Let's See Your Watches! The Vintage Watch Thread.

[Fading Fast]

"rugged as a battleship" ~ quite the selling point for an Art Deco wristwatch!

Happy hunting ... the Web is truly an amazing source of info that would otherwise be unavailable to us.

Incidentally, how is your "jump-hour" watch running?

Sorry if I gave the wrong impression - I don't own one, just saw it on an Art Deco page. Something to think about though - but they seem out of my price range.

 

[viclip]

Sorry if I gave the wrong impression - I don't own one, just saw it on an Art Deco page. Something to think about though - but they seem out of my price range.

The 2018 "Price Guide" depicts a similar Bulova with jumping hours & wandering minutes/seconds, in a stainless steel case with a 15j movement, dated circa 1928. The approx. price range in USD for that model, which does not have the President case & with a slightly different dial, is as follows:

Dealer's buying price for a complete & running watch ... $300

Dealer's selling price for fully restored watch with good case & dial ... $400

Dealer's selling price for mint, all original specimen ... $600

Of course various gold-filled alloys usually demand higher prices, as do higher jewel movements; rare models sing to collectors & can go for considerable money.

As for me, the only watches respecting which I harbor regrets, are those that I really liked but failed to acquire for whatever reason, usually over a price difference which seems meaningless a few months later.

 

[GJH]

Here is a 1926 Illinois Atlantic with Enamel Bezel

Very difficult to find with the Enamel.

 

[Fading Fast]

Does anyone have a watch repair guy for vintage watches that they recommend? It's for a 1920s "Swiss Military Watch" (pic below) - at least that's what I've been told it is. I'll ship it to him. Thank you.

 

[MondoFW]

Does anyone have a watch repair guy for vintage watches that they recommend? It's for a 1920s "Swiss Military Watch" (pic below) - at least that's what I've been told it is. I'll ship it to him. Thank you.
View attachment 121170

A fantastic and very elegant watch. I'll never understand the hype for these gargantuan clocks makers market as "watches" these days. When I pass by the Costco jewelry, I can't help but be more fascinated by the women's watches (minus the bedazzled ones) because they're much less gaudy. Your watch is a prime example of how a watch should be. Still thinking about investing in a vintage meself. Good luck finding a repair man.

 

[Fading Fast]

A fantastic and very elegant watch. I'll never understand the hype for these gargantuan clocks makers market as "watches" these days. When I pass by the Costco jewelry, I can't help but be more fascinated by the women's watches (minus the bedazzled ones) because they're much less gaudy. Your watch is a prime example of how a watch should be. Still thinking about investing in a vintage meself. Good luck finding a repair man.

I'm in your camp as today's fashion of super-large watches looks off in scale to me. Aesthetically, a watch that doesn't overwhelm the wrist looks more pleasing to my eye, but clearly, that's not the of-the-moment choice.

Thank you for the compliment as I really love the watch I showed. Since I didn't get any suggestions here, I took it in yesterday to a local guy who is okay but not great (I had a great guy who retired).

If you want to find one similar to my watch, search for "Vintage Trench Watch" on Ebay and other sites and with a little patience you should find one like mine as it was a very common '20s design. As always, pricing will appear all over the map, but for $200-$300 you should be able to find one from a reputable seller in good working condition.

Just an fyi, if you are new to vintage watches, the real cost on the low-priced ones like mine (I paid about $250, don't remember the exact number) is the need to service and repair them every several years. Depending on this, that and the other thing, that will cost $100 - $200 (can be more if something really bad happened) and will come up every few years.

It's not a crazy expensive hobby, but it's just good to know ahead of time that there will be some ongoing costs to keep it running.

 

[GJH]

Here is a rare "Decagon" from the 1920's
There are only 2 known examples known.

 

[viclip]

Here is a rare "Decagon" from the 1920's
There are only 2 known examples known.

Now that's s stunner! Illinois sure churned out some spectacular wrist watches in the '20s.

I don't recall seeing a 10-sided watch case before.

Can you tell us anything about the case's composition & who made it?

 

[MondoFW]

Here is a rare "Decagon" from the 1920's
There are only 2 known examples known.

The most beautiful watch I have ever seen! Wear it with pride, if you plan on it.

 

[GJH]

Thanks Folks...

This is the only known Advertisement for the watch. Dated June 14, 1919 in the Saturday Evening Post

 

[Talbot]

Just a small bump. Not to the standard of most on this thread, but here are a few of mine:

From left to right here goes:
40's OLMA Chronograph
80's OMEGA 'Reduced' Speedy
Curent (ahem) OMEGA Seamster GMT
54 OMEGA Seamaster Manual wind
50's TITUS
58 OMEGA Constellation
42 OMEGA
52 Rolex Super Oyster

 

[Talbot]

Apologies about being too lazy to set up a decent shot!

 

[HanauMan]

Nice watches. I also have a Omega Speedmaster which I've had for a decade. Just a question, what do you mean by 'reduced'?

 

[Talbot]

Thanks.

The 3510.10 Speedmaster is slightly smaller than the Moonwatch, hence the nickname Reduced Speedmaster

 

[Talbot]

A couple more then:

I'm fairly eclectic with my watches as you can see (if it wasn't for bad taste, I'd have no taste at all)
L to R
Modern Hamilton Khaki Field watch
50's Girard Perregaux
Time factors speed bird. Modern reissue of 50's MOD pilot spec.
50's Cuervo Sobrinos
40's (?) Wittnauer
Modern Harhart re-issue of 1939 Flieger Chrono
60's (?) Oris
40's Waffle dial Lord Elgin
40's Elgin Shockmaster
50's Eternamatic

Some cheapies here - I paid $20 for the Elgin. Vintage watches can be affordable.

 

[HanauMan]

Thanks.

The 3510.10 Speedmaster is slightly smaller than the Moonwatch, hence the nickname Reduced Speedmaster

Right, I gotcha. I note that your watch is actually different to mine in a couple of ways besides the size: the small dials are in different positions and there are minute numbers on the face.

 

[Trenchfriend]

@Talbot
Great asortment!!

 

[Yahoody]

 

[Talbot]

Right, I gotcha. I note that your watch is actually different to mine in a couple of ways besides the size: the small dials are in different positions and there are minute numbers on the face.

View attachment 127957

Yes running seconds is on the other side. Also, yours is larger - 42mm in diameter whereas mine is 38mm.

Speedy's are an iconic piece with a great history, wear it well.

 

[GJH]

1929 Illinois Guardsman