AWJ Special Feature: Eras of Vintage Watches by Hamdan Bin Humaid AlHudaidi, Founder & Chief Executive, Ashfields Consultancies Limited - Horology Consultancies
Reaching to the level of collecting vintage timepieces is reaching to a different level of collecting. Before briefly talking about the quality differences and the life the lays and stays in vintage, I would like to explain who the collector of vintage is or they are.
The collectors of vintage timepieces and watch related collectibles are unusual collectors who like unusual watches, they like quality, they like watches that speak, watches with life, watches that have aged, watches that would have kept the same shape but with an aged face “dial”, with beautiful scratches on the body that gives a feeling only a passionate collector of vintage would now.
Raising hats and clapping hands to the beautiful ateliers and watch manufacturers today whom evolved, improved and accelerated the process of making watches consistently, specially watch companies that use to mass produce in quantities by using manpower “watchmakers”. To satisfy the collectors all over the world the production has to increase and the quality has to be consistently maintained. Company like Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Omega, Rolex and similar strategic companies, cannot comprise. That’s why today a good part of their manufacture led by the best machines and technologies that are handled by the best watchmakers and engineers of the present.
The revolutionary change has its advantages and disadvantages of course. When manufacturers step in and machines takeover works of hands the good thing is the result will always be consistent, always as projected and planned but I’m very afraid to say “lifeless because handless”. As much life you would or could see as much depth you see in the dial or beauty you see in the watch, there will be a stop a limit for excitement and then eventually off.
Unlike vintage timepieces and watch related collectibles that were done and created in a categorized era of 3. Making the first category of early vintage to be between the 1850 until 1920, and then second one from the 20’s until the 50’s and third one from the 60’s until the 90’s.
Until the 1920’s the best pocket watches were produced, watches that involved a lot of enameling and artistic work that involved a lot of hands work, precision and delicacy. That is very challenging to be done by many of the manufacturers today. For instance the best quality of “Tourbillons” were done by Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, of course Breguet, Charles Frodsham and many known to be names at that time, it was the time of pocket watches, standings and hanging clocks. Today the collectors of timepieces from that era seek and look at something that other collectors doesn’t see yet and haven’t been interested in yet which they eventually will. Those collectors are not only individuals, but museums and organizations that study the ways and techniques of watchmakers and matchmaking knowing that many of the know-hows and techniques has gone down with watchmakers to the grave leaving the curiosity and excitement to the following generations.
The trend of wrist watches started from the 20s and dramatically increased and has been only and always increasing until present. From the classical round watches, to the shaped ones to the unusual shaped watches with all different lugs that trended and trending back again but only found through vintage. There are many key points that drives vintage to the current success we witness today.
- The quality of craftsmanship that many of the manufacturers used to have when when they used watchmakers to craft every part and component of the watch independently using their exceptional skills. Companies like Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Omega, Rolex, Lemania, Longines, Breitling, Breguet, Audemars Piguet, Panerai, and many other that has gone leaving history and stories and many has continued meeting the objective of the collectors and futuristic or modern need.
- Regardless of the condition of most of the vintage timepieces, the fact of it being full of life because of the genuine input, the collectors can actually speak to the piece feeling that there is a real interaction between them and it, know for a fact that there no more is currently being produced from the piece they are holding in hand.
- Many of the manufacturers and ateliers used naturals resources when building and constructing a timepiece which gives and gave actually the pleasure for such piece to show their patina & aging throughout the dials, indexes and oxidization which collectors find very interesting and makes the pieces more collectible.
- Today many of the international brands and independent watchmakers still use brand new old stock fine vintage movements as a base for their timepieces and sometime they modify the movement partially adding their speciality and uniqueness to it.
In conclusion, we realize that many of the leading complicated mechanism sourcing companies are not here anymore “due to the harsh politics I must say in field of the watch industry”. While their beautiful work only still exist and will always do because of their incomparable work. Giving the opportunity to the collectors to be confident and sure that there are limited numbers of those movements floating around, same movements carried by different brands giving collectors the choice which brand he wants to buy. For instance the Valjour movements, Lemania, Marvin, and Venus movements as some names I’m giving that has been used the most and by many aggressive names in the industry for their iconic timepieces such as Rolex, TAG Heuer, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Hermes, Omega, Roger Dubuis, Franck Muller and many other names that had to use those fine vintage quality and techniques to meet the result they expect.
As an open minded collector, I believe that the collector of Vintage is a collector of special and unique timepieces, pieces that has life, pieces that speak through its aging, scratches and patinas. The collector of vintage doesn’t want to be different only, but uniquely different.
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