pacifichrono
3T WIS
| Joined: | Thu Sep 8th, 2005 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 1594 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Hey, Scott, glad you've joined the "team" I got hooked about three years ago and that's practically all I buy now (and I buy a LOT!).
My vintage interests lie mostly with watches made in the USA, or watches sold here in numbers (Omega, Longines, etc.).
The pecking order of vintage American watches is generally considered to be:
1) Hamilton (& Illinois)
2) Gruen
3) Bulova
4) Elgin
5) Benrus
6) All others (like Helbros)
Waltham would be 2) in pocket watches and 5) in wristwatches, IMO.
Some advice I would offer:
- Get a copy of "The Complete Price Guide to Watches." This is the "bible" for vintage collectors and has thousands of models illustrated and priced (a guideline). The 2009 edition is available on Amazon for pre-sale at $19.77 (33% off).
- Buy solid gold when possible. It's hard to go wrong buying solid gold as a collector. Kinda like collecting old Mercedes.
- By law, the cases of vintage gold filled watches consisted of at least 1/20 by weight of gold. This equates to roughly 80 microns thick.
- I buy mostly on eBay. As they say..."buy the seller." Look at his feedback. The more expensive the watch the more you need to rely on the rep of the seller. I almost always buy from auctions, not Buy It Now, where prices are generally inflated. I always use eSnipe to enter my bid with only five seconds remaining. Make sure you thoroughly read all auction copy and closely examine photos before bidding.
- You may need to have a vintage watch serviced (C/O/A), so be prepared to spend $50-$100 for that.
- Some of the more desirable vintage watches (e.g., Gruen Curvex) are subject to fakery or are 'frankenwatches.' Look for the name on the dial to match the name engraved on the case and the movement. (Some purported Gruen "Curvex" models have Gruen movements, but not one of the four "Curvex" caliber movements.)
There are myriad other things to think about and consider, but way too many for discussion here. There are a lot of books that cover vintage watch collecting, and at least two serious vintage watch forums (WUS and TZ).
Feel free to PM or email me if you have any specific questions.
Good luck! 
Tom
P.S. I will now unashamedly give you my vintages watch listing for the two vintage I am selling this week - - not to buy but just to admire the art of the watches:
http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/pacifichrono
|
) due to expensive or hard to find parts? Not looking to collect anything high dollar, unless I find a hell of a deal. Tom, maybe you have some advice? 
