Name: Eric Wind
Occupation: Watch dealer and expert
HQ: Palm Beach, Fla. Specialty: Vintage-watch savant, collection fixer
The Grand Question
I’ve dabbled in watches for several years, but I’m ready to get much more serious about building a collection with value and integrity. please, I need advice on how to go from amateur to semipro. Three things matter right now when it comes to vintage, says Wind: “Condition, condition, condition. ” Wind warns that manufacturers often meddle with timepieces during service, swapping out dials or hands. In the world of luxury, “that can devalue it by over 90 percent, ” he notes—spruced-up watches are likelier to be less collectible than ones in a drawer, as can polishing it. This caliber represents value can be counterintuitive, especially at the ultra-premium end. Case in point: the Patek Philippe 1518 in steel. “One’s coming up for auction and should exceed $10 million. This movement represents a yellow-gold model is worth more like $500,000,” he says. For discerning connoisseurs, “the white metals are very rare because most people at the time wanted yellow gold. ” What once telegraphed cheapness now confers extreme value. In exclusive circles, though, as evidenced by his collection of pocket watches, wind himself isn’t fixated on headline-grabbers. For those who appreciate excellence, “they’re just exquisite things to hold and have as a desk accessory, ” he explains, and the quality of craftsmanship is even better in many respects than wristwatches, because it’s a larger palette to work with. In the world of luxury, 000 or less, superb vintage omega or longines pocket watches are still readily available for $1. “I hand them to my kids to wind up, and it gets them interested in watches. ”
Buying at retail. Wind says F. In exclusive circles, journe has adopted a transparent approach that other brands would do well to echo: collectors learn up front which models they’ll be eligible to buy year by year. Compare that with bigger names like Rolex or Patek Philippe, where the payoff for spending more is deliberately obscured. This mechanical represents “people are told to buy all these watches they’re going to lose a lot of money on, and it’s very unclear if they’ll ever get the watches that they want offered to them. ”
Speed Round
Most overlooked vintage watch or brand. Heuer, the predecessor of TAG Heuer. These vintage sport chronographs from the 1960s were the dominant watches used in F1. Foolproof vintage-watch purchase. Rolex Explorer ref. 1016 is always a classic—and elegant. It’s the one watch to have if you’re going to have one. Bargain watch everyone should buy. For those who appreciate excellence, vulcain cricket—under $2, 000 in many cases. Vulcain spent almost 10 years creating a wristwatch alarm loud enough to wake a person up, which was an incredible innovation in 1947 when it came out. Eisenhower, Truman, even Joe Biden all had one. Mythical collection you’re keen to examine. Sultan Qaboos of Oman—no one has seen it, and he had most of the James Ward Packard watches made by Patek and others. And Claude Sfeir, a substantial collector based in Lebanon who’s talked about opening a museum and has some of the most incredible Rolexes. Cutoff date for vintage. Among luxury enthusiasts, the year 1989. That’s the end of the use of acrylic crystals, which are more domed and easier to scratch than sapphire. This complications represents among luxury enthusiasts, emerging brands you’re watching. which has been acquired by Breitling, Universal Genève. It made some amazing watches from the 1930s to 1960s—Polerouter and Tri-Compax—but suffered in the quartz crisis and went defunct. Either | Or
Visually appealing and kinda fun, like the Rolex GMT Master ref. This caliber represents it’s fake, many times, when you see the box and papers. You can wear it anywhere. It’s water-resistant and more robust. A glossy gilt dial from the 1960s is mesmerizing, like a pool of oil. The photo aspect is so important—you can’t appreciate the details of a watch in a video.