If you’re in the market for a vintage Heuer (truth: you should always be in the market for a vintage Heuer), this weekend presents some great buying opportunities as there are three auctions taking place, offering a few dozen old chronos for sale, at what could be very fair prices.
We’ll let Jeff and the gang over at On The Dash break em down for you, but all three sales have some nice things on the block.
Watch case refinishing and replating. Turning old and scratched watch cases in to attractive watches. Longines, Omega, Rolex, Bulova, Accutron and any other brand!
The “First Omega in Space” Speedmaster, missing its “controversial” leaf seconds hand.Let’s get one thing straight – the new “First Omega In Space” Speedmaster that you see above is awesome. It was released this March at Basel World and it really looks the part of vintage Speedmasters. Based on the Reference 2998 worn by Astronaut Wally Schirra into space aboard the Mercury Atlas 8 mission in October of 1962, this watch seeks to, and I believe succeeds in, capturing the hearts of all those watch fans out there that think of the vintage Speedmasters as the quintessential watch (seriously, ask anybody, even those guys with the Voutilainens and Pateks what the greatest watch ever made was, and there is a good chance they’ll say the 1960′s Speedmaster).
But, this watch has raised a few eyebrows with the die-hard vintage fans. Click through for Ben Clymer’s critical analysis of what Omega got right, and what Omega almost got right with this new watch.
Auction house Bonhams 1793 is hammering watches (pocket watches and wrist watches) on the 22nd of May. Their catalog has been published today for this auction in Knightsbridge (London) and has some nice pieces.
Between the fair share of usual suspects (Rolex, Omega, IWC etc), this 1940s Hanhart chronograph with hand wound caliber 40 movement caught my attention. Not because of the condition, which seems to be quite poor, but because it resembles with Hanhart’s current ‘Pioneer’ collection so well. Their MkI watch from the Pioneer collection with black dial and Arabic numerals is based on those very first mono pusher chronographs with caliber 40 movements (1938).
Hanhart uses a movement (caliber HAN3601) based on ETA’s caliber 7753 that has been transformed into a two-register chronograph with mono-pusher. This one button is used for start, stop and reset of the chrono hands. Although the sub registers at 3 and 9 o’clock are located a bit more to the outer side of the dial on the vintage model, a lot of details (e.g. hands) have been respected by Hanhart.
Estimated value of the vintage Hanhart caliber 40 chronograph is $ 1,100 – $ 1,400 USD. A new Hanhart Pioneer Mk1 chronograph (ref. 714.210-011) is approx $ 3,400.- USD.
This auction item can be seen here (click), at Bonhams website. Other interesting lots are this vintage Speedy with wrong dial (but nevertheless), and this vintage IWC. Anyway, make sure you’ll educate yourself on any of these watches before you bid, I am not too impressed by the item descriptions and condition of the watches offered by Bonhams.
Great vintage watches from Audemars Piguet do not come up for sale often. They are rarer than vintage Vacherons or Pateks, especially in modern sizes and aesthetics. There are a few vintage AP’s that do well at auction – obviously the early Royal Oaks (we’ll get to chose later today) – but also the traditional chronographs like this that pulled down $ 386,000 and this triple-date moonphase chrono that made almost $ 90,000. Next month, there is a great chance to buy some really special watches from Audemars Piguet that date to the brand’s formative years, and are unlike the watches offered from them today.
Below, we take a look at five vintage AP’s coming up for sale in May from Antiquorum and Christie’s, and there is not a single hexagonal screw in sight.
Be a part of Sammy D’s sunny world: Her website: sammydvintage.com Her YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com Follow her on Twitter: twitter.com In this video I am wearing: FACE: Revlon Colorstay in 150 Buff (I let my faux-glow fade) MAC MSF Natural in Medium NARS Blush in Douceur MAC Cream Color Base in Pearl EYES: MAC Painterly Paint Pot MAC Eyeshadow in Brule as a base shadow MAC Eyeshadow in Kid all over the lid MAC Eyeshadow in Cork in the crease Clinique Gel Liner in True Black Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara MAC Eyeshadows in Omega and Copperplate through the brows LIPS: MAC Lipliner in Burgundy MAC Lipstick in Diva (matte) NAILS: elf Nail Polish in Light Red Video Rating: 4 / 5
When we were hanging out a Christie’s a few weeks back looking at that history changing “Resonance” pocketwatch from Breguet, we noticed something else that caught our eye. There were two vintage Patek world-time watches, both with Cloisonné centers depicting North America, but one was a pocket watch, and the other was a wristwatch.
“No more than eight thousand.” That’s the answer I always get when I ask a prospective vintage Rolex buyer what their price range is. Always Eight. Five isn’t enough to work with, and ten – well that’s just so…ten.
I’ve helped so many of my friends and colleagues buy watches that are within the $ 8,000 range that I thought I’d share some of my recommendations with you.
Obviously, you’re not making a mistake if you buy that new Panerai Luminor you’ve had your eye on, but it is a mistake if you buy one and then wish you’d been turned on to the unmistakable cool of a vintage Rolex earlier. Take it from a guy with a roll of lessons he bought at the airport.
Here are five vintage Rolex references under $ 8,000, and why I believe they’re the best buys on the market.
image via monochrome.nlAlain Delon is a French actor – a very famous French actor. Just last week, his collection of timepieces was auctioned off in Paris, and the 100 watches brought it over $ 590,000.
The watch that attracted most of the attention was an early AP Royal Oak that Delon actually wore in during the filming of several movies including “Comme un boomerang” (1976) and “Ne reveillez pas un flic qui dort” (1988). The final sale price of this early Royal Oak (which has a service dial, for the record) was € 68,750 Euro including buyer’s premium – considerably more than the 37,500 CHF paid for this A-Series last month.
Vintage Vacheron chronographs are, in our humble opinion, massively undervalued. When you compare what the average vintage VC chrono sells for compared to the average vintage Patek chrono – you’ll see what we mean. Vintage VC chromos feature the same type of movements and finishing you’ll see with the Pateks, and in many cases, the actual design of the watch itself is arguably more interesting.
Take for example the quintessential vintage Vacheron chronograph, the reference 4178. The dial, those perfect teardrop lugs, and the fantastic manually wound movement make this watch a must for a VC collector, and it’s a watch so good, that when Gene Stone, the author and travel watch collector whom we featured here, was chosing the cover image for his seminal horological book “The Watch,” he chose the 4178.
And if you’re looking for 4178, there isn’t a better one available than the one present in Antiquorum’s Geneva sale this Sunday. We stopped by the office just yesterday to take these pictures of it
The condition of both the dial and case are superb, and it even comes on beautiful Vacheron alligator with a VC buckle. At an estimate of $ 16 – 22k, could you ask for a more beautiful watch?
