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  1. 1972Steve Mar 11, 2019

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    I got into vintage watches recently because I like all things old. Old cars, old housing and building design, history, etc.

    I primarily got into watches as I wanted to leave something behind for my kids when I leave this earth. Something I wore to hand of for them to hopefully enjoy one day and remember the time we spent together. I could have purchased new but after doing research I saw that patina on tritium really adds character and charm.

    When I look back on the forums previous sales it looks like Omegas have really jumped in price. Almost better than the stock market for returns on investment in recent years. Especially Speedmasters and Dive watches. Almost like they have gone up $500 every year for the past five years.

    What gives? Shouldn’t the next generation be into electronic watches like the Apple Watch as this generation really doesn’t have much to do with pocket watches. Did the price jumps happen because of Speedmaster 101, Omega Forums..Hodinkee...

    Thank you
     
  2. Foo2rama Keeps his worms in a ball instead of a can. Mar 11, 2019

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    Smart watches actually created a new market for vintage. People started to wear watches again, but the constant notifications and ugliness passed them into affordable good looking high end watches ie vintage.
     
  3. calalum Mar 11, 2019

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    The economy has been good for some, there is a "cool" factor to vintage watches (and cars and guitars and cameras and ________) that people see on celebrities (Ryan Seacrest wearing a Rolex 6265/8 during the Academy Award interviews, etc.), having something on your wrist that may be somewhat unique and that you won't see on anyone else walking down the street, the notion that something 50 years old with dozens of miniscule parts can work as good as new, the limited supply,, worldwide demand (for now at least), the commodification of vintage watches, etc., etc, all adds up to a robust market and price increases (some of which are far higher than you mention)..
     
  4. smitty190373 Mar 12, 2019

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    Don't forget for the most part they look better too.

    The amount of 'heritage' models now being produced by most big names proves they got it right the first time round.

    Hopefully you're around a while... buying a modern watch now means it will most likely be vintage by the time it comes to hand them over.
     
  5. kov Trüffelschwein. Mar 12, 2019

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    Don't forget that unlike demand, there won't be more supply for vintage watches. And a part of them disappears every year. Stolen, broken, lost, damaged... so the supply is even more likely to shrink while more people get interested into watches in general, and vintage as consequence. This explains that.
     
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  6. Traveler Mar 12, 2019

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    Throw in : 1) the rise of social media FoMO coupled with influencers such as Hodinkee 2) the debasement of currency since the financial crisis, leaving cheap or free money chasing hard assets, whatever they might be 3) an explosion of wealth in sectors like tech, and places like China. All these are interlinked with each other and many other factors
     
  7. khanmu Mar 12, 2019

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    You are all too optimistic... I think it’s mostly because there’s a glut of older blokes with too much disposable income, buying and hoarding stuff they remember or think is cool (hence also the price increase in old cars, bikes, the come back of vinyl etc),

    Once we all peg it, prices will all go back to normal..
     
    George.A, PhotonX, Andreas and 14 others like this.
  8. Lonestar insert Schwartz joke HERE Mar 12, 2019

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    yes, this... this is what drives the vintage anything market. Kids from the 70's-80's reaching their prime and wanting to feel young and all energized again!
     
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  9. khanmu Mar 12, 2019

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    Yes - and if you think watch prices are crazy, have a look at what the 70s and 80s kids have done to prices for original Star Wars figures ... this is 9k for a card a figure came on - and it doesn’t even include the figure!

    B99C9906-DF66-47A0-A68A-9EF01E23B90D.jpeg


     
    Edited Mar 12, 2019
  10. STANDY schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collector Mar 12, 2019

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    The internet
    and
    Two guys in Queensland Australia @dsio @Trev ;)
     
  11. knafel1983 Mar 12, 2019

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    You know that feeling when you looked for months for a particular vintage style. You finally find a nice example and pull the trigger. You wear it for a while, then go to resell it to fund something even better. And no one wants it. That's usually my experience. But sometimes I find that style to make some money on.
     
  12. STANDY schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collector Mar 12, 2019

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    See that’s the problem in a nut shell.

    Make money on. Years ago it was collectors that collect. Now it’s instagram wear for a while and flip

    ( nothing against @knafel1983 ;) don’t know if he instagrams or not )
     
    Tet, micampe, KingCrouchy and 2 others like this.
  13. MCC Mar 12, 2019

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    LOL, I think this is so right, despite the love for vintage on this forum, this is still a very niche and probably not very cool pastime.
     
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  14. rcs914 Mar 12, 2019

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    Well they can ask that... but I would be shocked if the actual selling price were one 1/10th that. I have a ton of original star wars toys, but looking at ebay has convinced me that I might as well let my 5 year old play with them than try to sell them. Somewhere I have all the cards off my figures too, but I was not careful about how I removed the plastic, so most are pretty badly ripped which is too bad. Got a whole tote full of boxes too - battle damaged X-wing, etc.

    I realize that condition means quite a bit in the collecting world - but here's that same backing card, with the figure, that sold for $132.

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-St...pire-Strikes-Back-Figurine-1980-/223279860001Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network

    Even with the greater condition and it supposedly being a prototype, I can't see someone spending $9K on that. But what do I know.
     
  15. knafel1983 Mar 12, 2019

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    Actually, I do Instagram. But I'm a blue collar worker, living on a modest salary. So when I have thousands invested in something, I need to flip something to fund something better.
     
  16. cicindela Steve @ ΩF Staff Member Mar 12, 2019

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    ::confused2::, Never heard of them.
     
  17. S.H. Mar 12, 2019

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    Flipping why not but how can you expect selling for more than you paid? Might happen, might not. So if you break even that's cool. But as you aren't a pro, you do not really have any added value (servicing, warranty, etc...) so you shouldn't expect to make money on this imho.

    Maybe a translation problem on my end, but I understood "make money" as selling systematically for more than what you paid.
     
  18. STANDY schizophrenic pizza orderer and watch collector Mar 12, 2019

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    Look at a Zenith for sale at the moment bought a year ago on here for $650 now it’s $800 or make a offer. (Not a collectable model)
    Flippers flip, collectors collect, dealers deal. ;)
     
  19. rank Mar 13, 2019

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    And wearers wear...;)
     
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  20. Renton Mar 13, 2019

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    i feel auctions have played a big role as well, especially for rare and good condition pieces. it's certainty helped that online catalogs now are high-res, the big auction houses do "road shows", people discuss about auction pieces on forums. and the prices set at auctions really set the tone for some of these rare pieces and translating to overall increase in prices for that particular model/ref.