would love to have your opinion

[michalai]

Good day everybody!
I would like your advice: I want to get my husband his first vintage watch.
Things to consider:

money is no object
must be a popular not a rare watch
must be timeless and special
I need to get it in Germany so it better be European
Thank you so much I just started yesterday collecting (got a tissot stylist…) and I fell in love with it….
Waiting for your respons
Michelle

[stuffler,mike]

Moved to the place where you probably will get a lot of suggestions ;-)

[JohnF]

Hi -

Welcome to the forum and WUS!

First of all, what does your husband do? Getting him a vintage is a great idea, but getting one that ties in with his job is even better. :-)

I'm assuming that by popular you mean not some obscure and unknown brand, but one with recognition? Timeless and special is indeed what makes really good vintages unique.

Since you say money is no object, here are a couple of ideas:

Rolex Prince doctor's watch
Rolex bubbleback
Omega Speedmaster pre-professional (this is what NASA basically bought to test)
Gruen Curvex 50mm (ok, this isn't so well known, but it'd be my favorite...)

Like I said, let us know more about your husband and what he does, and we should be able to help you more...

JohnF

[Hartmut Richter]

Well, whenever I hear "popular" as opposed to "rare", I would think in terms of what I would term "cult watches". Which are those which I personally would prefer to shy away from (although some I would have, more because of looks than cult status). More cult watches in addition to the abovementioned:

IWC Ingenieur
Rolex Submariner - many generations to choose from
Rolex GMT Master - ditto
Panerai (Radiomir and Luminor) - modern ones also available (the real vintage ones are hard to find)
Breitling Navitimer - again, many generations including new ones available
Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso - lots of different models (although the diversity started only recently so the real vintage ones are mostly three-hand plus date at best)

Those are some of the ones with practically instant recognition. Some of the not quite so well known ones include:

Jaeger LeCoultre Futurematic
Vulcain "Cricket" wrist alarm
Universal Geneve Polerouter (with microrotor movement)
Any Breitling/TAG Heuer/Hamilton-Buren watch with Cal. 11 (the world's second automatic chronograph movement and surely one of the weirdest constructions available)

Good luck!

Hartmut Richter

[MKAB]

Hi michalai!
John and Hartmut already had good ideas ("What's his job?" and "What does he do?"). Maybe take into consideration, too, if you ever saw him wearing a watch with either a leather or steel bracelet, that should narrow the many to chose from as well. Many prefer "easy-to-read" watches with big hands and nothing to distract you from, then probably a chronograph with a tachymeter isn't the right choice...
I personlly would - additionally to the above mentioned - suggest the TAG HEUER Monaco (many generations there, too) which is my avatar pic. Timeless, popular, elegant (Al Pacino wore it in his last movie "88 minutes" - the movie's rather bad, the watch is brillant :-) )

[michalai]

hi you all!
thank you for your answers!!! he is a sap adviser (computers)...
does that changes anything???

[michalai]

thank you all so much!!!

[Ray MacDonald]

If price is no object I suggest looking at Vacheron Constantin or Patek Philippe from the 1950s. If it's a bit of an object the 1950s Omegas and Zeniths are excellent choices. Longines and Tissot offer great value in that era as well. These would be more "dress watches" and not diver or pilot models.
My personal choice would be a solid gold 1940s Hamilton - but that's American unfortunately.
Just make sure whatever you get is in good shape, has been serviced recently and comes from a reputable seller.

[Hartmut Richter]

It "changes" something insofar as he obviously has a desk job and ruggedness (which is usually acquired at the expense of style) is not that much of an issue. So, a stylish watch for everyday wear would be feasible. Still, he may want something of a rugged nature anyway - there is plenty in the list given here of both types to choose from.

Broadly speaking, one can identify several types of men's watches, such as:

- stylish gentleman's watch (gold case, slim hands and case, may have intricate complications such as perpetual calender or repeater functions)
- pilot watch (usually black dial, large, legible white hands and dial markings)
- diver's watch (similar to pilot, but chunky and waterproof, luminescent hands and markings, with rotating bezel)
- frequent traveller's watch (has second time zone indication via extra hands/dials or even a ring with world time zones)
- yachting watch (with regatta countdown chronograph)
- racing watch (almost invariably with chronograph, may be split second chronograph)

...and there may well be others. It's all down to what he likes in watches and what he likes in terms of hobbies - or even the sort of person he is (I personally prefer to dress like a gentleman - no comments from me on whether I actually fulfil that role! - and choose my watches accordingly).

Hartmut Richter

[Eeeb]

It "changes" something insofar as he obviously has a desk job and ruggedness (which is usually acquired at the expense of style) is not that much of an issue. ...

I can tell you have never seen the mob of angry users the first week of a new SAP implementation!! They make the mob from the village who went up to Frankenstein's castle seem friendly :-d

[Freddo_in_Oz]

If a simpler style is preferred, I would also consider a gold IWC Shaffhausen.
A well cared for Calibre C89 (manual wind) or C8451b (automatic) in a classic 18ct gold case is a joy to own & wear.
An added bonus is that it won't give your trusted watchmaker an attack of the wobblies when it needs service...
Please stay away from ultra slim Piaget automatics. They look stunning, but are an absolute nightmare to keep running properly.
John

[Freddo_in_Oz]

Duhhhh,

Shoulda been cal 8541b.
Can't even blame New Years eve aftermath as we were very boring and stayed home.
John

[Hartmut Richter]

I would stay away from Piaget for other reasons too. I just posted something on the Zenith forum about them (quoting a recent reader's letter to one of the main German watch magazines) that should make anyone cringe:

http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?p=701579#poststop

Hartmut Richter