We're currently testing our site! Please note this is a work in progress
Offers
Sell
Exchange
Search
+44 844 247 8884
GBP
My Basket
Buy
Sell
Exchange
+44 844 247 8884
Help

Vintage Watches

Every vintage watch has a story to tell, and that’s what makes them special. Each piece offers a unique window into the past that traces back through generations, and owning one means getting to enjoy a piece of decades-old mechanical art. Welcome to the world of vintage.

Read more
Filters
Filters
Brands
No matching results found
Popular Brands
  1. Rolex Rolex
  2. Breitling Breitling
  3. Omega Omega
  4. TAG Heuer TAG Heuer
  5. Cartier Cartier
  6. Tudor Tudor
  7. Panerai Panerai
  8. IWC IWC
  9. Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet
  10. Hublot Hublot
  11. Patek Philippe Patek Philippe
  12. Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre
  13. Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin
All Brands
  1. A. Lange and Sohne A. Lange and Sohne
  2. Audemars Piguet Audemars Piguet
  3. Ball Ball
  4. Baume et Mercier Baume et Mercier
  5. Bell and Ross Bell and Ross
  6. Blancpain Blancpain
  7. Breguet Breguet
  8. Breitling Breitling
  9. Bremont Bremont
  10. Bvlgari Bvlgari
  11. Carl F. Bucherer Carl F. Bucherer
  12. Cartier Cartier
  13. Chanel Chanel
  14. Chopard Chopard
  15. Corum Corum
  16. Fortis Fortis
  17. Frederique Constant Frederique Constant
  18. Girard Perregaux Girard Perregaux
  19. Glashutte Original Glashutte Original
  20. Graham Graham
  21. Grand Seiko Grand Seiko
  22. Hermes Hermes
  23. Hublot Hublot
  24. IWC IWC
  25. Jaeger-LeCoultre Jaeger-LeCoultre
  26. Longines Longines
  27. Maurice Lacroix Maurice Lacroix
  28. Montblanc Montblanc
  29. Nomos Glashutte Nomos Glashutte
  30. Omega Omega
  31. Oris Oris
  32. Panerai Panerai
  33. Patek Philippe Patek Philippe
  34. Piaget Piaget
  35. Porsche Design Porsche Design
  36. Rado Rado
  37. Raymond Weil Raymond Weil
  38. Rolex Rolex
  39. TAG Heuer TAG Heuer
  40. Tudor Tudor
  41. Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin
  42. Zenith Zenith
Series
Case Size
The size of a watch is very important for style and comfort. If you prefer an oversized watch like a Panerai Luminor, you’ll probably want Large. If you’re looking for something more discreet like a Rolex Lady Datejust, you’ll want Small. For everything in between, Medium.
Price
Min
£
-
Max
£
Year
More Filters
Stock Type
  1. Watchfinder Watchfinder
Case Material
  1. Bronze Bronze
  2. Carbon Carbon
  3. Ceramic Ceramic
  4. Other Other
  5. Platinum Platinum
  6. Rose Gold Rose Gold
  7. Silver Silver
  8. Steel Steel
  9. Steel & Rose Gold Steel & Rose Gold
  10. Steel & White Gold Steel & White Gold
  11. Steel & Yellow Gold Steel & Yellow Gold
  12. Steel & Yellow Gold Plated Steel & Yellow Gold Plated
  13. Titanium Titanium
  14. White Gold White Gold
  15. Yellow Gold Yellow Gold
  16. Yellow Gold Plated Yellow Gold Plated
Dial Colour
Black
Blue
Bronze
Brown
Champagne
Diamond
Green
Grey
Ivory
Orange
Pink
Purple
Red
Salmon
Silver
Specialised
White
Yellow
Strap
  1. Bracelet Bracelet
  2. Fabric Fabric
  3. Leather Leather
  4. Rubber Rubber
Box and Papers
  1. Original box Original box
  1. Original papers Original papers
Movement
A mechanical watch is powered by a spring. Manual mechanical watches must be hand wound. Automatic watches are also mechanical, and are wound by a weight that spins with the wearer's movements. A quartz watch is battery powered and extremely accurate.
  1. Automatic Automatic
  2. Manual Manual
  3. Quartz Quartz
Promotion
Limited Edition
  1. Limited Edition Limited Edition
Reset Results (276)
Results (276)
Sort
Rolex Datejust 16233 372737
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16233

Box
Papers
Year 1997
£6,500
Rolex Explorer II 16570 383345
Vintage

Rolex
Explorer II
16570

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£6,595
Rolex Submariner 16613 409118
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
16613

Box
Papers
Year 1997
£9,250
Rolex Day-Date 18038 408967
Vintage

Rolex
Day-Date
18038

Box
Papers
Year 1981
£14,250
Rolex Datejust 16234 410647
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16234

Box
Papers
Year 1990
£5,095
Rolex Submariner 16618 406517
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
16618

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£21,950
Rolex Datejust 16030 382321
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16030

Box
Papers
Year 1979
£5,350
Rolex Submariner 5513 357009
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
5513

Box
Papers
Year 1965
£8,750
Rolex Mid-Size Datejust 68274 416140
Vintage

Rolex
Mid-Size Datejust
68274

Box
Papers
Year 1988
£5,500
Rolex Datejust Lady 69173 401625
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69173

Box
Papers
Year 1988
£4,935
Rolex Datejust Lady 69173 394481
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69173

Box
Papers
Year 1989
£4,385
Rolex Datejust Lady 69173 396062
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69173

Box
Papers
Year 1991
£4,500
Rolex Datejust Lady 69173 413041
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69173

Box
Papers
Year 1994
£5,150
Tudor Date Day 94613 391393
Vintage

Tudor
Date Day
94613

Box
Papers
Year 1992
£2,600
Rolex Explorer 14270 375214
Vintage

Rolex
Explorer
14270

Box
Papers
Year 1998
£5,150
Tag Heuer 2000 Series WE1410-R 416252
Vintage

Tag Heuer
2000 Series
WE1410-R

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£595
Rolex Datejust 1603 373161
New Price
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
1603

Box
Papers
Year 1972
£4,250
Patek Philippe Gondolo 4824J-011 370677
New Price
Vintage

Patek Philippe
Gondolo
4824J-011

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£7,950
Rolex Submariner 16613 366730
New Price
Vintage

Rolex
Submariner
16613

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£11,950
Rolex Turn-O-Graph 16263 364716
New Price
Vintage

Rolex
Turn-O-Graph
16263

Box
Papers
Year 1997
£6,500
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 15053 378579
New Price
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual Date
15053

Box
Papers
Year 1982
£5,250
Rolex Mid-Size Datejust 68274 356659
New Price
Vintage

Rolex
Mid-Size Datejust
68274

Box
Papers
Year 1998
£7,250
Rolex Oyster Precision 6694 392554
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Precision
6694

Box
Papers
Year 1987
£3,845
Cartier Santos 81036288 399549
New Price
Vintage

Cartier
Santos
81036288

Box
Papers
Year 1991
£4,450
Rolex Datejust 1601 377248
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
1601

Box
Papers
Year 1971
£4,400
Rolex Turn-O-Graph 16263 414688
Vintage

Rolex
Turn-O-Graph
16263

Box
Papers
Year 1995
£5,450
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 77080 417163
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
77080

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£4,250
Rolex Oyster Precision 6694 392559
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Precision
6694

Box
Papers
Year 1970
£3,800
Rolex Datejust 16234 417927
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16234

Box
Papers
Year 1988
£5,390
Rolex Datejust 16233 393998
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16233

Box
Papers
Year 1997
£6,185
Cartier Tank Francaise W51022Q3 417194
Vintage

Cartier
Tank Francaise
W51022Q3

Box
Papers
Year 2001
£2,750
Rolex Datejust 16013 395598
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16013

Box
Papers
Year 1985
£5,715
Rolex Datejust 16233 390443
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16233

Box
Papers
Year 1991
£5,950
Rolex Datejust Lady 69173 378123
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69173

Box
Papers
Year 1996
£4,950
Rolex Oyster Perpetual Date 15000 414256
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual Date
15000

Box
Papers
Year 1981
£4,105
Omega Constellation Small 1272.30.00 416954
Vintage

Omega
Constellation Small
1272.30.00

Box
Papers
Year 1996
£1,715
Rolex Datejust 16030 416143
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust
16030

Box
Papers
Year 1987
£4,950
Rolex Oyster Precision 6694 394636
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Precision
6694

Box
Papers
Year 1973
£3,150
Rolex Turn-O-Graph 16264 420292
Vintage

Rolex
Turn-O-Graph
16264

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£5,250
Rolex Air-King 5500 393492
Vintage

Rolex
Air-King
5500

Box
Papers
Year 1988
£3,875
Rolex Datejust Lady 69160 377202
Vintage

Rolex
Datejust Lady
69160

Box
Papers
Year 1999
£3,500
Rolex Oyster Perpetual 67480 377192
Vintage

Rolex
Oyster Perpetual
67480

Box
Papers
Year 1997
£3,500

Vintage Watches

There has been a huge upsurge in vintage watch collecting over the past twenty years, a natural consequence perhaps of the mechanical watch revival that took place in the 1990s after the doom-laden era of the quartz crisis had receded.

Since then vintage watches have grabbed the watch industry’s biggest headlines, with a number of Rolex and Patek Philippe models regularly selling for well over a million dollars at the most prestigious auction houses.

Vintage watches have never been in such high demand, with even models from lesser-known brands seeing their value increase ten-fold over the last decade or so. Of course, precious few vintage timepieces—or any timepieces, for that matter—will reach anywhere near the astronomical price ($17.75 million) fetched by Paul Newman’s Daytona in 2017, but a vintage watch by a brand like Omega or Zenith which sold for a couple of hundred pounds in the 1990s, would fetch several times that in today’s market.

If you’re wondering what defines a vintage watch in the first place, the answer isn’t set in stone. Some people consider any pre-1980 model to qualify as vintage, while others insist it’s anything over 25 years old. Any watch over a hundred years old, on the other hand, is classed as an antique—one you might consider locking in a safe rather than actually wearing.

If you’re thinking of starting your own vintage collection featuring the most established brands, there are a number of names and models to consider. Vintage Patek Philippe pieces are among the most desirable, whether it’s a pre-World War II time-only Calatrava, a 1970s Nautilus or any perpetual calendar model in gold or platinum.

The most popular vintage Audemars Piguet models are the first-generation Royal Oaks, a luxury steel sports model launched in 1972 that gave rise to a whole new genre in high-end watchmaking.

Extremely rare and therefore much sought-after are vintage Panerai watches, of which as few as 350 were made between 1938 and 1994, after which the brand finally began making watches commercially and for the civilian market, rather than just for the Italian navy. Vintage Radiomir and Luminor models now command six-figure sums at auction.

Vintage Breitling and vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre watches are generally more affordable than the above, but even more wallet-friendly are a number of chronograph models by the legendary Heuer.

Vintage TAG Heuer (as it is now called) is best represented by several chronograph models with strong motor-racing links, the most famous being the square-cased Monaco. Famously worn by Hollywood maverick Steve McQueen, this distinctive and iconic timepiece is now a regular in the brand’s catalogue, with a number of dial variations and special editions. There’s something extra-cool about the early models, though, whose tiny imperfections enhance their appeal.

A few oft-repeated rules for budding vintage collectors are as follows: always buy from a trusted seller; try to buy watches with all original parts (dials, for example, have often been repainted or replaced on older watches); and never wear any vintage watch, whether a diver’s watch or not, in water as it will have almost certainly lost its water resistance due to the seals on the gaskets eroding.

And don’t be put off by faded lume, the odd battle scar and a little patina. Part of the charm of a vintage watch is that it’s been around the block a few times, had a few different wearers, got a few tales to tell.

At Watchfinder we sell a number of vintage models from brands including Rolex, Tudor, Zenith, Omega and more. Browse our selection online today to find your perfect vintage timepiece and add another chapter to its story.

Read more