I love vintage watches - especially those that don’t break the bank. I like divers and chronographs (and Chronodivers). We recently started a thread on bargain divers - https://omegaforums.net/threads/bargain-divers-thread.115226/ - and it needs its sister thread. A bargain to me is less than $300 - it may be more or less for you. I like them to work (at least partially) and I avoid date functions like the plague. Post ‘em! Some of these have moved on, but a few are still in the box. Nicolet Watch (black guilt dial) chromed case Fludo (salmon/rose dial, gf case?) Seiko (Pogue wanna be) Sandoz (BIG but didn’t love the case) Helbros (crisp case, want it back) Seagull Reissue (best bang for your money!)
I just threw what I bought cheap at you with no regard to age. I'll add more as I find the pics on our laptop. We got loads of 'em
Citizen Eco Drive. Got mine for 80 USD as a new condition factory refurb with six year warranty, regular 295 USD.
Bought these about 30 years ago, when Swatch chronographs first became available. Fast forward to today. Never worn them, and wonder what I had in mind when I bought them.
A 'not so long ago' flea market find for 35 Euros. It had no strap and the crystal had bad markings, but now its fine and runs. Citizen Chronograph Automatic (Monaco) 67-9071
Picked this one up for $25 at a local pawn shop as it was not running. The shop owner told me since it was a knock off he didn't bother to have it looked at to see what was wrong with it. It's genuine and needed a new battery
The Benrus kind of counts since it came in a watch lot without its case. And after selling the other parts in the lot, and buying a case, it was under $100 invested. The original ebay ad (where's Waldo): The Finished Product And this one was $20 at a swap meet. Didn't have a crystal (hence the dial damage) but a Staybrite step bezel case and salmon dial made that issue A-OK in my book.
Got this automatic chronograph this past winter for $100 from the Pakistani watch/jewelry hustler that me and fellow OF member Walrus know. It was missing a chrono pusher. $50 fix by my watch repair pal in Hartford and one of my favorites now. Unfortunately I pretty much picked that hustler clean of any more good deals so he's been quiet for a while. Either that or he got wise to me
Fantastic save on both watches! I can only imagine how difficult it was to round up a case for the Sky Chief.
It was insane trying to find one. Miraculously, someone on CT had posted one like a year and a half ago and when I reached out he still had it and it was the correct V72 version (and, importantly, a good price). The stars aligned for that watch.
I'm also in CT. It wasn't a fella named Ralph was it? He has some serious stash. Edit: I forgot about the penchant for abbreviations and might have misunderstood your reply
Venus 170 with salmon dial and tri-colored scales, well under your limit and Mathey Tissot cal 129 (Lemania 13CH 2P T3 or Omega 28.9 CHRO) It was bought well under the Helbros