Vintage Watches: A 1940s Jaeger-LeCoultre Dress Watch, A 1970s Lucien Piccard Luccard Chronograph, And A Pair Of 1970s Certinas

To view the entire current selection of vintage watches available in the HODINKEE Shop, click here . Questions? Send us a note, or let us know in the comments. Want to sell your vintage watch through the HODINKEE Shop? Click here . Want to sell your pre-owned watch through Crown & Caliber? Click here . This Week's Vintage Watches In HODINKEE's latest A Week On The Wrist highlighting the Breitling AVI Ref. 765 1953 Re-edition , Cole Pennington writes, "nostalgia has a powerful effect on the way we look at the past – it distorts and idealizes what we choose to remember." Re-editions and re-issues are always top of mind for the vintage collector when trying to understand new watches – they're just familiar. Cole's thoughts on the overall market did an excellent job breaking down the types within the category and how different brands look to their vintage history to inform today's models. On the vintage team, we will continue to offer a look at the inspiration to offer a peek behind the curtain. With designers looking to vintage for inspiration, there is even more of a case to include a true vintage watch in your watch box. 1969 Omega Chronostop Ref. 145.009 / 145.010 With Papers 1966 Longines Conquest Automatic Ref. 9045-7 1970s Omega Flightmaster Ref. 145.036 1960s Movado Automatic Ref. 48463 In 14k Yellow Gold 1960s Breitling Top Time Chronograph Ref. 2002-33 With 'Panda' Dial 1969 Heuer Camaro Ref. 7220T 1972 Rolex Day-Date Ref. 1803 'Wide Boy' 1972 Rolex Explorer Ref. 1016 'Frog's Foot' 1950s Omega Seamaster Calendar Ref. 2627C In 14k Yellow Gold 1970s Heuer Autavia Ref. 11630 1989 Rolex Submariner Ref. 5513 Another week and another massive selection of vintage watches is hitting the HODINKEE Shop. With Certina making its return to the U.S. market tomorrow (stay tuned!), you will notice two vintage examples from the 1970s, an Argonaut and a Town & Country, featured here. The brand is loved by vintage collectors for its reliability and stout build quality. For more vintage Certina, read on for Brandon Frazin's thoughts, and for more modern Certina, watch this space and sign up for a HODINKEE Community account here to join the Shop's email list. Other highlights include an Omega Flightmaster, a 14k gold Movado with a gorgeous textured dial, and a Heuer Autavia, as well as many more. Check out the full selection here , and read on for an in-depth take on this week's top picks. 1970s Certina Argonaut 280 Ref. 5801-280 And A 1970s Certina Town & Country Automatic Ref. 5821-115 By Brandon Frazin While going through the selection of vintage watches for this week, we decided to add a little vintage Certina flavor to the bunch. You will see a selection of contemporary Certina watches for sale in the HODINKEE Shop later this week, so we wanted to dig into the heritage and find some funky, fun models to offer today. First off, we have a killer Argonaut 280 on its original bracelet in great condition. I love the orange accents, especially the little Certina symbol near 12 o'clock. The cross-hair dial is a great feature as well, matching the white text on the dial and the color of the hands. I haven't seen too many of these in the metal before, and besides the dial details, the case shape really stands out to me. It's not quite square or round, it's an interesting tonneau shape that wears nicely on the wrist. I also appreciate the bevels on the sides of the case that are clearly pronounced. Certina also sneaks in the date very nicely at six o'clock, making sure not to obstruct the dial. The bracelet is also very nicely done and comfortable on the wrist – it has straight end-links which are always a favorite of mine. This thing is just a fun and uncommon watch, especially in this good of condition. Odds are you won't run into too many people with one of these, check it out now . The other Certina we're offering is on the opposite side of the spectrum from the Argonaut. This is a square-shaped Town & Country with a gold-plated bezel, that is both dressy and casual at the same time. Certina used a two-tone gold and silver motif throughout the watch, from the silvered dial with gold accents to the gold-plated bezel and contrasting steel case. An interesting aspect of this model is the clamshell-like case with four screws holding the watch together. This style of construction is something you don't see very often outside of 1940s clamshell chronographs. This Certina Town & Country is available right now in the HODINKEE Shop . 1940s Jaeger-LeCoultre Dress Watch In 18k Pink Gold By Saori Omura Jaeger-LeCoultre may not have the immediate brand recognition of Rolex or Patek Philippe among the general public, but if you know watches, JLC is most definitely a who's who of the Swiss watch industry. And for good reason. It has the reputation of being the "watchmaker's watchmaker" for its focus on creating top-of-the-line watch movements. Starting with the unique Swiss watchmaking system of établissage with specialized parts makers, JLC built a name for itself as the go-to movement provider for many of the premium watch brands including Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, and Cartier. There is something to be said about the beauty of a simple and elegant time-only dress watch. I find this example by JLC to project a quiet yet self-assured personality. It measures just 35mm in diameter but the narrow bezel and the well-balanced minimalist dial configuration cause it to appear more substantial on the wrist. It has a lovely warm patina on the case that is further enhanced by the mellow nature of the pink gold material and the soft patina on the dial. Another interesting element is the painted-over hour markers. It was a fairly common practice at the time, often done at the client's request. It was originally meant to increase legibility on the dial, and on the watch here, the dark paint has faded over time so the golden hue of the applied hour markers now gently peeking through. Let's not forget about the robust manual-wound movement inside (cal. P469/1C). It's not the most complicated or highly-finished movement by the brand, but you know it's solidly built – plus it's been running for close to 80 years. Longevity is without a doubt a testament to JLC's attention to quality. In today's world where goods are often defined by a "disposable" mentality, I find solace that when given proper care and attention, a well-crafted mechanical watch will continue to work for many years to come. Hit the shop now to take in all of this JLC's beauty. 1970s Lucien Piccard Luccard With 'Paul Newman'-Style Dial By Rich Fordon Well, it's finally sunny here in New York, and have I got the watch for you. With cool blue tones, a pop of red, and a regatta timer, this Lucien Piccard is a worthy companion for sailing off Kennebunkport or dining al fresco at Lucien. This is one of those watches that has enough general appeal to intrigue even the most novice watch appreciators while also serving up the real heady details for even the most well-versed vintage collector. Back in the 1970s, the Swiss watch world ran on the backs of ébauche makers. Singer was a dial specialist who worked on contract for Rolex, Omega, Universal Genéve, and, as we see here, Lucien Piccard. Years ago, a group of Singer dial catalogs surfaced from, supposedly, 1967 and 1968 showing prototype dials that were presented to clients. These books are extremely telling in that it appears that Singer pitched a lot of our favorite dials to some storied brands. The book contains "pie-pan" Omega Constellation dials prototyped to get the hashes and hour markers just right, as well as Rolex Daytona prototypes with zero printing outside of the sub-registers to nail down the fonts and graduations without interruption. The famed "Paul Newman" Daytona-style sub-register font and markings are seen in the Singer pitch books, as is a Yacht-Master prototype built on the Daytona design with a yacht-timer extension on the right sub-dial. Three examples of this Yacht-Master are known to exist: one owned by Rolex, one shown by John Goldberger on Talking Watches , and one previously seen on the wrist of Eric Clapton. No other watches are known to combine the "Paul Newman" style sub-dials and a yachting extension other than these three Rolex examples, and the Lucien Piccard Luccard like the one we have here. Check out everything that makes this chronograph the perfect inside-baseball watch over in the H Shop .From classic to funky, dressy to sporty – we've got you covered!