What to Look Out for When Buying Vintage Watches

Credits:  Article and images by Maz Panayi @ Quill & Pad.  See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/08/26/what-to-look-out-for-when-buying-vintage-watches/

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When was the Last Service?

As a buyer, you want to ensure that the timepiece you are investing in has been well looked after. A sign of this is if it has been regularly serviced. Whilst actual service records can be hard to come by, vague or even fake, the seller should be able to tell you when the last service was and what happened at the service.

A seller who can provide you with details about the service is more likely to be trusted than one who dismisses the question.

Vintage Omega Seamasters  from 1948 and 1949

Is the Watch Keeping Accurate Time?

There is no way of knowing from a photograph whether a timepiece is actually working. Even if the seller mentions that it is still working, it may still be ticking, but is it operating with accuracy?

If purchasing in person, checking if the timepiece is accurate is a lot easier to do. Of course, it is not convenient to take a timegrapher with you to a potential sale but there is an amazing app called Timegrapher which listens to a watch and determines its accuracy.

Online, this is a little harder to check but you can always check if they have their own timegrapher readings. You could even recommend downloading the app, whilst it is additional work on the seller’s part, if they are a genuine seller who wants to make a sale it should be no bother.

Ask Yourself, do I Trust This Seller?

The watch may look great and sound great, but do you actually trust the seller? If there is a single red flag about the situation, that should raise your alarm bell to leave it and move onto another one. You should not put your hard-earned cash into a timepiece if you have even the slightest doubt about the person you are purchasing from.

By having a conversation with the seller and asking questions about the timepiece, you can typically get a vibe and a feeling as to whether you are looking at something genuine. A seller who is overly pushy or particularly evasive is a warning sign.

Some things to look out for are the location of the seller as a lot of counterfeit items are produced in China and India. Also, see if the seller has other listings. If they have a large amount of listings for vintage timepieces or if they are selling multiples of the same model, this is highly suspicious that they are selling fakes.

You also want to consider the seller’s intention behind the listing price. If it seems too good to be true, that’s probably because it is. If you feel like you have found yourself a bargain, it is not always, but most likely, because the timepiece is either counterfeit or the condition is not as described.

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Credits:  Article and images by Maz Panayi @ Quill & Pad.  See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/08/26/what-to-look-out-for-when-buying-vintage-watches/