Old timepieces are like a piece of history, and wearing one feels like you’re carrying a piece of history on your wrist. The exquisite little engineering hidden within is a thing of beauty, and antique timepieces are a fun fashion piece to wear for those who appreciate it.
Others are more interested in collecting vintage watches and the stories and history that surround them than in wearing them. Others resell them, making a tidy profit by investing in and reselling them to other antique watch aficionados and collectors.
Antique watches come in a variety of forms and sizes, but you should be aware that some merchants are attempting to offer you fake reproductions of ancient timepieces—counterfeits—in the hopes of making a fast profit while duping you It’s in your best interests to educate yourself before buying: fake watches tend to use lighter, cheaper components; they typically don’t have the bevelled logo that real antique luxury watches have; and they don’t have a serial number that checks out in the official database of that particular watch company—which you can often check out on your own, online, by going to google.com. and Entering the name of the watch company, followed by the words “serial number,” and then selecting one of the listings that displays will offer you the choice of searching for any serial number to verify if it’s legitimate or seeing a list of all authentic.
When dealing with a seller, it’s advisable to gather a lot of information about the watch you want to buy up front and then decide once everything checks up and you’re confident the watch is genuine. However, in order to do so, you must first educate yourself on the product and become as familiar with it as possible, so you can tell if you’re dealing with a fake or the genuine article when you’re out shopping.
Another thing to remember about vintage watches are that they usually require more care than modern watches. For one thing, you must normally wind them up on a regular basis. Because of the delicate internal system of gears and fine parts stored inside the case, you must also take greater care of them by keeping them cleaner than an average contemporary watch. You’re effectively hosed until you can get it cleaned by a watch repair shop if the inside gets dirty.
Old watches take a bit more maintenance, but many people find that the extra effort is well worth it because they have so much more character and charm than today’s army of bland, uninspiring timepieces. Just make sure that if you’re going to buy an antique watch, you do your study first to ensure that you’re getting a genuine piece and not unwittingly contributing to the black market for counterfeit watches.
