Vintage watches - what brands to consider?

Agreed that the shared movements is better for parts availability.

The very earliest Navitimers used the Valjoux 72. From the late 50's on, most had the Venus 178 until they went back to Valjoux and the 7740. I think the more modern watches have in house calibre movements.

The Valjoux 72 preceded the Zenith movements in the Daytona. The El Primero movement wasn't used until the late 80's.

 

Thanks for thinking of me.

I have decided against buying a 57 Sub as I don't want any reliability issues with this watch as my Father In-law lives nowhere near a repair agent for these watches.

We will buy him a new one, that way he hopefully gets many years of trouble free watch wearing.

I would hate to think a present we buy him spends more time getting repaired than actually on his wrist. It will be worn all day, everyday.

I could be thinking the worst of course, but if we had a repairer in town then it wouldn't be so bad.

Sending $15K+ watches through the post does not excite me in the least as Australia Post just lost a $99 item of mine two weeks ago and they do not want to accept responsibility.

Imagine losing a $15K watch........

Thanks again buddy.

 

I'm gaga over used Sea Dwellers from about 10 years ago.
Keep putting it off. They go for $4 to $5 K (?)
IMO these are not going to depreciate like a new one yet have all the heft and durability, and you can still wear them without being paranoid of scratching it.

 

Cool info.

 

I don't what they sell for, but it sounds good.

I think Subs sell for around $10K here, so it's not really that bad.

 

LeCoultre and Omega made some beautiful pieces in that time period imo, I would definitely check them out.

 

I agree that a vintage Submariner is a great addition to anybody's collection!

If it were me, I'd get this brand new:

Reverso Classique | Luxury watches | Jaeger-LeCoultre E-boutique

It comes with vintage charm right out of the box