newbie interested in vintage watches...

[0001T]

i have been looking at vintage watches, eg. heuer, minerva, universal...what should i look out for? how to verify if a watch is genuine? and also was pondering where can i service such watch should it go bonker after acquiring?
thanks

[Wenda]

Plenty of resources online that you can refer to. It is good to familiarise yourself with old vintage movement such as older ETA (and its subsidiaries/merged companies). Sometimes it is hard to verify as some of the companies have gone bankrupt/bought over by larger companies.

As for servicing, as long as parts are available, you should not have problems with it.

[SamGMT]

not considering vintage Rolex watch?

[stektan]

I think Omega and Rolex are a good start..quite an active trading market for those watches and in general, a lot of spart parts around to service those vintage watches.

[0001T]

i have taken a liking for vintage chrono and moonphase and the 'problem' i see is those companies that are no longer around. there is no way to verify.

seems like there are a lot to read & learn for me before i jump onto the ship.

thanks

[GSPierre]

Hi I'm new to vintage watch and currently interested in vintage Rolex. Based on the resources from the forum, managed to find some online seller such as monster time and passion. Since they are quite reputable, can I rely on what they are selling? Because the vintage design of Rolex is a stunner and I'm planning to get one as my daily watch.

[EugeneT]

Yes, monster time has a fair number of vintage Rolexes and so do the dealers in Golden Landmark. Perhaps decide on a model ypu like and then buy the best you can afford. The restoration of vintage Rolexes is now an expensive and time consuming task!

Regards,

Eugene

Navalwatch@blogspot.com

[Ian Limm]

I think Omega and Rolex are a good start..quite an active trading market for those watches and in general, a lot of spart parts around to service those vintage watches.

I agree, plenty of spare parts especially for Vintage Rolex, especially for date, datejust, day dates, tones of parts in watch repair shops.

[taxico]

Hi I'm new to vintage watch and currently interested in vintage Rolex. Based on the resources from the forum, managed to find some online seller such as monster time and passion. Since they are quite reputable, can I rely on what they are selling? Because the vintage design of Rolex is a stunner and I'm planning to get one as my daily watch.

vintage watches? caveat emptor!

even if the seller has authored a thick book on rolex and is a moderator on popular watch forums, he/she may still sell you a lemon.

at the end of the day, dealers are looking to make a buck to cover their overheads. some collectors may be happy to take a (slight?) loss when they sell to another collector, but not every body likes incurring losses.

here and VRF/VRM is your friend. welcome to the murky bottomless pit that is vintage rolex.

[polarinda]

read up a lot for that particular model you are keen on. All parts are interchangeable in a vintage...you need to verify a lot of things on the watch itself. Having said that, it's an everlasting and educational journey.

[Ender]

i have been looking at vintage watches, eg. heuer, minerva, universal...what should i look out for? how to verify if a watch is genuine? and also was pondering where can i service such watch should it go bonker after acquiring?
thanks

if vintage rolex, i strongly recommend you set VRF as your home page.
if heuer, consider onthedash forum
a good local shop to visit for a varied collection of vintage watches is Heirloom Gallery at Riverwalk (between Clarke Quay and Boat Quay). Google?
ultimately, read read and read, and read again what was read alot unless you have $ to burn to learn
have fun!

[visvim]

Really need to do a lot of research. I learnt the hard way when i got a re-modded "Girard Perregaux" vintage piece. The uncle at sunshine told me even the movement is fake. Beware of eBay, since it's vintage, you cannot really get a definite clearance from people telling whether this or this is real or fake. Good to stay with establish vintages like Rolex/Omegas. Quality of movements from these brands will be hard to forge.