Vintage Watches: I Don't Get It

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TIMElyBehaviour

·Sep 6, 2026

It’s all about what era styling you prefer.


Modern, 80’s new age, 70’s retro, 60’s mad men, 40’and 50’s cool or older art deco

 

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Felix_La_PuBelle

·Sep 6, 2026·Sometimes I’m wrong. Usually.

Let me put it another way. If you have zero interest in interior decorating and I told you to go find a modern interior design book for bedrooms and bathrooms that interests you, you’d tell me to pound sand.

But let’s say I put a vintage bed and bath interior design book from 1978 in front of you, and told you that if you couldn’t find a single thing in this book that was interesting to you I would give you $10,000, but if you do find something interesting you give me $20,000.

We shake because clearly I’m a nutter and you start paging through ready to make some easy money.







BORING!

CORNEY!

REALLY CORNEY!

I HATE DISCO!!!!

Wait a sec. What did you just see on that last page?

What’s this chapter called???

What the……

multi-purpose, indeed.













You look back at the front of the book to check if this is a joke.

No. No joke. You flip back to the bedroom section.



















THIS IS INSANE!

get ready to blast off....



















Can’t forget about decorating with waterbeds. The newest innovation in sleep technology of the 70s!

Then you suddenly realize….. THERE'S A WHOLE SECTION ON BATH AND SHOWERS!!!!!!

So…… you got my money?

Edited: Sep 7, 2026

 

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elephantcage

·Sep 6, 2026

🤔 I didn't see that coming.

 

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Felix_La_PuBelle

·Sep 7, 2026·Sometimes I’m wrong. Usually.

Or just buy one of each to cover your bases.

 

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timesofplenty

·Sep 7, 2026

Some people say cucumbers taste better pickled.

 

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noelekal

·Sep 7, 2026·Home For Wayward Watches

Just think about it Felix_La_PuBelle…

Add 46 years to the ages of the models in your book and visualize the new mental pictures of those same models lounging around in those settings now.

 

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noelekal

·Sep 7, 2026·Home For Wayward Watches

Can you say “vintage?”

I thought you could.


With apologies to Mister Rogers.

 

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Felix_La_PuBelle

·Sep 7, 2026·Sometimes I’m wrong. Usually.

noelekal

Just think about it Felix_La_PuBelle…

Add 46 years to the ages of the models in your book and visualize the new mental pictures of those same models lounging around in those settings now.

I admit my metaphor breaks down a bit in relation to vintage watches. But then again, some of the models undoubtedly met someone who offered to cherish and take care of them, and likely helped them get some of their parts refurbished or replaced at periodic service intervals over the years.

As we know with vintage watches, don’t get involved unless you can afford the upkeep.

I was barely alive in the 70s, but the artifacts from that time period are peculiar. I can only assume the hippies from the 60s who had to move on and get proper jobs maintained a subtle motivation to continue to “freak out the squares“ through the 70s.

 

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noelekal

·Sep 7, 2026·Home For Wayward Watches

The 70s - avocado green and harvest gold.

We married in 1978 and spent the first year ripping out all the avocado green and harvest gold out of our house, which had all been installed in a 1969 remodel.

That and the long, stringy, yellow and white shag carpet.

Vintage is great in the watch world. It can be an offense to the eye in other applications.

 

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Archer

·Sep 7, 2026

B Bonk

First of all I'm not hating on anybody that's into vintage watches. There sure seem to be a lot of you. They just don't hold any appeal for me and I'm barely interested in them. Obviously they're all over the forums and occasionally one will pique my interest a bit but never enough to seriously consider buying one.

Okay,

B Bonk

I guess defining what constitutes vintage is part of the discussion. IMO unless it's more than about 30-40 years old it's not vintage and I don't look at older modern watches as being vintage. For example, I don't consider a 80's or 90's era watch as vintage. They're just older modern watches. I have what I consider to be a decent watch collection but nothing is over 20 years old.

I don't think there is an official definition. What I find is that what someone consider vintage is often influenced by how old they are.

B Bonk

So am I the outcast here?

If you look at the number of threads in the modern forum compared to the vintage, I think that tells you that this forum is heavily into vintage. There are more than 3 times the threads in the vintage section than in the modern. If this makes you some kind of "outcast" I think is a different question, but I don't think anyone here is really an outcast for having a different preference.

B Bonk

Anybody else not really interested in vintage watches beyond just a casual awareness?

I'm sure there are others.

B Bonk

Can one be a legitimate watch enthusiast absent a vintage watch or two?

Odd question - of course yes.

 

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elephantcage

·Sep 7, 2026

After 3 pages of this thread I found myself appreciating the "unique" posts on this last page.

Not for nothin', to the credit of so many regulars here, many of you seem to have read the orig. post as "I don't like vintage watches and would love for you massive tribe of vintage guys to explain why YOU like vintage." But the reality was, the first post was more like "I don't like vintage, so I'm going to drop in on this vintage-loving group to tell them I don't like vintage...certainly not enough to buy any. What is vintage? Where do birds go when it rains? Anyway, vintage is not something I like or appreciate. Any other vintage haters here?"

It was never an effort to understand vintage collectors. At best, he was just trying to find out if anyone else didn't like vintage.
And as Archer has kindly pointed out, if he had just taken a min or two to look at the forum numbers, it would have been very clear that OF is filled lovers of all sorts of ancient shit.

And lets go a little easy on Harvest Gold and shag carpet. It could be making a comeback any day now.

 

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bralofsky

·Sep 7, 2026

Collect what you enjoy, whether that’s modern, vintage, or somewhere in between.

 

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Felix_La_PuBelle

·Sep 7, 2026·Sometimes I’m wrong. Usually.

I’m sure I have a nostalgic hook into imagery from a certain time period based on my youthful formative years. My clear childhood memories are from the 80s but there’s likely a subconscious affinity for 70s influenced by playing in the basement of my parents’ house that the previous owner had renovated into a “romper room” complete with built-in bar. By the time my parents bought the house it was a tired trend fading out like disco and became the kids (my) play space until they decided to address it in the 90s by converting it to a home theatre.

This is all to say, vintage is in the eye of the beholder. And the thing that makes something vintage alluring to some is usually an attribute that’s been forgotten or overlooked by others.

None of the other vintage interior decorating books I have are “spicy” as this one. I was frankly surprised and bemused when I first acquired it. I enjoy paging through the images from these time periods as it gives me a soothing sense of nostalgia. The same thing happens when I go back to see my parents and page through the old National Geographics they still have looking at the advertisements of cars, electronics, and other products from the 70s and 80s. And of course, the Marlboro Man.

And it’s a good to freak out the squares every once in a while. Keep them a little humble.

Edited: Sep 7, 2026

 

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Felix_La_PuBelle

·Sep 7, 2026·Sometimes I’m wrong. Usually.

noelekal

The 70s - avocado green and harvest gold.

And burnt oranges and mustard yellows.

https://omegaforums.net/posts/2624523/

Felix_La_PuBelle · Sep 7, 2026

Holiday weekend here, so today is an honorary Sunday. Recently had an occasion to reflect on the 70s, so today for me it’s 70s (inspired) Sunday!

 

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Canuck

·Sep 7, 2026

Felix_La_PuBelle

Let me put it another way. If you have zero interest in interior decorating and I told you to go find a modern interior design book for bedrooms and bathrooms that interests you, you’d tell me to pound sand.

But let’s say I put a vintage bed and bath interior design book from 1978 in front of you, and told you that if you couldn’t find a single thing in this book that was interesting to you I would give you $10,000, but if you do find something interesting you give me $20,000.

We shake because clearly I’m a nutter and you start paging through ready to make some easy money.







BORING!

CORNEY!

REALLY CORNEY!

I HATE DISCO!!!!

Wait a sec. What did you just see on that last page?

What’s this chapter called???

What the……

multi-purpose, indeed.













You look back at the front of the book to check if this is a joke.

No. No joke. You flip back to the bedroom section.



















THIS IS INSANE!

get ready to blast off....



















Can’t forget about decorating with waterbeds. The newest innovation in sleep technology of the 70s!

Then you suddenly realize….. THERE'S A WHOLE SECTION ON BATH AND SHOWERS!!!!!!

So…… you got my money?

View attachment 3425634

View attachment 3425638

View attachment 3425639

And on and on!

 

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ghce

·Sep 7, 2026

Canuck

And on and on!

Yeah I broke my scrolling finger 😭 😂

 

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Waltesefalcon

·Sep 7, 2026

ghce

Yeah I broke my scrolling finger 😭 😂

It wouldn't have been a bad scroll if someone hadn't taken a marker to all the good bits.

 

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redpcar

·Sep 7, 2026

Waltesefalcon

It wouldn't have been a bad scroll if someone hadn't taken a marker to all the good bits.

 

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Felix_La_PuBelle

·Sep 7, 2026·Sometimes I’m wrong. Usually.

Waltesefalcon

It wouldn't have been a bad scroll if someone hadn't taken a marker to all the good bits.

"Mystery creates wonder, and wonder is the basis of man's desire to understand."

—Neil Armstrong

 

M

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Mediocre

·Sep 7, 2026

Something for everyone. New, old, large, small, complicated, simple, expensive, cheap...


But vintage watches can offer an entry into brands that may be priced out of one's budget with anything modern.