I was just thinking about the Mark XII - it first came into production ca. 1993-94 and has been out of production for some years. It debuted fifteen or sixteen years ago: Would you consider that a 'vintage' watch? It certainly isn't 'current'.
Where do people draw that line?
Vintage - Not quite yet
I unfortunately dont have a good explanation - but I like the "25" years old as a rule of thumb.....others think 40 or 50 years........
Some my feelings at the moment.....
Andrew
Hard for me to draw a line in the sand
as far as things like the Mark XII and Jubilee Port are concerned. Wonderful watches- without a doubt...... vintage- of that I am not yet sure.
I know that fans of other brands like to define vintage watches as those made before xxx event (for example- the change from acrylic to sapphire crystal) or the company changing ownership etc.
A fifty year rule would…
mean that the Mark 11 would barely qualify (and not qualify if you consider the civilian version available into the early eighties) and that the classic Ingenieurs, like the reference 666, would not qualify either.
"Antique", in furniture and others, is usually given a one hundred year threshold. Where does that zone exist of vintage but not yet antique?
Clearly something still in production, even if it has been in production for decades, is not yet vintage. So how long does it have to have been out of production? I confess I don't have a clear answer.
So is anything prior to…
the Richemont acquisition vintage, then? Would this make the GST line vintage while the fifty year guideline would exclude ref 666 Ingenieurs and Mark 11s?
Just playing Devil's Advocate and seeking an answer that seems to make sense.
Vintage?
A watch design might remain static for some years but the movement may change several times. You could argue that the non current cases and or movements all qualify as vintage but why worry? Antiquorum and Sotheby's Christies Bonhams have regular watch and clock sales and some of those being sold are barely run in!
Great question, but not sure >>>>
....there's a definitive answer.
I always had the '25 year' rule-of-thumb in the back of my mind.
Another measure might be, when does a country's Customs Department deem a watch vintage for duty and tax purposes. Don't have that answer either ;-))) LOL
No hard rule I know of >>>
However, since most watches have a life of ~ 20 years, I would say 25 to 30 years.
Nice seeing you here OCD, winter must be over in New England.
--
Cheers from Isobars.
UK Customs ruling
Just checked on UK Customs site for watch, vintage watch and antique watch
Only antique comes with it own category and the definition is 100+ years old. Otherwise the term vintage threw up nothing different to just plain "watch"
So I would describe the term vintage as an era as in 1950's or 1990's or even a year. Even a watch produced for a short run this year only is therefore a vintage as you can identify the decade or year of production. "Vintage look" describes anything with a dateable time period. It seems to be a word that has no finite definition but is usually associated with the past rather than the present. English profs, dictionary buffs and the like will have a more accurate answer!
Ten years out of production (nt)
A clear line for cars ... 30 years
A car is qualified to be vintage if it is older than 30 years.
I esteem that to be a good definition for watches too.
Th. Koenig