I've been thinking about buying myself a vintage Hermes watch one of these days, most likely via an auction house (not eBay). I'd like a big one....perhaps a nice mens watch.
So, I'm beginning my research and trying to figure things out.....but my first question is.....
Does anyone already own a vintage Hermes watch?
Isn’t Hermès and vintage watches a non-sequitur because they only started making watches in 1978 exactly when the quartz ‘crisis’ came.
Actually I’ll change what I say because before 1978, Hermès retailed everyone else’s watches in their stores. If you are talking about this then these things are serious unlike current Hermès toy watches: a Vacheron Constantin (ref. 3234) with perpetual calendar and lunar complication made in 1931 sold in Hermès Saint Honoré will set you back $366,000 (from Antiquorum).
Admittedly that is the top of the line stuff, you can get an 18k solid gold 1950s Jaeger-LeCoultre Duo-plan bracelet with a stirrup concealing the dial – probably Hermès specific design making it less expensive than the normal ones – for only about late $5,000 (my former colleague had one as her ‘beater’ watch and it was holding firm even though she did really beat it).
But if you are keen on men’s watches, find an antimagnetic (just in case you are near your washing machine which emits a magnetic field due to its spinning rotor, LOL) mono-ratrapante chronograph made by Universal Genève in the 1930s with the word Hermès on the dial. I’ve been told this one is only about $16,000. Put it this way, the Swiss guy who runs the Hermès watch operation in Asia Pacific wears one of these which sort of tells you about the ‘jouet’ nature of the post-1978 watches. BTW, I am being serious (v. unusual for me
) when I say only $16,000 because the finish on any vaguely decent vintage rivals current really high grade stuff and a similar ratrapante (i.e. split seconds chronograph) right now from Patek (ref. 5959) will cost you $400,000!
P.S. You will not get a big men's watch with Patek. OK there is the 5070 which is 42mm but most of them are still in 35-38mm range.