How old does a watch need to be to qualify as vintage? What should you look for when buying a pre-owned watch? And can vintage watches be considered a good investment? We answer these questions and more in our guide to vintage watches.
There is one term we have been hearing increasingly often in watchmaking in recent years: vintage. Particularly with the rise of the pre-owned market following the pandemic, vintage watches have become an increasingly prominent part of the watch world. Remi Guillemin, Head of Watches for EMEA and the Americas at Christie’s, notes that demand for vintage and historically significant timepieces has grown in recent years. A greater openness towards pre-owned luxury, trends such as quiet luxury, and changing consumption habits among younger generations are all leaving their mark on watchmaking as well.
So, what exactly defines a vintage watch? How old does a watch have to be to qualify as vintage, and what should you look for when buying one?
What Is a Vintage Watch?
The term vintage has its origins in the world of wine and Champagne. In watchmaking, however, it is used to describe older timepieces, often with historical or collectible significance. Watches more than 20 years old are commonly considered part of this category. In other words, a watch produced in the early 2000s could technically be described as vintage today. Within collecting circles, however, the threshold often extends further back, with watches from the 1980s and 1990s more commonly regarded as vintage.
Thomas Perazzi, Head of Watches, Asia at Phillips, also highlighted another term that has gained currency in the market in recent years during an interview with Saatolog: neo-classic, or neo-vintage. These terms are generally used for watches produced from the late 1980s through the 1990s and into the early 2000s.
While the production date plays an important role in determining whether a watch can be considered vintage, age alone does not tell the whole story. From dial to case, factors such as the integrity of the materials, the presence of original components, the design, reference and rarity can be every bit as important as the age of the watch itself.
