The beauty of a white gold-capped vintage wrist-watch.
Posted By HARRIS A S on March 1, 2010
The beauty of a white gold-capped vintage wrist-watch.
Most collectors love vintage-watches, whether they come in nickel-plating over a cheap material, stainless-steel, gold-capped or solid gold (yellow, white or pink), while not forgetting platinum.
All collectors will want to own a vintage-watch that is rare and better still if it is in pristine condition. Needless to say, such a watch will come at a price, today. Apart from this, the availability of spare parts is also a criteria to be considered. It is always wise to collect vintage-watches, produced by established brand-names, since spares may be readily available, back home in Switzerland or from the numerous specialist stockists in Europe and the US.
Even though some very competent watchmakers, with the correct tools, can reproduce parts which are no longer available but do make sure the watch you own has a high demand, amongst collectors. Avoid over-spending on a spare for a watch with not much collector’s desirability, unless that particular watch is of great sentimental value to you or you have the extra funds to throw around and not worrying whether or not, your investment is recoverable. There are not many of such a person around today, unfortunately.
Though not good, it is not that bad to lose a spanking brand new current model watch compared to losing a vintage piece, since if you had the money, it is easy to get a replacement, the next day or two. However, to get robbed or way-laid while wearing a rare vintage-watch, the scar will remain during the victim’s life-time. It will be many years, provided one is still alive after the robbery or mayhem, before another similar one may appear on the market. Over the years while waiting for one, there will be a big price gap, if and when something similar appears.
I know of several vintage-watch collectors who have tried wearing a brand new current model watch but after some while, they experienced the feeling of ‘nakedness’, however expensive the price of the new watch may be.
Usually robbers go after gold watches – solid gold or even gold-capped, since the gold content is easily disposable, while a stainless-steel watch does not attract this mob. Seldom do collectors like to wear a stainless-steel watch, since generally is not as rare as the gold ones, except for a Patek Philippe or an Audemars Piguet in stainless-steel which is definitely, rarer than the gold ones.
In order not to attract unwanted glances and ‘admiration’ from dubious elements, alternatively a few collectors prefer to put on their wrist a white gold-capped watch, since not only it is rare but also, it does not attract the attention of the bad and the ugly, while walking alone in rough or non-familiar environment. Unfortunately, there are not many white gold-capped watches around compared to the yellow or pink gold ones. Like what I pointed out in my much earlier posting, this variation was not popular during the good old days, thus resulting in its premature demise, since many cannot tell the difference between a watch in stainless-steel against another in white gold. The same can be said about a platinum watch too, though its price is through the roof and not many can afford to own one.
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