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Vintage Watches

Every vintage watch has a story to tell, and that’s what makes them special. Each piece offers a unique window into the past that traces back through generations, and owning one means getting to enjoy a piece of decades-old mechanical art. Welcome to the world of vintage.

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Popular Brands
  1. Rolex Rolex
  2. Breitling Breitling
  3. Omega Omega
  4. TAG Heuer TAG Heuer
  5. Tudor Tudor
  6. Cartier Cartier
  7. Panerai Panerai
  8. IWC IWC
  9. Patek Philippe Patek Philippe
  10. Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet
  11. Hublot Hublot
  12. Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre
  13. Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin
All Brands
  1. A. Lange and Sohne A. Lange and Sohne
  2. Arnold and Son Arnold and Son
  3. Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet
  4. Ball Ball
  5. Baume et Mercier Baume et Mercier
  6. Bell and Ross Bell and Ross
  7. Blancpain Blancpain
  8. Breitling Breitling
  9. Bremont Bremont
  10. Bvlgari Bvlgari
  11. Carl F. Bucherer Carl F. Bucherer
  12. Cartier Cartier
  13. Chanel Chanel
  14. Chopard Chopard
  15. Corum Corum
  16. Fortis Fortis
  17. Frederique Constant Frederique Constant
  18. Girard Perregaux Girard Perregaux
  19. Glashutte Original Glashutte Original
  20. Graham Graham
  21. Grand Seiko Grand Seiko
  22. Hamilton Hamilton
  23. Hublot Hublot
  24. IWC IWC
  25. Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre
  26. Longines Longines
  27. Louis Erard Louis Erard
  28. Maurice Lacroix Maurice Lacroix
  29. Montblanc Montblanc
  30. Nomos Glashutte Nomos Glashutte
  31. Omega Omega
  32. Oris Oris
  33. Panerai Panerai
  34. Patek Philippe Patek Philippe
  35. Porsche Design Porsche Design
  36. Rado Rado
  37. Raymond Weil Raymond Weil
  38. Rolex Rolex
  39. Sinn Sinn
  40. TAG Heuer TAG Heuer
  41. Tudor Tudor
  42. U-Boat U-Boat
  43. Ulysse Nardin Ulysse Nardin
  44. Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin
  45. Zenith Zenith
Series
Case Size
The size of a watch is very important for style and comfort. If you prefer an oversized watch like a Panerai Luminor, you’ll probably want Large. If you’re looking for something more discreet like a Rolex Lady Datejust, you’ll want Small. For everything in between, Medium.
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Stock Type
  1. Watchfinder Watchfinder
Case Material
  1. Aluminium Aluminium
  2. Bronze Bronze
  3. Carbon Carbon
  4. Ceramic Ceramic
  5. Other Other
  6. Platinum Platinum
  7. Rose Gold Rose Gold
  8. Silver Silver
  9. Steel Steel
  10. Steel & Rose Gold Steel & Rose Gold
  11. Steel & White Gold Steel & White Gold
  12. Steel & Yellow Gold Steel & Yellow Gold
  13. Titanium Titanium
  14. White Gold White Gold
  15. Yellow Gold Yellow Gold
  16. Yellow Gold Plated Yellow Gold Plated
Dial Colour
Black
Blue
Bronze
Brown
Champagne
Diamond
Green
Grey
Ivory
Orange
Pink
Purple
Red
Salmon
Silver
Specialised
White
Yellow
Strap
  1. Bracelet Bracelet
  2. Fabric Fabric
  3. Leather Leather
  4. Rubber Rubber
Box and Papers
  1. Original box Original box
  1. Original papers Original papers
Movement
A mechanical watch is powered by a spring. Manual mechanical watches must be hand wound. Automatic watches are also mechanical, and are wound by a weight that spins with the wearer's movements. A quartz watch is battery powered and extremely accurate.
  1. Automatic Automatic
  2. Manual Manual
  3. Quartz Quartz
Promotion
Limited Edition
  1. Limited Edition Limited Edition
Reset Results (335)
Results (335)
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Rolex Datejust 16220 430012
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16220

Box
Papers
Year 1993
£5,200
Rolex Datejust Lady 79178 429961
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
79178

Box
Papers
Year 1997
£10,500
Rolex Mid-Size Datejust 68273 395874
Vintage

Rolex
Mid-Size Datejust
68273

Box
Papers
Year 1990
£6,150
Omega Chronostop 145.009 407759
Manufacturer's Warranty

Omega
Chronostop
145.009

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£1,650
Omega Constellation Ladies 795.1080 374086
Vintage

Omega
Constellation Ladies
795.1080

Box
Papers
Year 1990
£915
Tag Heuer 2000 Exclusive CN111F 406256
Vintage

Tag Heuer
2000 Exclusive
CN111F

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£750
Omega Speedmaster MKII ST 145.014 420266
Vintage

Omega
Speedmaster MKII
ST 145.014

Box
Papers
Year 1984
£3,235
Rolex Oyster Precision 6694 406232
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Precision
6694

Box
Papers
Year 1971
£3,250
Rolex Datejust Lady 69278 431695
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69278

Box
Papers
Year 1998
£10,500
Panerai Luminor GMT PAM00023 427335
Vintage

Panerai
Luminor GMT
PAM00023

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£4,500
Rolex Datejust 16030 404919
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16030

Box
Papers
Year 1984
£4,650
Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch ST 145.022 430471
Vintage

Omega
Speedmaster Moonwatch
ST 145.022

Box
Papers
Year 1979
£5,165
Rolex Air-King 14000 431169
Vintage

Rolex
Air-King
14000

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£4,225
Panerai Luminor Marina PAM00048 415056
Vintage

Panerai
Luminor Marina
PAM00048

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£3,985
Rolex Mid-Size Datejust 68240 410841
Vintage

Rolex
Mid-Size Datejust
68240

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£3,725
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 15210 429204
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual Date
15210

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£4,500
Rolex Oyster Precision 6694 404023
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Precision
6694

Box
Papers
Year 1984
£3,350
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 15053 403586
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual Date
15053

Box
Papers
Year 1987
£4,650
Rolex GMT Master 16750 403695
Vintage

Rolex
GMT Master
16750

Box
Papers
Year 1981
£11,500
Rolex Mid-Size Datejust 68240 412359
Vintage

Rolex
Mid-Size Datejust
68240

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£4,950
Rolex GMT Master 16700 430521
Vintage

Rolex
GMT Master
16700

Box
Papers
Year 1996
£13,250
Omega Speedmaster Mark IV ST 176.0012 415325
Vintage

Omega
Speedmaster Mark IV
ST 176.0012

Box
Papers
Year 1986
£2,800
Omega Seamaster 300m Mid-Size 2561.80.00 429931
Vintage

Omega
Seamaster 300m Mid-Size
2561.80.00

Box
Papers
Year 1998
£2,150
Tudor Submariner 94110 404916
Vintage

Tudor
Submariner
94110

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£6,950
Rolex Datejust 16234 406142
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16234

Box
Papers
Year 1995
£5,150
Cartier Pasha W3100255 412803
Vintage

Cartier
Pasha
W3100255

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£2,450
Cartier Tank Francaise W51003Q3 411663
Vintage

Cartier
Tank Francaise
W51003Q3

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£3,150
Rolex Datejust Lady 69174 410927
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69174

Box
Papers
Year 1996
£5,075
Vacheron Constantin Vintage 222 424057
Vintage

Vacheron Constantin
Vintage
222

Box
Papers
Year 1987
£24,950
Rolex Datejust Lady 69174 429413
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69174

Box
Papers
Year 1996
£5,850
Rolex Datejust Lady 69174 373438
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69174

Box
Papers
Year 1992
£4,950
Breitling Datora A21330 429593
Vintage

Breitling
Datora
A21330

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£3,250
Rolex Datejust 16233 429248
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16233

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£6,650
Rolex Datejust 16234 424912
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16234

Box
Papers
Year 1995
£5,950
Rolex Datejust 16233 428331
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16233

Box
Papers
Year 1993
£6,950
Rolex Datejust 16233 428785
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16233

Box
Papers
Year 1997
£6,675
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 6694 400862
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
6694

Box
Papers
Year 1959
£2,900
Rolex Submariner 16610 428328
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
16610

Box
Papers
Year 1997
£7,850
Rolex Explorer II 1655 408623
Manufacturer's Warranty

Rolex
Explorer II
1655

Box
Papers
Year 1979
£15,350
Rolex Datejust 1603 401048
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
1603

Box
Papers
Year 1974
£4,765
Rolex Datejust Lady 79173 408883
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
79173

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£4,950
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 1003 403174
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
1003

Box
Papers
Year 1979
£4,100

Vintage Watches

There has been a huge upsurge in vintage watch collecting over the past twenty years, a natural consequence perhaps of the mechanical watch revival that took place in the 1990s after the doom-laden era of the quartz crisis had receded.

Since then vintage watches have grabbed the watch industry’s biggest headlines, with a number of Rolex and Patek Philippe models regularly selling for well over a million dollars at the most prestigious auction houses.

Vintage watches have never been in such high demand, with even models from lesser-known brands seeing their value increase ten-fold over the last decade or so. Of course, precious few vintage timepieces—or any timepieces, for that matter—will reach anywhere near the astronomical price ($17.75 million) fetched by Paul Newman’s Daytona in 2017, but a vintage watch by a brand like Omega or Zenith which sold for a couple of hundred pounds in the 1990s, would fetch several times that in today’s market.

If you’re wondering what defines a vintage watch in the first place, the answer isn’t set in stone. Some people consider any pre-1980 model to qualify as vintage, while others insist it’s anything over 25 years old. Any watch over a hundred years old, on the other hand, is classed as an antique—one you might consider locking in a safe rather than actually wearing.

If you’re thinking of starting your own vintage collection featuring the most established brands, there are a number of names and models to consider. Vintage Patek Philippe pieces are among the most desirable, whether it’s a pre-World War II time-only Calatrava, a 1970s Nautilus or any perpetual calendar model in gold or platinum.

The most popular vintage Audemars Piguet models are the first-generation Royal Oaks, a luxury steel sports model launched in 1972 that gave rise to a whole new genre in high-end watchmaking.

Extremely rare and therefore much sought-after are vintage Panerai watches, of which as few as 350 were made between 1938 and 1994, after which the brand finally began making watches commercially and for the civilian market, rather than just for the Italian navy. Vintage Radiomir and Luminor models now command six-figure sums at auction.

Vintage Breitling and vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre watches are generally more affordable than the above, but even more wallet-friendly are a number of chronograph models by the legendary Heuer.

Vintage TAG Heuer (as it is now called) is best represented by several chronograph models with strong motor-racing links, the most famous being the square-cased Monaco. Famously worn by Hollywood maverick Steve McQueen, this distinctive and iconic timepiece is now a regular in the brand’s catalogue, with a number of dial variations and special editions. There’s something extra-cool about the early models, though, whose tiny imperfections enhance their appeal.

A few oft-repeated rules for budding vintage collectors are as follows: always buy from a trusted seller; try to buy watches with all original parts (dials, for example, have often been repainted or replaced on older watches); and never wear any vintage watch, whether a diver’s watch or not, in water as it will have almost certainly lost its water resistance due to the seals on the gaskets eroding.

And don’t be put off by faded lume, the odd battle scar and a little patina. Part of the charm of a vintage watch is that it’s been around the block a few times, had a few different wearers, got a few tales to tell.

At Watchfinder we sell a number of vintage models from brands including Rolex, Tudor, Zenith, Omega and more. Browse our selection online today to find your perfect vintage timepiece and add another chapter to its story.

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