Good morning everyone,

I just sold a watch I wasn't crazy about, and now can justify spending about $1200 on a simple, classic dress watch. I'm thinking 1950's-1960's solid gold IWC, Longines, LeCoultre etc... All original/correct and not overly-polished are important to me (as they are to everyone). Any suggestions?

How about this one? 9K doesn't bother me much:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gents-Vint...799932?hash=item2f2cd7c07c:g:KEoAAOSwoW1cXbwGPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

Thoughts?

Thanks! Ben

 

I usually check watchrecon for stuff like this. Or I had a guy on here message me responding to a post I made. I ended up buying this from him.

 

Nice, early-50s? I'm looking for solid gold, and something a little dressier for business.

 

1951. Here's my 1943 Omega in 18k.

 

Longines is a great brand, maybe better than Omega, but that's debatable. The Flagship is a great choice.

 

How about this rare Citizen Diamond Flake, also comes in white gold (very difficult to find) (and you need to know Japanese).
It was the world's thinnest three hand wristwatch in 1962.
I'd say it's one of the purest dress watches for that price.
More info: https://vintagecitizenwatches.com/2014/05/25/vintage-citizen-diamond-flake/

 

Hi! Gorgeous watch, but I’m early in developing my watch collection and for this dress watch I am Looking to stick with major Swiss brands like Longines, IWC, Jaeger LeCoultre etc. thanks anyway for the offer, again very cool watch.

 

I’m a big fan of IWC when it comes to gold dress watches, mainly because you seem to be able to pick up relative bargains compared to some of the other Swiss brands. I’ve got one in for lug repair at the moment which will hopefully look great when finished. The no-date version is even nicer.

 

I 100% agree on IWC. Tough to find them with nice original dials and not overpolished but I'm going to be patient. Those are probably at the top of my list, second would be a special 18k Flagship.

 

Sure. Just consider that Japanese watches from that period were very high quality and innovation. It does not have a fancy name, but for that kind of money it’s hard to beat.

 

Yes of course I'm aware that Japanese brands represent excellent value and quality. I'm educating myself on them a bit, but for now I want to establish a core collection of Swiss brands. Thanks again.

 

Just to add broaden your options: I am a big fan of Movado's early mechanical watches, which feature refined design paired with good movements.

Two of my incoming pieces (not for sale), pending sympathetic restoration, each of which falls well within your expressed budget: (of course, one must be mindful of the case size because male watches tended to be smaller back then)

~37mm chronometer with gilt dial


35mm Breguet numerals (I'm a big fan of Breguet numerals and subseconds, as you can see)

 

PS if you are willing to stretch the budget a little, the Jaeger LeCoultre K800 or K800/c is a personal favourite that I have yet to pull the trigger on.

This one is selling for $1500 in eBay; caveat being that one has to do their homework for watches from OoOoOokraine

 

Seems like you know your answer long ago.

Just wait for the next vintage IWC sale post.

 

In principle, you could get a nice large 9k gold Swiss dress watch from a prestigious maker for $1200, if such a watch existed ... but they are probably pretty uncommon. However, I think you might be happier in the long run if you could stretch your budget into the $1500-$2k range and get a nice 18k IWC or Longines. I think that's what you really want and they would both be great choices that you would not tire of.

IWC jumbo (37mm) cal 89 watches are my favorite dress pieces. I would love to add a ribbon-lug example. Maybe the squirrel will come back and sell me the watch on which he out-bid me.

 

1968 9ct Longines hand wind 284 movement.

 

Hey all, sorry I abandoned this thread… I ended up buying an 18 karat gold c. 1954 (first year) Longines Conquest, Even managed to track down an original and correct crown (not pictured).



Very happy with it. Thanks for all your suggestions.

 

Looks very nice.

 

My favourite dresser is of course an Enicar. Supertest aka Chronometer movement, nice reduced design and a price of max. 300€. I think its also available in gold, if you can find one

 

I really like those vintage movados. I recently came across one I just have no idea what the right price is. I will certainly add one. I have two movados I like them both but they are quartz. Does movado even make automatic anymore. They need to dump the museum piece, it’s just played out