Year 1971
€5,575
Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse 3548J 416545
Vintage

Patek Philippe
Golden Ellipse
3548J

Box
Papers
Year 1977
€12,590
Omega Seamaster GMT 2534.50.00 418984
Vintage

Omega
Seamaster GMT
2534.50.00

Box
Papers
Year 2001
€3,980
Rolex Mid-Size Datejust 68240 418977
Vintage

Rolex
Mid-Size Datejust
68240

Box
Papers
Year 1993
€4,715
Rolex Datejust Lady 6517 418975
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
6517

Box
Papers
Year 1970
€5,750
Rolex Datejust 1601 418973
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
1601

Box
Papers
Year 1966
€5,650
Rolex Datejust 16234 418970
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16234

Box
Papers
Year 1997
€7,475
Rolex Datejust Lady 69173 418969
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69173

Box
Papers
Year 1991
€6,035
Breitling SuperOcean A17040 395688
Vintage

Breitling
SuperOcean
A17040

Box
Papers
Year 1998
€2,470
Rolex Mid-Size Datejust 68274 418762
Vintage

Rolex
Mid-Size Datejust
68274

Box
Papers
Year 1990
€7,475
Rolex Oyster Precision 6694 418760
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Precision
6694

Box
Papers
Year 1972
€4,025
Rolex Datejust 16234 418758
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16234

Box
Papers
Year 1996
€7,820
Rolex Submariner 16618 418757
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
16618

Box
Papers
Year 1990
€27,540
Rolex Submariner 16800 416906
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
16800

Box
Papers
Year 1985
€9,140
Rolex Air-King 14000 416470
Vintage

Rolex
Air-King
14000

Box
Papers
Year 1993
€4,575

Vintage Watches

There has been a huge upsurge in vintage watch collecting over the past twenty years, a natural consequence perhaps of the mechanical watch revival that took place in the 1990s after the doom-laden era of the quartz crisis had receded.

Since then vintage watches have grabbed the watch industry’s biggest headlines, with a number of Rolex and Patek Philippe models regularly selling for well over a million dollars at the most prestigious auction houses.

Vintage watches have never been in such high demand, with even models from lesser-known brands seeing their value increase ten-fold over the last decade or so. Of course, precious few vintage timepieces—or any timepieces, for that matter—will reach anywhere near the astronomical price ($17.75 million) fetched by Paul Newman’s Daytona in 2017, but a vintage watch by a brand like Omega or Zenith which sold for a couple of hundred pounds in the 1990s, would fetch several times that in today’s market.

If you’re wondering what defines a vintage watch in the first place, the answer isn’t set in stone. Some people consider any pre-1980 model to qualify as vintage, while others insist it’s anything over 25 years old. Any watch over a hundred years old, on the other hand, is classed as an antique—one you might consider locking in a safe rather than actually wearing.

If you’re thinking of starting your own vintage collection featuring the most established brands, there are a number of names and models to consider. Vintage Patek Philippe pieces are among the most desirable, whether it’s a pre-World War II time-only Calatrava, a 1970s Nautilus or any perpetual calendar model in gold or platinum.

The most popular vintage Audemars Piguet models are the first-generation Royal Oaks, a luxury steel sports model launched in 1972 that gave rise to a whole new genre in high-end watchmaking.

Extremely rare and therefore much sought-after are vintage Panerai watches, of which as few as 350 were made between 1938 and 1994, after which the brand finally began making watches commercially and for the civilian market, rather than just for the Italian navy. Vintage Radiomir and Luminor models now command six-figure sums at auction.

Vintage Breitling and vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre watches are generally more affordable than the above, but even more wallet-friendly are a number of chronograph models by the legendary Heuer.

Vintage TAG Heuer (as it is now called) is best represented by several chronograph models with strong motor-racing links, the most famous being the square-cased Monaco. Famously worn by Hollywood maverick Steve McQueen, this distinctive and iconic timepiece is now a regular in the brand’s catalogue, with a number of dial variations and special editions. There’s something extra-cool about the early models, though, whose tiny imperfections enhance their appeal.

A few oft-repeated rules for budding vintage collectors are as follows: always buy from a trusted seller; try to buy watches with all original parts (dials, for example, have often been repainted or replaced on older watches); and never wear any vintage watch, whether a diver’s watch or not, in water as it will have almost certainly lost its water resistance due to the seals on the gaskets eroding.

And don’t be put off by faded lume, the odd battle scar and a little patina. Part of the charm of a vintage watch is that it’s been around the block a few times, had a few different wearers, got a few tales to tell.

At Watchfinder we sell a number of vintage models from brands including Rolex, Tudor, Zenith, Omega and more. Browse our selection online today to find your perfect vintage timepiece and add another chapter to its story.

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