Vintage Wrist Watch Buyers Guide
By Deco Doug Ramsey
A sharp deco grade wristwatch can do more than tell time for you. Unlike a pocket watch, it sits on your wrist, meant to be seen, and can tell others a lot about what kind of person you are and what kind of interests you have. A vintage wristwatch represents one of the most beautiful, long-range investments you can make.
Unfortunately, not much information is available to help the new buyer make an intelligent decision when shopping for vintage watches. Watch dealer Deco Doug Ramsey has graciously agreed to share his expertise with the DAADS to help us be informed collectors.
The biggest question any prospective watch buyer needs to ask themselves is "how much money do I have to spend?" It's possible to spend several dollars for a broken garage sale special, or you can spend several hundreds of thousands of dollars for ultra-high grade Patek Phillipes, or the like.
Some of the more common types of wristwatches that you will encounter are Bulova, Benrus, Elgin, Hamilton, Waltham, Gruen, Illinois, Longines, Wittnauer, Omega, and Rolex. There is a wide variety of grades within this group of watches. Some are all-solid 10, 14, or 18K yellow, pink, white, or green gold. Others were sold as gold filled with gold filled backs, while others were sold as gold filled with stainless steel backs. Some others were sold with rolled gold plate. And still others were made with all stainless steel, or with stainless steel backs, with base metal filled cases and bezels. The distinctions are important.
"Solid gold" means that the whole watch case is solid gold with no base metal in it at all. These are usually the most expensive watches.
"Gold filled case and back" watches have gold layered over the top and bottom of a base metal, usually a copper-brass alloy. While these are high-quality cases, the backs of the cases tend to wear through. If you buy one, make sure that it has been repaired by a jeweler that specializes in case repair.
"Gold filled with stainless steel back" watches are the most common collector watches. These were not quite as expensive when new as the gold filled back types, but tend to wear a lot better. The backs on these never wear through, and are the best bet for novice collectors on a limited budget.
"Solid stainless steel" watches are the longest-lasting. Virtually corrosion-proof, they won't wear through like gold filled watches, and are inert when it comes to skin corrosion or skin irritation. Unfortunately, it doesn't look all that impressive and was usually used only in round watches.
"All base metal" watches were the cheapest kind of watches made, and only a few are collectible.
The next decision to make is one of style. While vintage watches come in all styles, rectangular, curved, oval, round, and square types are the most common. The more unusual the shape, the more collectible a watch generally is.
The most expensive are generally rectangular and square, especially the solid gold watches. Most round watches were made with fancy or unusual dials that added to their style. When buying a round watch, look for unusual dials or lugs.
When you are thinking about buying a particular watch, make sure that the crystal is in good shape. This is especially important when looking at square or rectangular watches. Replacing the crystal on a watch that hasn't been made for forty or more years can be costly.
And, of course, make sure that the watch is working and keeping time, or else the repairs can cause additional, unplanned expense. In fact, some watches are impossible to fix due to lack of parts. Remember, the guys who fixed these watches are usually dead by now, and the few folks who have the training these days charge a lot to do it right.
Also, make sure that the watch case matches the name written on the movement, as a lot of watches were put in contract cases. This doesn't necessarily mean that the watch isn't collectible, but the same movement with the original case is a lot more collectible.
Watches usually came with 7, 15, 17, or 21 jewels. The more jewels a watch had, when new, the more expensive it was. While a few watches had as many as 30 jewels, the standard 15 or 17 jewel watches function just as well. "Jewels" doesn't have anything to do with diamonds on the face of the watch, but rather with the bearings on which the pivots of the gears turn. Glass pivots, well oiled, have less friction than metal jewels. However, a well-oiled 7 jewel watch will keep just as good time as a 17 jewel variety. Good higher grade manual wind or automatic watch movements will last practically forever if cleaned and oiled on a regular basis.
One thing to remember about vintage watches is to not drop them or get them wet. Washing dishes while wearing a vintage watch is a very good way to ruin an investment.