This Week's Vintage Watches
While you won't find a Hollywood-quality trailer in this week's vintage-watch assortment, there's enough here to satisfy the mid-week boredom of even the most discerning watch lovers. White-dialed chronographs are the clear highlight this week, but watches with "non-lume" dials or slide-rule bezels follow close behind.
Smaller, more curated themes are present but this doesn't impact our weekly variety. Read on for the full details on the three white-dialed chronographs from Heuer, Enicar, and Movado, but there is even more behind the curtain and featured in the slideshow, above. Other brands checking in are Certina, Junghans, and Wittnauer, along with more standard names like Rolex, Tudor, Patek Philippe,replicas relojes and Omega. It is in a collection like this one that you can truly begin to understand how all these brand names fit together to create the world of vintage watches. Check out this week's entire selection in the HODINKEE Shop.
1960 Heuer 'Pre-Carrera' Chronograph Ref. 2444
As many of you know by now, I'm all about the details. When I look at a watch my eye usually goes to the element I'm least familiar with, and from there I try to make a mental note to remember it. Why that's relevant today is that I have seen a Heuer ref. 2444 before, but I had never seen such a clean example before this one showed up in the office; it's just downright beautiful. From the silvery-white dial to the lovely beige-colored lume, all the way to those tiny spillino-style pushers – they don't make 'em like they used to.
For some reason I am drawn to chronographs – it's funny because I rarely use the function, and when I do I almost always forget to stop the timer. A vintage chronograph like this has a feel and look that can't be mistaken, many watch brands try to capture this look in new releases, but there's nothing like the original for me. Watching the running seconds register at nine o'clock, and the central seconds hand sweep when activated is very therapeutic. I love when I catch the minute about to come up and see the minutes register jump, ever so precisely. As I sit here writing this, I'm doing exactly that: watching these seconds turn to minutes; it makes you sit back and appreciate the little things.
I also appreciate the use of concentric lines in chronograph sub-dials. It's a subtle detail that you won't unsee once you notice it. The applied baton-shaped hour markers work well with the triangular lume plots at each marker, around the periphery of the dial. Finally, the dauphine hands work so well and are extremely legible; you can see the tip of the minute hand right on the little open chapter ring lines around the dial. All in all, if you're looking for a super-clean chronograph with a white dial, beautiful patina, and from a great brand – this should be a serious contender. Dive into all the details of this Heuer in the Shop.
1970s Enicar Ocean Pearl Chronograph Ref. 072-03-01
Enicar is a brand I came to appreciate over the years because they were creating serious tool watches that featured a bit of a whimsy in the design at the same time. Looking at its famous adventure sport "Sherpa" line, it feels like functionality and fun were considered to be equal parts in the design process. And the Ocean Pearl Chronograph we have here pushes the envelope even further with a little dash of that funky 70s vibe.
This white-dial version was one of the first watches I picked up in my hand from this week's vintage watch selection; it just stood out from the rest immediately. Many Enicar Ocean Pearl Chronographs were fitted with black dials, and interestingly, there is a black-dial version with the same exact orange and grey accents. No one really knows why Enicar also built a white dial variant, but it gives a totally different feel compared to the black dial; some people have even christened it "the Unicorn." What's beautiful about this watch is the creaminess of the dial with the orange and grey accents. It's just like a Rolex Explorer ref. 16550 with the ivory/cream dial. It has that soft, dreamy cream tone that makes it more special over the more ubiquitous black-dial option.
Flip the watch over and you will see a shark jumping out of the ocean with Enicar's Saturn logo in the middle of the caseback. I love this playful approach to indicate water resistance. On the inside, the watch is fitted with a chronograph movement by Valjoux. When you hear Valjoux, you know Enicar meant serious business.
There is certainly a place for serious, minimalist tool watches, but as long as there is undeniable character and integrity to the watch replicas de relojes, why not have a little bit of fun and chase after this "Unicorn"?
1970s Movado Datron HS 360 Sub-Sea Chronograph Ref. 434-705-502
I am shocked it took almost six months for me to write about a Movado here. Since getting into vintage watches, Movado has always been one of my favorite brands. I have even bragged about seeing every Movado posted on eBay over the past five years. Yeah, I know, I'm a bit obsessed. This obsession is driven by what the brand represents, from a vintage perspective, in my view.
Movado is now mostly retailed in malls, and though there's nothing wrong with that, in a previous life, the brand was retailed by Tiffany & Co. in New York, sitting next to Patek Philippe ref. 2499s and the rest. That would have been in the 1960s and even into the '70s. Before then, Movado was playing in the big leagues of Swiss watchmaking. They utilized the best casemakers in the world, namely François Borgel, and developed all their own movements, such as the M90 and M95 modular chronograph calibers. This was a brand at the cutting edge of watchmaking. As a young collector, this was exactly what you have to look for in the world of vintage watches. The Rolex and Patek Philippe trains may have passed us by, but a Movado? I can afford a vintage Movado.
In the last couple of years, Movado has been the recipient of a bunch of collector praise and, with that, prices have climbed for the top-tier vintage examples. The Borgel-cased and caliber M95-powered chronographs continue to fetch strong results at auction. That being said, so much of the brand's catalog remains undervalued and under appreciated.
The watch we have here, for example, is the result of Movado's 1969 partnership with Zenith and Mondia, forming the MZM alliance, and features an El Primero movement inside. For the same price, it is difficult – if not flat-out impossible – to buy a vintage Zenith El Primero, but yet, the humble Movado begs your attention. In a similar way to Zenith's "Cover Girl"-case shape, produced at the same time, this quasi-tonneau, barrel-shaped Movado Sub-Sea hugs the wrist and wears incredibly. I am particularly impressed by the slight patina on this example's dial, giving the white surface a warm, almost creamy tone. On top of all of that, it has a great name – the Datron? I mean, come on. It even went to space!
Just as was the case with the Movado watches next to the Patek Philippes at the Tiffany & Co. watch counter back in the day, this humble Movado deserves your attention and wrist time.
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