I am off to Florida for a few weeks soon. Are there any good vintage watch shops/shows/antique markets/fairs/dealers in the state that I should look out for? Would love to hear your recommendations! My interest is pre-1980 and particularly WW2 now.
Florida is a rather big state...12+ hours to drive from one end to the other. What cities will you be in?
Unfortunately you're not within striking distance of Miami. I'd think that Orlando would already be a great place to look. There's also Tampa--I saw lots of watch shops there.
Pawn shops, pawn shops, pawn shops. And look on Craigslist and call the people that advertise that they buy watches...they all sell, and most are mid level fuckwits that aren't too savvy on vintage.
Orlando Watch Company https://maps.google.com/maps?dlnr=1...77010a7137085:0x7446dcac5e206f48&gmm=CgIgAQ== Very Best, JB
Teasing aside, the best hits for me have been flea markets. Pawn shops are hit/miss and will be low end stuff. Better for guns(God bless America). Antique shops can be good, particularly the 'rent a static booth' places . In Melbourne antique mall just saw several new condition vintage longines (60s era) with boxes but priced so high the seller can't lose...probably full retail value so not for this bargain Hunter. Can't recall the name at the moment but I will. Flea markets like Reningers in Mt Dora have antique malls that are worth the trip. No watch dealers per se but some booths will have estate jewelry with watches...that's how it goes. The flea market in Daytona is huge and has some very high end estate jewelry shops. Tons of watches for a flea market but lots of rich retirees in the area so negotiating a good deal takes some effort . Right now on edge of summer most local retirees are going back North so dealing will be easier as flea markets/antique shop traffic slows down until fall.
Thanks fellow members. V useful and will def do some hunting. Is the flea market on a regular weekly basis? Or permanent? Daytona sounds fun. Never been there and do have a car interest ( see avatar!)....
Daytona is going to be fairly quiet now until Fall, exceptions being the Country 500 Music festival this weekend, and the NASCAR race July 4th. All the excitement there is Oct-Mar primarily. Going in the summer will make it easy to get around, but it will be hot. Not as hot as Orlando though. Flea markets are mostly year round and usually open Fri-Sun. Some sellers are there only Sat-Sun. I can only vouch for those markets I mention above. Be warned... I have been to terrible flea markets, particularly in Tampa and Melbourne, just awful. There are lots of them in Florida, vast majority are junk sellers. If you come to Orlando for that long and don't see Daytona and St Augustine, you will regret it. St Augustine is historic, not much watch wise...but beautiful to visit. And great night life for older folks like me...ie no kids parties. I can give some tips on great things to see in the mid Florida area, very few of them being in Orlando. Mega tourist crowds take the fun out of Orlando in the summer time. FYI, massive road and building construction going on in Orlando right now. Traffic, dust, and confusion.
Pond behind my house.....here in Florida the rule is every pond has an alligator, whether you see him or not.
St Augustine sounds great. On the list to visit now. So is my understanding that your flea markets are like our car boot sales?
Believe it or not, alligators are naturally fearful of humans. It can be hard to get a picture because as soon as they see you they swim away. Alligator attacks are usually startled animals, or if your stupid enough to let your 2 yr old swim in natural waters (because then they look like food), which actually would be stupid to do anywhere in the world.
Will make sure my 2 year old is on a leash then.... Mmmm. croc skin straps. Mmmmm. Would love to hear of other non-touristy places to visit as more than 2 days being Disneyfied will fry my brain.
If I knew what a car boot was, I could answer Flea markets are open air but covered (roof only typically), usually permanent businesses where locals rent a booth to set up the crap they no longer want and expect people will pay for it. Many are seasonal businessmen (retirees that go back north when it gets hot) that set up fancy booths for a few months, some are air conditioned....but most are not. Some are long term business people year round. Those can be very good as they have better prices and you can get to know them. They are in it for long term, not the quick hit. I'd say about 60% of booths are long termers, 20% seasonal, and 20% ad hoc rent a booth for the weekend people.
You'll have to recover from Disneyworld, trust me. Its full of crazy Europeans in the summertime. I went once in the summer, never again. Sea of Humanity. I had one fellow tell me its because its actually cheaper for him to bring his family to the US to Disneyworld then go to Disney Paris for the week. Humph! The Flea Market in Daytona sells Alligator skins. I saw a beautiful 12 footer there one time. A local taxidermist has a stuffed 14 footer in his shop. They get big here. Plenty of yummy tourists.... BTW, did I mention we are also the shark bite capital of the world? And what would Florida be without the largest venomous snake in the country...Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake. Caught this little fella in my backyard...killed him, stripped him, tanned him, and mounted...he's on display in my guest bathroom. That's how we roll in here in Florida..... Please pardon that I'm not wearing my Speedmaster for the photo op, the situation got a little messy.
I grew up in in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Speedmasters were issued at city hall for all interested in the space program. I would start looking there. This is my pic, not stolen from the interweb.