Vintage Watches

A Collector's Guide to Buying Vintage Watches

Collecting vintage watches is a growing hobby in most parts of the western world. One of the most frustrating aspects of collecting vintage watches is the number of fakes, Franken watches and fraudsters one encounters in pursuit of this noble, but increasingly costly, passion.

Caveat Emptor, rarity and product knowledge steer the purchasing behaviors of astute collectors in any collecting field and these three principles are particularly important when purchasing vintage watches on-line and through bricks and mortar dealers.

Franken watches describe the practice of taking parts from different watches of the same caliber series and 'creating' a new or better pedigree of movement. In some countries of Europe they are called 'Wedding' watches.

1. Housing a different movement in a genuine case or re-dialed model. If you are interested in collecting a particular brand of watch, get to know the caliber numbers of movements that power particular models.
2. Using a similar movement series and replacing the part that has the caliber number. This is prevalent in watch brands that have numerous models and where the top line models fetch higher prices that the cheaper models.
3. Placing a high end dial and movement in the wrong case. Many of the higher end vintage watches have case back numbers that can be checked with serial numbers to see if they match.
4. Replacing worn hands and crowns with non-genuine hands and crowns and claiming the watch is 100 percent authentic. A common problem with many vintage models that reduces the value of the watch. On-line forums are a great way to acquire and swap pictures.
5. Badly executed dials and re-dials. A bad re-dial will wipe as much as 30 percent off the value of the watch. Again pictures and the help of other collectors are invaluable in making sure you have an authentic watch.
6. Replacing numerous worn parts in genuine models with genuine parts. Knowledgeable and pernickety collectors look for signs of color variation on the movement and often avoid watches that are not of one color hue. Ask the vendor for a detailed report on the history of servicing of the watch and its current condition.
7. When examining a good quality picture of the watch movement, and always ask for pictures if you are buying on the internet, look for any discoloration of the surfaces of plates and bridges. Look for any signs of corrosion or parts of the watch that do not match in color, particularly rotor bridges and the part of the watch that contains the caliber or serial numbers.
8. Examine the movement for burred screw heads and scrapes and damage to the movement plates or bridges, which are sure signs of inexpert work, or at least indicate the movement was separate from the case for some time before a case was found to match. Checks for surface discoloration on the movement plates, blotches, corrosion, or parts that don't match the rest of the movement patina.
9. Examine the case back to determine whether the watch has had a hard life. Beware of excessive polishing that takes the sharpness away from the edges of the watch case, as that again indicates considerable wear and tear overall and devalues the watch.
10. A watch that has obviously had a hard life indicates carelessness towards its maintenance and irregularity in servicing. Generally speaking, mechanical watches should be serviced every three to five years, and it is not difficult to detect a watch that has been neglected because the signs of neglect are obvious to the naked eye.
11. Badly discolored watches with scratches, gouges to the movement, highly polished case backs and inexpertly refinished dials are sure signs of the amateur watchmaker at work and should be avoided. Watches that are regularly serviced will have their seals replaced at service and should show few signs of moisture having entered the case. Remember rust under a dial cannot be seen and flaky dials can be a sign of hidden problems underneath.

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Source: EnzineArticles.com