The heritage heavy hitters – 10 of 2019’s best vintage reissues
Felix ScholzEvery year in watchland we’re treated to a fresh crop of heritage reissues — modern interpretations of designs of yore. It’s a market category that’s grown from a niche inclusion intended to appease the hardcore collectors to a major pillar in many brand catalogues. And while the year is not over yet, we’re pretty confident calling the below 10 the best heritage reissues from 2019. Heads-up, expect a lot of automatic chronographs in this list …
Blancpain Air Command
Yep, we did not see this one coming. Dive watches, yes (more on that below), but a pitch-perfect take on an old, obscure pilot’s chronograph? Yes, please.
Longines Heritage Classic
A surprise late entrant to the list, the Heritage Classic from Longines only officially dropped the other day. But with its 38mm steel case and sector dial it has everyone in the office exclaiming — not bad, good size.
Zenith El Primero A384 Revival
It’s been a big year for Zenith, as their famous El Primero movement celebrates the big 5-0. And because of this, the brand has been dropping heritage bangers with disturbing regularity. And while we didn’t see this at Baselworld, the chunky case of this A384 has us reaching for the heart-eyes emoji.
Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Limited Edition
The El Primero wasn’t the only significant 50th anniversary being celebrated in 2019. The year also marked half a century of man walking on the moon (while wearing an Omega). So we knew Omega would have some special Speedies planned. But this reissue of the first gold Speedmaster, in a new ‘Moonshine Gold’ alloy, blew us away.
Seiko Automatic Chronograph 50th Anniversary SRQ029J
Another entrant in the fiddy year club is Seiko’s celebration of their first automatic chronograph. And with its handsome panda dial and clean case lines it’s a celebration we’d very much like to get invited to.
TAG Heuer Monaco 1989-1999 Limited Edition
TAG Heuer’s approach to celebrating their Calibre 11’s 50th took a slightly different path than other brands, releasing small editions inspired by the five decades of the Monaco. We particularly like the grained silver dial of the ’90s celebration.
Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Barakuda Limited Edition
Blancpain took us from the skies to the bottom of the ocean this year, and this Fifty Fathoms, inspired by a pretty obscure variant retailed by a German dive company, is pure heritage heat. I mean, just look at those markers.
Rado Golden Horse 1957
Rado released some cracker watches in the middle of last century, and this take on their popular Golden Horse line does not disappoint in the slightest. Cool logo, funky dial, smaller 36.5mm case size and 80 hours of power reserve. Bam, job done.
Mido Multifort Patrimony
Mido doesn’t have a particularly large footprint here in Australia and, as a result, some of its excellent watches go under the radar. We could have just as easily picked their cool Ocean Star, but the dressy Multifort Patrimony, with its sector design and rich blue dial, was hard to look past. Especially given the very reasonable price tag.
Hamilton Khaki Pilot Pioneer Mechanical
This is just cool. Hamilton have remade the cult classic W10, a Cold War era pilot’s watch, in a cushion-shaped case. The best bit, though? The size of 36mm. Well played, Hamilton, well played.