Vintage is a collectors’ word for a watch that has passed a certain age, usually more than roughly 20 to 25 years in most of the trade. A vintage watch picks up patina from time, sunlight or tropical climates, and some collectors see this as its most prized feature.
How old is a vintage watch?
Most of the trade calls a watch vintage once it is older than roughly 20 to 25 years. The rule is about age, not a fixed year, so the line moves with the calendar. The auction house Ineichen sets an upper limit as well. For Ineichen, a vintage watch is one that is less than a century old. It also splits the field at the 1970s. Watches from before that decade are vintage. Watches from the 1970s to the 2010s fall into a later group it calls modern vintage.
What is neo-vintage?
Neo-vintage is a related category. It covers watches made from the late 1970s into the 2000s, so it overlaps with the period Ineichen calls modern vintage. One detail turns up on most neo-vintage watches: tritium lume on the dial and hands. Tritium took over from radium for this job in the early 1960s. So by the late 1970s, when the neo-vintage period begins, tritium had already been in use for years.
What do collectors look for in a vintage watch?
Patina is the ageing a vintage watch picks up over the years. It comes from time, from sunlight or from tropical climates. Some collectors see patina as the most prized feature of a vintage watch. Collectors of vintage watches also usually look for a particular kind of dial. They want one that has aged to a creamy or chocolate colour.
Not to be confused with
Antique is the older category. The word is usually kept for pieces that have reached 100 years of age. A watch can therefore move from vintage to antique as it gets older. Pre-owned is a different matter. It simply means second-hand and says nothing about age. The word alone does not tell a buyer how old a watch is. A vintage watch bought from a previous owner is both.
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