The Ten Commandments of Vintage Watches

Understand these commandments, and your relationship with your vintage watch shall be long, peaceful and rewarding.

1 — Thou shalt not trust the water resistance.

Even if the dial proudly says Waterproof or Water Resistant, remember: that promise may have been made 50, 60 or 80 years ago. Gaskets perish, seals deteriorate and cases wear. Keep thy vintage watch away from water.

2 — Thou shalt wind gently.

A vintage watch is not a jar of pickles. Wind slowly and gently. When you feel resistance, stop. Never force the crown, the hands or anything else that does not want to move. Strength is not a virtue here. And remember: vintage watches do not particularly enjoy shocks, drops, magnets or being worn while you operate a pneumatic drill.

3 — Thou shalt forgive a little inaccuracy.

Your vintage watch may gain or lose seconds—or sometimes minutes—during the day. It may even behave slightly differently depending on whether it is on your wrist, resting on a table or sleeping peacefully in a drawer. It was born before atomic clocks, smartphones and GPS. If this troubles you greatly, proceed directly to the Tenth Commandment.

4 — Thou shalt accept that watches need doctors too.

Cleaning, oiling, adjustment, servicing and occasionally replacement parts are part of vintage-watch life. Some parts may have disappeared from the earth decades ago, so your watchmaker may need patience, ingenuity—and a very deep drawer of old parts. If you love your watch deeply, find a good watchmaker and treat them both kindly.

5 — Thou shalt not complain that it is too small.

For decades, 30–35 mm was perfectly normal. Your vintage watch is not small; modern watches became enormous. Wear it for a while. Soon it will look perfectly normal—and the dinner plate you used to wear may start looking rather strange.

6 — Thou shalt respect its scars.

A scratch, faded dial, worn case, aged lume or little imperfection may be part of the watch's history. Resist the temptation to make everything look new. An original vintage watch is allowed to look old. Polish carefully, replace thoughtfully and never erase 70 years of history just to gain 70 minutes of shine. It has travelled through decades, wrists, homes and perhaps countries before arriving with you. You are not its first owner. You are its current custodian.

7 — Thou shalt remember its age.

Your watch may have been ticking long before you were born. Springs weaken. Oils dry. Gaskets perish. Parts wear. Something can occasionally break without warning. A watch that worked yesterday can stop tomorrow. Do not immediately assume that somebody deceived you. Sometimes an old machine simply needs attention. Such is life at 70.

8 — Thou shalt not demand modern perfection from an old machine.

Vintage watches have character precisely because they are old. They may require adjustment, attention and patience. Parts may not always be readily available, and repairs may occasionally cost more than you paid for the watch. And remember: old does not automatically mean valuable. There were cheap watches in 1955 too. Judge a vintage watch for what it is, not by the standards of something manufactured last Tuesday.

9 — Thou shalt wear it.

Do not spend your entire life protecting a watch from life. Admire it. Wind it. Learn its peculiarities. Discover whether it likes a little wind every morning or prefers resting crown-up at night. Wear it with pride. Every vintage watch has a story. Other people wrote the previous chapters. Now you get to add yours.

10 — Thou shalt know when vintage is not for thee.

If you require excellent accuracy, reliable water resistance, almost no maintenance, easy replacement, readily available parts and very little drama, there is absolutely no shame in admitting it. Buy a Casio F-91W. It will probably outlive us all.

The Unwritten Commandment

Thou shalt never buy just one.

Ricardo Marques
allkindsofwatches.co.uk