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Dan S
·5 years later would you consider a 1995 tritium Speedmaster or Submariner vintage?
When is a watch vintage?
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gbesq
·Whenever Dan S and M'Bob are cranky, that's vintage. 😡
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Waltesefalcon
·I have a very definite line in the sand for what I consider vintage, 1970. In 1969, Seiko introduced the first quartz watch and within only a few years the watch industry was completely redefined. While the Accutron was introduced in 1960 and paved the way for electronic watches it didn't upturn the industry. So, if it was made before 1970 I consider it vintage, after 1970 it was made in the modern era of watch making.
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gbesq
·These are vintage.
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sheepdoll
·Proper antiques were made before industrial manufacture, About 1830. In 1930 or so this was changed to anything 100 years old.
Vintage was for wine. Which I think was typically 20 to 30 years. I think Port and Madera, was best aged 50 to 75 years. Once had an 80 year old scotch. Smoother than water.
I seem to recall that when I was going to antique shows, that anything between 99 years and 30 years was vintage. Stuff newer than 30 years but older than 10 years was 'collectable.' I think anything less than 7 to 10 years is either an 'investment' or a 'consumable.'
Strange to think how old the stuff is now when I started collecting 35 to 40 years ago. That was the post quartz renaissance. Manufacturing used CAD drafting tools, and automated digital manufacturing. Automated analog manufacturing aka cams, though goes back to the 18th and early 19th century.
There is also the line between wrist and pocket watches. Which is probably a subject unto itself.
The elephant in the room though is the smart watch. Primarily Apple. That is all I ever see anyone wearing. I fixed up several a couple years ago gave them to family members.
Vintage was for wine. Which I think was typically 20 to 30 years. I think Port and Madera, was best aged 50 to 75 years. Once had an 80 year old scotch. Smoother than water.
I seem to recall that when I was going to antique shows, that anything between 99 years and 30 years was vintage. Stuff newer than 30 years but older than 10 years was 'collectable.' I think anything less than 7 to 10 years is either an 'investment' or a 'consumable.'
Strange to think how old the stuff is now when I started collecting 35 to 40 years ago. That was the post quartz renaissance. Manufacturing used CAD drafting tools, and automated digital manufacturing. Automated analog manufacturing aka cams, though goes back to the 18th and early 19th century.
There is also the line between wrist and pocket watches. Which is probably a subject unto itself.
The elephant in the room though is the smart watch. Primarily Apple. That is all I ever see anyone wearing. I fixed up several a couple years ago gave them to family members.
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Davidt
·I still think it’s shaky ground saying, vintage is ore-quartz, pre 1980 or similar. It shouldn’t be a set cut off as time marches on and we’d be saying in 30 years that something made in 1976, that’s 80 years old isn’t vintage and something made in 1936 that’s 120 years old isn’t antique.
For me;
Less than 30 years old - used/pre-owned.
30+ years old - vintage
100+ years old - antique.
This passes the sniff test to me. A 1995 watch is starting to feel vintage. Compare an early 90’s tritium Speedmaster or Sub to the current version. Same with antique. A nice price of genuine deco furniture from the 1920’s is hard to find in good original condition and antique feels appropriate to me.
For me;
Less than 30 years old - used/pre-owned.
30+ years old - vintage
100+ years old - antique.
This passes the sniff test to me. A 1995 watch is starting to feel vintage. Compare an early 90’s tritium Speedmaster or Sub to the current version. Same with antique. A nice price of genuine deco furniture from the 1920’s is hard to find in good original condition and antique feels appropriate to me.
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Waltesefalcon
·I still think it’s shaky ground saying, vintage is ore-quartz, pre 1980 or similar. It shouldn’t be a set cut off as time marches on and we’d be saying in 30 years that something made in 1976, that’s 80 years old isn’t vintage and something made in 1936 that’s 120 years old isn’t antique.
For me;
Less than 30 years old - used/pre-owned.
30+ years old - vintage
100+ years old - antique.
This passes the sniff test to me. A 1995 watch is starting to feel vintage. Compare an early 90’s tritium Speedmaster or Sun to the current version. Same with antique. A nice price of genuine deco furniture from the 1920’s is hard to find in good original condition and antique feels appropriate to me.
I have trouble accepting that my thirty year old car is 'old' in 1996 I was getting my driver's license and it would have been a new car at the time. It's much easier seeing things made before my birth as 'vintage,' 'antique,' or 'collectible.' Anything made during my lifetime can't be any of those things, at least, to me.
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Davidt
·I can certainly understand this line of reasoning. And, it is likely a solid way to view it, but I can't.
I have trouble accepting that my thirty year old car is 'old' in 1996 I was getting my driver's license and it would have been a new car at the time. It's much easier seeing things made before my birth as 'vintage,' 'antique,' or 'collectible.' Anything made during my lifetime can't be any of those things, at least, to me.
Perhaps we’re a similar age. I was 17 in ‘99 and so by my reasoning, a lot of the things I grew up with would now be vintage. A “96 Oasis t shirt from Knebworth, original Pokémon cards (although I didn’t really know what a Pokémon was until my little boy got into them recently), a walk/discman, the original GameBoy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Makes me feel old as hell at 43 but I consider them vintage. The fact you can put ‘original’ in front of most of them to distinguish them from the modern offerings isn’t a good start.
Of course I have selective bias and I’m giving examples that back up my point. There are probably examples of things from the mid 90’s that wouldn’t be considered vintage.
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Makesbelieve
·According to this I’m writing this message on a contemporary phone, while wearing a vintage watch, in an antique house, on an ancient island…
