Question on Sourcing Vintage Watches

[jlevitt9]

Okay, don't flame me too badly, but I'm a huge fan of some vintage divers. I currently have a two-line 14060 from 2000. Not vintage, but it's simple enough for me, and it's what I could afford when I bought it a few years back =)

I love to follow some of the more well-know sellers that have their own websites and sell pre-owned watches.

Question is, where the heck do these guys get double Red Sea-dwellers, 80's Subs with perfect plots and others, by the barrel full?

It seems like it's an unspoken "don't ask don't tell" landscape...do they have friends/business associates that scour meeting spots of expats in other countries? It's just crazy when I see some posts on Instagram from some of these sellers.

Again, don't hate me...I'm just scratching my head over here.

Josh

[sensui]

By the barrel full? Would love to see which dealers you're looking at.........

[jlevitt9]

Originally Posted by sensui

By the barrel full? Would love to see which dealers you're looking at.........

Sorry, barrel full may be an exaggeration....but every week you see multiple pristine(ish) vintage watches that seem to be original.

[sensui]

Originally Posted by jlevitt9

Sorry, barrel full may be an exaggeration....but every week you see multiple pristine(ish) vintage watches that seem to be original.

IMO (I don't know you so excuse me if I'm not correct in making this assumption) people that are newer to viintage Rolex see a lot of watches from dealers with cool marketing and flowery descriptions and think it must be a nice watch.....when in fact 90%+ of the time to people that's been studying them/enjoying the hobby for many years think it's just an average example or even a meh piece.

I look @ listings fairly regularly and I think something truly nice comes very rarely...in fact most really nice pieces are moved in between dealers and top collectors and don't even make it out to the public listings from what I see.

The vintage Rolex market is red hot and a lot of money is @ stake, not surprising a lot of dealers are romanticizing and marketing mid tier pieces as the next grail. Just my observation.

[swish77]

Originally Posted by sensui

I look @ listings fairly regularly and I think something truly nice comes very rarely...in fact most really nice pieces are moved in between dealers and top collectors and don't even make it out to the public listings from what I see.

The vintage Rolex market is red hot and a lot of money is @ stake, not surprising a lot of dealers are romanticizing and marketing mid tier pieces as the next grail. Just my observation.

x2. A lot of big-time dealers don't post/list great examples nearly as often as they used to. For example, 5-10 years ago, you could see listings on Sheartime.com, call him up, and buy a beautiful vintage Rolex. I did it several times. Those days are long gone. (I don't think that website is ever even updated any more.) The market for top pieces is really drying up. They ain't making vintage any more, obviously, and the best watches are usually kept by hobbyists/collectors nowadays. And when they do become available, they're often traded/sold privately in back-room deals, and if listed to the general public, they're sold in a flash.

That said, sure, you still see nice vintage Rolexes for sale on IG, and they're often available at sites like HQ Milton and Tropical Watch, both of whom have a global network of buyers/sellers that goes back many years and helps supply inventory. Same goes for the Rolex Passion Market. You just don't see the same quantity of quality as you used to.

[rolexest]

I also really love vintage watches. But there are so many fake parts out there that you honestly can't be certain of what you're getting. You really have to buy the seller and even then I'm skeptical. Therefore its a look but don't touch area for me. Unless you know exactly what you're looking for and have the hours of study logged for your desired model I'd advise you do the same.

[Tom1675]

Originally Posted by rolexest

I also really love vintage watches. But there are so many fake parts out there that you honestly can't be certain of what you're getting. You really have to buy the seller and even then I'm skeptical. Therefore its a look but don't touch area for me. Unless you know exactly what you're looking for and have the hours of study logged for your desired model I'd advise you do the same.

I don't know, if you're not willing to do the work maybe vintage isn't for you. Those of us who post regularly here are passionate about it for whatever reason so its not "work".

On the other hand I agree with you and I would definitely need a lot of security around an early gilt purchase these days but a 4/5 digit matte you can find if you're patient and diligent. Yes there's still a lot to know but there are examples that novices ask this forum to vet every week that are approved by the consensus (at the right price). It might take 6mo but there's a DRSD out there for the OP, but that 6months should be part of the fun, if it isn't fun maybe vintage isn't for you.

[swish77]

Originally Posted by rolexest

I also really love vintage watches. But there are so many fake parts out there that you honestly can't be certain of what you're getting. You really have to buy the seller and even then I'm skeptical. Therefore its a look but don't touch area for me. Unless you know exactly what you're looking for and have the hours of study logged for your desired model I'd advise you do the same.

Hours? Try years and years of research and studying/obsessing. That's part of the fun, but you need to be super patient, and yes, careful.

This is probably a typical story of a lot of guys here who track down a grail: Took me about three years to find my DRSD. I started by emailing some top dealers, and also spent countless hours researching, and scouring listings, IG, websites, Watchrecon, forums, etc ... After I found the best candidate I had seen after many rejections, I vetted the heck out of it for a week, inside and out, and then had Ed Delgado of DRSD.com help evaluate it for me.

It's time-consuming, and very expensive, but in the end, I got what I wanted.

[zapokee]

Originally Posted by swish77

And when they do become available, they're often traded/sold privately in back-room deals

Absolutely. If you ever get to go to one of these late-night GTGs with dealers and collectors in Japan, you see pieces that you never see anywhere else. This stuff never reaches the market.

[springer]

Most of the nice vintage watches come from collectors that place one of their prized possessions up for sale every now-and-then. I've found that during the past couple years, one rarely finds anything overly clean and exceptional for sale from dealers.

Be careful out there. Many watches being offered by dealers, and some collectors, especially the sets, have cobbled together accessories and/or incorrect non original parts that are often claimed to be original to the watch.

[MrChamfers]

Even if you do the work and research, you are going to pay a premium now since the vintage Rolex supply is drying up.
From what I've seen, most 4/5 digits have tripled in price in the last decade because of this.
Do people think that trend will continue, and are most collectors here no longer buying as much?

[swaini3]

Perfectly said in the previous posts...... The business is built on connections and people hunting for watches for them.

[Orangeface]

Excellent observations, comments and reference info here. If you're sincerely looking for a really nice DRSD, enjoy the hunt - it may be a long one - and make sure your cash is banked and available. Great opportunities seldom last long.

@swish77 - that's a beauty...

[colpol]

I was looking at vintage for a lot of years before I went for it
Nearly went for a couple but one of the guys on VRF set me right

At the end up - I decided wanted to buy as good as I could get/ trusted seller with a stellar rep / be prepared to pay a premium for that. Glad I did

[swish77]

Originally Posted by colpol

I was looking at vintage for a lot of years before I went for it
Nearly went for a couple but one of the guys on VRF set me right

At the end up - I decided wanted to buy as good as I could get/ trusted seller with a stellar rep / be prepared to pay a premium for that. Glad I did

Great move, and beautiful DRSD! Congrats from a fellow Scotsman.

[BrazenC5]

Originally Posted by jlevitt9

Question is, where the heck do these guys get double Red Sea-dwellers, 80's Subs with perfect plots and others, by the barrel full?

When I'm ready to let mine go (unpolished DRSD), I'll reach out to you.

Over the years, when I see people ask about certain vintage watches that I'm also looking to sell, I reach out to them in PM, to offer directly without dealer markup and what I find is they are not ready to pay mint condition prices.

As a buyer I also have reached out to other TRF members and people on IG to where I've tracked a watch that may have been previously sold by a dealer.

I have also seen my own previously owned watches pop up on personal IG accounts and dealer websites. It is a small world.

Sent from my SM-G781U1 using Tapatalk

[swaini3]

Originally Posted by colpol

I was looking at vintage for a lot of years before I went for it
Nearly went for a couple but one of the guys on VRF set me right

At the end up - I decided wanted to buy as good as I could get/ trusted seller with a stellar rep / be prepared to pay a premium for that. Glad I did

Beautiful example. its always worth the wait....