6 vintage watch terms you should know that will save you lots of headache

Zach Blass

The double-edged sword of rising popularity within a commercial segment is that the more of interest something is, the more individuals with malicious intent will try to take advantage of buyers. Vintage watches have never been more coveted, and as a result, it has never been more of a minefield to navigate. You will hear people in the watch community say that you must “buy the seller”, but more often than not, people are buying watches online, and to best evaluate a seller and a vintage watch, you have to be able to read between the lines of a description. Below are six key vintage watch terms you should know.

NOS (new old stock)

When it comes to a vintage watch, seeing the term NOS in a description is a huge green flag. NOS denotes “new old stock”, which means that the watch is effectively untouched, with all or most of its original packaging. Buying a new old stock vintage watch is the closest thing to hopping into a time machine and visiting a boutique decades in the past. If a watch is truly new old stock, this means you have a watch that has not been worn and is in original condition. You would be its first and only owner.

Original owner, from the original family

original owner example — Image courtesy of Chrono24.

Speaking of lineage, auction houses or vendors will tout the vintage watch term “original owner” or “from the original family”, but this term is a bit loaded. What it insinuates is that because the watch has been possessed by a single owner or kept in the family, its ownership history and the life of the watch can be better-traced. The less a watch has exchanged hands, the more controlled the environment of the watch has been. That said, if the original owner did not properly take care of their watch, then what value does it really add?

Service history

The reason why service history is especially key for vintage watches is two-fold. Firstly, a vintage watch that has not been serviced could mean you will be hit with a massive service bill in the wake of your purchase. With each passing year, the availability of proper service parts for vintage watches decreases and therefore the cost of service increases.

Secondly, and potentially even more costly, is if a watch has been serviced poorly. And poorly does not just mean being serviced by a watchmaker who doesn’t know what they’re doing. It could also mean that the watch has been serviced without consideration for what ultimately maximises the value of your vintage watch: originality. With a decent service history, you can have a clear sense of how a vintage watch has been maintained over the years.

Bracelet stretch and sizing

rolex bracelet repair services webp — Image courtesy of Elite Watch Co

As an extension of service history, when it comes to vintage watches on a bracelet, you want to make sure you inspect two key elements. What is the current condition of the “bracelet stretch”, and how is the bracelet sized? Though some find the rattly nature of vintage bracelets charming, too much bracelet stretch is not a good thing, and should it be serviceable, an additional cost to factor in. If a bracelet is stretched beyond repair, you might have to splurge for a new bracelet as you’ll be risking it breaking, and the watch falling off your wrist. Needless to say, finding an original, period-correct replacement, will be costly.

In terms of how a bracelet is sized, it’s also important to note how many links are included with the watch. Some links are not too difficult to track down, while others are an absolute nightmare – and a huge cost if they happen to be solid gold. For example, as a Top Gun fan, I was once looking into an Orfina Porsche Design Chronograph, the very model Tom Cruise wore in the film. Fortunately, I caught that the bracelet was estimated to fit a 6-inch wrist. This would be too tight even for my small wrist, and finding an original PVD-black link for the watch would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Not necessarily mission impossible, but certainly mission very difficult.

vintage piaget watchfinder jpg — Image courtesy of Watchfinder & Co.

Finally, with groovy ’70s designs like vintage Piaget becoming increasingly popular, many pieces that verge on jewellery have bracelets that need to be cut – no links to add or remove. Since these are often precious metal watches, you definitely do not want to make the costly mistake of buying one that does not have enough bracelet length for your wrist. Yes, in the right hands, you can still have it cut down to size, but if you need to add circumference, you’re looking at a costly endeavour, and one that will possibly not match the quality of the original. I am getting nauseous just thinking about it.

To be clear, this is even a thing when it comes to leather straps, though easier to solve. Some vintage Cartiers have bespoke leather straps that are cut to size, with zero punched holes for a cleaner look. The strap is cut to a precise length, and then affixed to the wrist via the folding buckle. Fortunately, should you encounter this scenario, it just means you will need to commission your own leather strap.

Refinished, relumed, re… anything

Vintage watch terms Service parts — A Rolex Submariner 6204 typically sells for far more. Despite this dial’s pumpkin patina, a service dial that replaced the original radium one dampens the value.

Re-anything spells red flag – refinished, relumed, replaced, etc. Refinishing or retouching refers to watch components that have been polished, cleaned, or restored to mimic the original look. But if too much metal is removed or the lines of a case’s profile are softened, it’s a huge no-no. Reluming refers to the replacement of luminous material, whether re-applied or replaced. Replaced parts, or service parts, refers to components that replace a removed component entirely. Unless these tasks have been performed by talented hands, or parts have been replaced with period-correct parts, such undertakings can spell disaster for your vintage watch – at least in terms of its value.

Vintage watch terms Service parts 2 — Fortunately, respected vendors like LoupeThis are good about such disclosures. They also disclosed the later bezel insert, another value dampener, and the not-super-ideal case refinishing.

There’s nothing necessarily wrong with buying a vintage watch that has been refinished or relumed, but there is something very wrong if such servicing is not transparently disclosed. The brand this is most prevalent with is Rolex. As mentioned, originality is paramount in terms of owning a collector-grade vintage watch. But Rolex emphasises restoration at the factory, and will notoriously replace components in the name of bringing the watch back to original spec.

Ironically, while this is great for having a watch returned to high-functioning condition, it’s a watch collector’s worst nightmare. This mindset was not kept back in the day, and many owners preferred such aggressive restoration. Today, damage isn’t bad if it’s the right kind of damage, and is perceived to be coveted patination. As an example, Rolex would receive tritium-dial era watches that no longer glow, and replace the hands and dial with service parts that would. As a result, you’re left with a Rolex that now functions as intended – glowing in the dark – but has potentially more than halved in value because the patinated dial is gone.

Patina

Rolex Explorer 1016 Zach Watch 3 2 — Rolex Explorer ref. 1016 with “cookie” patina.

Patina refers to the natural aging of the components of a watch – in particular the hands and dial. As watch manufacturing evolved, brands have perfected their manufacturing techniques and the durability of parts. This is not a bad thing, but it does mean that modern watches do not patinate like vintage watches do. In particular, the transition to Super-LumiNova and other modern luminous materials means that the hue of the luminous filling will not transition over time.

Part of the allure of vintage watches is their use of tritium, and to an extent, radium, which due to their radioactivity, will age over time. This aging is so desired that the various hues that occur with natural ageing have been assigned nicknames – sage for lighter colours, cookie for medium ones, and pumpkin for heavy patination where luminous fillings turn orange. There are also examples of lume turning green, but such ageing is generally not desired.

Tropical dials 3 — An Omega Speedmaster with a “tropical dial.”

Patination also extends to the dial, and even external parts like a bezel insert. For example, tropical dials fade into a brown thanks to sun exposure and humid climates, and are very desirable. Collectors also like ghost bezels, where aluminium inserts fade from black. But if a tropical dial was repainted to return it to its original colour, it would be less desirable. This is all ultimately damage, but desired damage.

Hopefully, the above vintage watch terms guide serves as a good starting point, but for the most part, remembering the old adage of “if it’s too good to be true, it’s probably too good to be true” is the best advice we can give.