Vintage watches are mechanical watches made prior to the 1970's quartz revolution. Due to the popularity of mass produced quartz watches, most watch companies that produced vintage mechanical watches have since gone out of business. Several others got consolidated
and absorbed into a few large watch houses. Unfortunately, they now bear little resemblance to the proud pioneering companies that originally bore their name. With very few exceptions, they just don't make them like they used to.
Some of us are fortunate to own antique watches handed down as family heirlooms. Others seek them out for their vintage appearance and nostalgic charm. Some are drawn to their intricate mechanical workings that control complicated chronograph, calendar, alarm, moonphase or tidal data. Some buy them as quality investments or for their fancy solid gold case design.
Vintage watches afford us the opportunity to wear or collect something truly rare and unique. Vintage watches are for those who seek quality, craftsmanship and style as a reflection of a lost era and a lost art. It is for such reasons that vintage watches are becoming quite popular today as people look to it as an antiquity that they cannot readily buy at the mega-mall.
Collectible watches from many vintage watch houses include such names as Angelus, Benrus, Wakmann, Breitling, Bulova, Gruen, TAG Heuer, Gallet, IWC, Movado, Minerva, Longines, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Gübelin, Girard-Perregaux, Lemania, Mido, Zenith, Omega, Universal Geneve, Rolex, Vacheron & Constantin, Wittnauer, Zodiac and many more.
