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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. Breitling Breitling
  3. Omega Omega
  4. TAG Heuer TAG Heuer
  5. Tudor Tudor
  6. Cartier Cartier
  7. Panerai Panerai
  8. IWC IWC
  9. Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet
  10. Patek Philippe Patek Philippe
  11. Hublot Hublot
  12. Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre
  13. Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin
All Brands
  1. A. Lange and Sohne A. Lange and Sohne
  2. Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet
  3. Ball Ball
  4. Baume et Mercier Baume et Mercier
  5. Bell and Ross Bell and Ross
  6. Blancpain Blancpain
  7. Breitling Breitling
  8. Bremont Bremont
  9. Bvlgari Bvlgari
  10. Carl F. Bucherer Carl F. Bucherer
  11. Cartier Cartier
  12. Chanel Chanel
  13. Chopard Chopard
  14. Corum Corum
  15. Eterna Eterna
  16. Fortis Fortis
  17. Frederique Constant Frederique Constant
  18. Girard Perregaux Girard Perregaux
  19. Glashutte Original Glashutte Original
  20. Graham Graham
  21. Grand Seiko Grand Seiko
  22. Hamilton Hamilton
  23. Hermes Hermes
  24. Hublot Hublot
  25. IWC IWC
  26. Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre
  27. Longines Longines
  28. Maurice Lacroix Maurice Lacroix
  29. Montblanc Montblanc
  30. Nomos Glashutte Nomos Glashutte
  31. Omega Omega
  32. Oris Oris
  33. Panerai Panerai
  34. Patek Philippe Patek Philippe
  35. Porsche Design Porsche Design
  36. Rado Rado
  37. Rolex Rolex
  38. TAG Heuer TAG Heuer
  39. Tudor Tudor
  40. Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin
  41. 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. Other Other
  5. Platinum Platinum
  6. Rose Gold Rose Gold
  7. Silver Silver
  8. Steel Steel
  9. Steel & Rose Gold Steel & Rose Gold
  10. Steel & White Gold Steel & White Gold
  11. Steel & Yellow Gold Steel & Yellow Gold
  12. Titanium Titanium
  13. White Gold White Gold
  14. Yellow Gold Yellow Gold
  15. Yellow Gold Plated Yellow Gold Plated
Dial Colour
Black
Blue
Bronze
Brown
Champagne
Diamond
Green
Grey
Ivory
Orange
Pink
Purple
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 (337)
Results (337)
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Rolex Submariner 1680 378547
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
1680

Box
Papers
Year 1980
£10,000
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 1002 377351
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
1002

Box
Papers
Year 1950
£3,765
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 67480 373086
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
67480

Box
Papers
Year 1998
£3,800
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 67480 398026
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
67480

Box
Papers
Year 1996
£3,740
Rolex Day-Date 18238 399978
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
18238

Box
Papers
Year 1996
£17,950
Rolex Day-Date 18078 386496
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
18078

Box
Papers
Year 1984
£17,500
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 77080 402006
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
77080

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£4,500
Rolex Day-Date 18338 396304
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
18338

Box
Papers
Year 1994
£19,950
Rolex Daytona 16523 396703
Vintage

Rolex
Daytona
16523

Box
Papers
Year 2000
£16,250
Rolex Air-King 5500 378680
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Air-King
5500

Box
Papers
Year 1990
£4,250
Rolex Day-Date 18038 402203
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
18038

Box
Papers
Year 1987
£14,950
Rolex Air-King 5700 372516
Vintage

Rolex
Air-King
5700

Box
Papers
Year 1978
£3,450
Rolex Air-King 14000 377023
Vintage

Rolex
Air-King
14000

Box
Papers
Year 1998
£4,250
Rolex Air-King 14000 377109
Vintage

Rolex
Air-King
14000

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£4,300
Cartier Roadster W62025V3 392972
Vintage

Cartier
Roadster
W62025V3

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£3,650
Cartier Tank Francaise WE1002SC 369314
Vintage

Cartier
Tank Francaise
WE1002SC

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£12,250
Rolex Oyster Precision 6694 369405
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Precision
6694

Box
Papers
Year 1968
£3,750
Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch ST 145.022 369035
Vintage

Omega
Speedmaster Moonwatch
ST 145.022

Box
Papers
Year 1984
£4,850
Omega Seamaster GMT 2534.50.00 368623
Vintage

Omega
Seamaster GMT
2534.50.00

Box
Papers
Year 2000
£3,275
Rolex Air-King 14010 367135
Vintage

Rolex
Air-King
14010

Box
Papers
Year 2000
£4,750
Rolex Mid-Size Datejust 68274 356659
Vintage

Rolex
Mid-Size Datejust
68274

Box
Papers
Year 1998
£7,250
Rolex Oyster Precision 6694 364998
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Precision
6694

Box
Papers
Year 1974
£3,655
Tudor Monte Carlo 94300 274891
Vintage

Tudor
Monte Carlo
94300

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£11,950
Tudor Submariner 9411/0 297012
New Price
Vintage

Tudor
Submariner
9411/0

Box
Papers
Year 1975
£9,540
Rolex Datejust Lady 69190 353963
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69190

Box
Papers
Year 1997
£4,130
Rolex Datejust 16200 363356
New Price
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16200

Box
Papers
Year 1991
£5,000
Rolex Oyster Precision 6694 362992
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Precision
6694

Box
Papers
Year 1956
£3,425
Rolex Datejust 16030 353272
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16030

Box
Papers
Year 1976
£5,250
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 1500 358794
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual Date
1500

Box
Papers
Year 1967
£3,750
Rolex Datejust 1601 344423
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
1601

Box
Papers
Year 1971
£4,355
Tudor Prince Date 91520 258472
Vintage

Tudor
Prince Date
91520

Box
Papers
Year 1994
£2,150
Rolex Datejust Lady 69174 350690
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69174

Box
Papers
Year 1990
£5,100
Rolex GMT Master 1675 346840
Vintage

Rolex
GMT Master
1675

Box
Papers
Year 1970
£10,000
Rolex Submariner 5513 344240
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
5513

Box
Papers
Year 1990
£8,925
Rolex Daytona 16523 345472
Vintage

Rolex
Daytona
16523

Box
Papers
Year 1998
£14,685
Rolex GMT Master 1675 333153
Vintage

Rolex
GMT Master
1675

Box
Papers
Year 1972
£11,000
Rolex Day-Date 18038 330648
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
18038

Box
Papers
Year 1983
£10,000
Tag Heuer Autavia 1163 321127
Vintage

Tag Heuer
Autavia
1163

Box
Papers
Year 1970
£4,250
Zenith El Primero 20.0210.400 297762
Vintage

Zenith
El Primero
20.0210.400

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£3,750
Tudor Sport Collection 7032/0 284565
Vintage

Tudor
Sport Collection
7032/0

Box
Papers
Year 1970
£13,275
Tudor Oysterdate Chronograph 94200 290994
Vintage

Tudor
Oysterdate Chronograph
94200

Box
Papers
Year 1992
£9,950
Rolex GMT Master II 16710 359966
Vintage

Rolex
GMT Master II
16710

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£10,350

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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