Unexpected luck: 30 years later, finally found correct hands for my 1016

Marsimaxam · Sep 27, 2020

airansun
Watch collecting was such a different world in the 80’s and early 90’s. I had no better idea what to do and no way of consulting with anyone who might know better. The things I didn’t know back then could fill an encyclopedia. (See the redials below.)

There weren’t the resources available (there wasn’t even an online yet at all) and reputable collectors collected pocket watches, not wristwatches. Wristwatch collectors were seen as shallow yuppies 😜 who knew nothing about watches but only cared for pretty faces.

I straddled these two groups. In current dollars, I’d guess that my railroad grade pocket watch collection from the 80’s has lost 75% of its value, at least. Many of the wristwatches I picked up back then have done better.

But, not all of them. A few examples of wristwatches I picked up back then that, for various reasons, have not done well.

You and I are of the same generation. I started collecting watches back in the 1970s and continued on in the 80s, 90s and 2000s. You are so correct in saying how different a world it truly was back then. I was a member of the NAWCC and used to go to the conventions they had where all the dealers and collectors would gather to buy, sell and trade. I remember many members who were into pocket watches and clocks, and although there were collectors who concentrated on wristwatches, it was nothing like it is today. I, personally, never collected pocket watches although I deeply admired them. There were some books to read but the attention to detail and the subtleties that we are all aware of today, just didn't exist and most didn't care. When I bought my first Rolex submariner and GMT back in the early 80s, I didn't know about the different fonts of the inserts, the different dials, the different coronet shapes, different cases, etc.

The American vintage watch craze of the 1980s is long gone. I, fortunately, sold off most of mine to buy higher end brands... I was lucky I guess, because I certainty had no idea how insanely high some of the prices of these high end brands would go and are still climbing. It was a simpler world in some ways and I sure wish what I know now, I knew then... but it was fun, right airansun?

airansun · Sep 27, 2020

I was an NAWCC member back then too. But, I only went to local meets.

I attended local auctions and subscribed to the watch auction catalogs for Sotheby’s and Christie’s.

The changes in marketplace preferences have been dramatic and, in some instances, quite surprising. I’m glad I never got into Bubblebacks or those 20’s enamel cased Hamilton and Waltham wristwatches.

But, I will never understand how you can still buy a decent 992B Hamilton for less than $200 — this is roughly $86 dollars back in 1987. I paid between $200 and $300 each, in 1987 dollars, for mine, and considered them bargains.

I can’t imagine parting with them for twice what the going rate is.

I have few regrets about watch purchases, or failures to purchase. I still admire the workmanship of these pieces, which was my motivation to acquire them in the first place.

Marsimaxam · Sep 27, 2020

airansun
I was an NAWCC member back then too. But, I only went to local meets.

I attended local auctions and subscribed to the watch auction catalogs for Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
The changes in marketplace preferences have been dramatic and, in some instances, quite surprising. I’m glad I never got into Bubblebacks or those 20’s enamel cased Hamilton and Waltham wristwatches.
But, I will never understand how you can still buy a decent 992B Hamilton for less than $200 — this is roughly $86 dollars back in 1987. I paid between $200 and $300 each, in 1987 dollars, for mine, and considered them bargains.
I can’t imagine parting with them for twice what the going rate is.
I have few regrets about watch purchases, or failures to purchase. I still admire the workmanship of these pieces, which was my motivation to acquire them in the first place.

A small world, perhaps we crossed paths at one of the local meets. I attended mostly West Coast conventions in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Diego and Anaheim. And I too, subscribed to watch auction catalogs for Sotheby's and Christie's, in fact, I bought my first Rolex 6239 Daytona at a Sotheby's auction in the 1980s. I did get into the Rolex Bubblebacks and those 1920s enamel cased Hamilton and Waltham wristwatches, but, as I previously mentioned, I sold them all in the 80s and 90s.

Your 992B Hamilton Railway watch is an amazing piece and one of the finest american timepieces made. It is all about accuracy. Wonderful watch.
I know Patek Philippe Pocket watches are still very collectable and very expensive as they always have been. My all time favorite vintage PP pocket watch was the Graves Supercomplication, a true work of art. The Graves sold for 24,000,000 USD. If only the Hamilton 992B...

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/henry-graves-supercomplication

I found a Sotheby's catalog from 2008... which compared to today still had bargains. My 1980 catalogs are in storage under the house.