Why you should love vintage watches
At Amsterdam Watch Company, vintage watches are our bread and butter. But there are numerous great reasons why you should love vintage watches too. In this article, we will share some of the most important ones.
By Thomas van Straaten on 4 August 2020
At Amsterdam Watch Company, vintage watches are our bread and butter. We spend every working hour hunting down, acquiring, researching, restoring, and selling vintage watches. It is pretty safe to say that we absolutely love them. But there are numerous great reasons why you should love vintage watches too. In this article, we will share some of the most important ones.
A story and a history
Wearing a vintage watch connects you with a different era. Poetically speaking, it constantly reminds you of your own relativity in space and time. But let’s not get overly poetic. A vintage watch tells a story of days gone by. It triggers fantasies of the endless list of events that have taken place in its lifetime.
And the right watches come with their own specific stories. Whether it is the Omega Speedmaster and its journey to the moon, Heuer’s involvement in the death-defying racing world of the 60s, the journey to unexplored depths of the oceans by Blancpain, Rolex and others, a vintage watch puts a piece of history on your wrist.
Gordon Cooper, 1966-1967
Steve McQueen 1971, Le Mans
One of a kind
Although some vintage watches have been produced in large quantities, no two watches have aged the same way. While some have been hidden in a safe for decades, others have been heavily worn by hard-working people. Some have faded in a dry, sun-soaked climate while others have been submerged, diving in cold lakes. The result? Every vintage watch has its own unique palette of colors, patina, and wear. No two pieces are the same. And then we are not even speaking of the watches that were extremely rare, to begin with.
"Although some vintage watches have been produced in large quantities, no two watches have aged the same way."
Investment value
While we are not in the business of financial advice and no-one can predict the future, some vintage watches make a lot of financial sense. For over two decades, we have seen steady worldwide growth in the number of people who are into vintage watches. At the same time, the supply of the 1940s-1970s watches is shrinking. It does not take a Ph.D. in economics to draw a conclusion from that.
While true investing in vintage watches is a different story altogether, it is very comfortable to know that your money does not evaporate as soon as you leave the store. There aren’t many new watches that do not lose a massive chunk of their value as soon as you buy them. And the ones that don’t, are pretty much impossible to get your hands on in the first place. If you do your homework and buy smart from a reliable seller, you can rest assured you have made a financially more sensible purchase when getting into vintage.
Something that will last
Lastly, a good vintage watch has proven its longevity. Aesthetically: it has survived tons of fashion hypes and trends and is still timeless and attractive today. And technically: a good vintage watch can last multiple generations if properly looked after. In a time of fast consumption, it is such a lovely and rewarding thing to pass on one day.
Are you feeling the love yet? Come by our store at Reestraat 3 in the heart of historic Amsterdam and submerge yourself in the most amazing collection of vintage watches. We have good coffee to boot!
