Everything You Need to Know About Buying Neo-Vintage Watches at Auction

Move over vintage mid-century, ‘Pop Art’ 60s and disco 70s – the 80s, 90s and even the early 2000s are now fully staking their claim for the attention of vintage watch collectors. Well, it may not be as dramatic as all that, but interest in wristwatches designed from 1980 to early the 2000s appears to be growing. As many will know this era has been given the term ‘neo- vintage’. Broadly there is a convergence of factors which have contributed to more attention being paid by collectors to watches designed from the 1980s to early 2000s. Here’s a handy guide (with honestly perhaps TOO MUCH information) to the history of collecting neo-vintage watches at auction.  

Firstly, the 80s-00s period includes the origins of many of today’s most esteemed independents. I remember writing an article for the BHI, Horological Journal back in 2019 about the increasing recognition that noted independents were obtaining at auction. Since then this trend has continued if not accelerated. Secondly, the era also encompasses how the Swiss watch industry in particular responded to the quartz revolution/crisis. Indeed the industry did manage to respond by producing some superb watches which are now both rare and collectable. It is additionally about evolving collector tastes. Plus, as we research this era in more detail it allows the stories, which are so important to watch collecting, to be told.

So when Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo announced that they would hold a thematic auction entirely devoted to mechanical watches designed during the period 1980-1999, titled ‘Reloaded: The Rebirth of Mechanical Watchmaking, 1980-1999’ it presented an ideal opportunity to cover the auction and reflect on this era in watchmaking history.

The auction was held in Geneva on 8 November and presented 65 curated lots all of which sold achieving ‘white glove’ status for the auction. The total sale value was CHF 24.8 million, (approximately £22 million) including buyer’s premium. Five watches in the auction broke the Swiss Franc CHF1 million mark. The outstanding lot was an F.P. Journe, Tourbillon Souverain à Remontoir d’égalité, wristwatch from 1993 that sold for CHF 7.3 million (approximately £6.5 million), including buyer’s premium. As Phillips noted the sale was a world auction record for an F.P. Journe wristwatch and a world auction record for a watch by an independent watchmaker to date.

In this article we get the thoughts of Alexandre Ghotbi at Phillips about the auction and look at some of the highlights from the auction. Plus I talk with London based vintage watch dealer Daniel Somlo to ask what trends he is seeing related to neo-vintage. We also have some fascinating data from global online watch marketplace Chrono24.

In Conversation with Alexandre Ghotbi at Phillips

Alexandre Ghotbi is Deputy Chairman, Watches, Head of Watches, Europe and Middle East for Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo. Based in Geneva his role has given him the opportunity to auction some of the world’s finest and rarest watches. Here he provides his thoughts about Phillips’ thematic auction held on 8 November and the reasons for the growing collector interest in mechanical watches designed during the period 1980-1999.

Your auction, ‘Reloaded: The Rebirth of Mechanical Watchmaking, 1980-1999’, is a celebration of watchmaking from this era. What makes this period increasingly special for today’s collectors and watch enthusiasts?

The arrival of the cheap quartz watch in the 1970s almost decimated the mechanical watch industry. The last two decades of the 20th Century were the years when the watchmaking industry was at crossroads, disappear or reinvent itself to survive. Not only did it choose the latter, but it redefined itself. Pioneering designs, groundbreaking complications, and the rise of independent watchmakers paved the way for the thriving landscape of today. During these pivotal decades, watchmakers and brands dug deep to create some of the most innovative and complex mechanical watches ever seen. It is a period that witnessed the resurrection and redefinition of mechanical watchmaking, not as a relic of the past but as a forward-looking art form imbued with modern sensibilities.

Are there key aspects that make for a quintessentially ‘neo-vintage’ watch from the 1980s, 90s and early 2000s?

That is difficult to say as the watches we see today often find their roots in that era. But in general I would say we can see smaller case sizes, even though we are currently going back to that time, and a more back to basics approach- even though some extremely flamboyant designs were penned at the time

What would be two examples of wristwatches that you particularly like from this era?   

I’ll go for two very opposite sides of the spectrum, the Vianney Halter Antiqua that launched the creative independent horology genre and the Patek Philippe ref 3940 that is the quintessential modern Patek Philippe.

The Saxon Re-Emergence

In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell in what was then and still is a seismic historical moment. A year later on 3 October 1990 Germany was reunified. In Saxony, Germany the old watchmaking town of Glashütte was about to be reawakened. Leading this re-emergence was Walter Lange, the great grandson of Ferdinand Adolph Lange who founded A. Lange & Söhne in 1845. Walter Lange re-established his family brand 145 years later in 1990. In 1994, he and Gunter Blumlein launched four pivotal watch models, the Lange 1, Arkade, Saxonia and Tourbillon “Pour le Mérite”. These new releases quickly established a defined stylistic language for A. Lange & Söhne, in part based on tradition, and gained international recognition.

Phillips’ thematic auction included an A. Lange & Söhne, Lange 1 wristwatch in ‘New Old Stock’ condition. The watch, a ref. 101.026 in stainless steel is from 1999 sized at 38.5mm, with a manual movement. The dial displaying eccentric time and seconds with an asymmetrically positioned large date window and power reserve which is now recognised as signature A. Lange & Söhne design. Of note, Phillips catalogued that the Lange 1 at the time was never officially launched in a stainless steel version. Making this a very rare example. The watch fetched CHF 241,300, (approximately £214,860), including buyer’s premium. The estimate was CHF 150,000 – 300,000.

The re-launch of A. Lange & Söhne marks an important aspect relating to interest by collectors of watches designed from the 1980s to early 2000s. Collector appreciation is for watch design that brought something new to the table and marks the watch out as being from the period. Collectors are also interested in the story of how these watchmakers and brands showed not only innovation but also thoughtful design that demonstrated their passion and respect for skills of watchmaking.

Quartz Crisis Recovery

While in Germany, A. Lange & Söhne, was re-establishing itself, many traditional Swiss brands were also undergoing transition during the 80s and 90s as they faced both difficult economic pressures and the quartz crisis. For these brands the changes needed would be critical to their ongoing success.

It was at that point that new figures emerged who would help shape the future of Swiss watchmaking. One of these legendary figures is Jean-Claude Biver. In the early 1980s Jean-Claude Biver would work with Jacques Piguet, (from the watch movement making firm of Frederic Piguet), to revitalize Blancpain while keeping fine mechanical watchmaking at the very heart of the business. The famed Swiss watch Maison was originally established as early as 1735.

At their auction Phillips featured a watch from the new Biver / Piguet era of Blancpain packed full of horological complications within its very elegant case. The technically accomplished ref. 5335-1418, 18k yellow gold minute repeating, perpetual calendar, wristwatch is from circa 1991. The piece did well making CHF 43,180, (approximately £38,380), including buyer’s premium. The estimate was set at a lower CHF 18,000 – 26,000.

The date of this watch neatly provides a segue to mention another pivotal figure in the Swiss industry at the time, Nicolas G. Hayek (1928-2010). Famed for his revolutionary Swatch watch launched in 1983. Hayek also led the strategy behind the formation of the multi brand Swatch Group Ltd in 1998. Under his direction in 1992, SMH, (which later became the Swatch Group Ltd), acquired Blancpain.

This section on watch brand innovation during the 80s to 90s would not be complete without mentioning Audemars Piguet. In the early 1990s Audemars Piguet built upon their Royal Oak model by releasing the very successful Royal Oak Offshore in 1993. Haute horology also featured, with an example here from the Phillips’ auction. A stunning and rare Audemars Piguet ref. 25643, ‘groundbreaking’ platinum tourbillon wristwatch with a mother of pearl dial from circa 1990. As Phillips recorded the ref. 25643, as launched in 1986 was the world’s first automatic tourbillon wristwatch. The watch is also incredibly thin at 5.3mm. Estimated at CHF 20,000 – 40,000 it went on the achieve CHF 101,600, (approximately £90,220), including buyer’s premium.   

Re-Defining the Luxury Watch

Speaking with well-known vintage watch dealer and qualified watchmaker Daniel Somlo, Director at Somlo London based in Burlington Arcade about the neo-vintage period he brought out some key points.

“Collecting neo-vintage watches from the 80s to early 2000s is still a relatively new market when compared to established interest in earlier vintage watches, but it is growing. Newer collectors, especially younger collectors, are looking to explore more niche areas beyond just tool watches and the luxury sports watch categories. The trend corresponds also with a focus on ‘quiet luxury’ and an interest in more dressy pieces and smaller cases. It’s not about outlandish pieces but rather an appreciation of fine mechanical watches combined with interesting design elements”.

“Of the period itself, the 80s was still a difficult time for Swiss watch brands. They were finding their way out of the quartz crisis which heavily impacted the industry during the 70s. Brands tried experimenting with lots of different things, including squeezing high complication movements into various cases in order to justify their prices against quartz wristwatches. By the later 90s brands had become much more confident in their design and justifying mechanical watchmaking and people were buying fine mechanical watches again. The purpose of the Swiss mechanical watch had shifted away from being a timepiece to becoming a luxury product. The period also saw the genesis of the modern independent watchmaker as the market allowed more innovation and appreciated the craft of the watchmaker. For me, a very nice example of a neo vintage period watch is the Patek Philippe ref. 3940”.

The Independence Movement

At the very end of the 20^th century, in 1999 Omega adopted Dr George Daniels CBE, FBHI (1926 – 2011) revolutionary Co-Axial escapement. This moment seems a fitting conclusion to the two decades of the 80s and 90s, and as a gateway into the early 2000s. A period which saw so many of today’s esteemed independents take the plunge to go it alone. In a period of both uncertainty and possibility they found a way through to produce amazing creations that continue to delight collectors today. Indeed this must rank as one of the major stories of this period as the commentators in this article have already noted. Below is a list, (but please note this is not an exhaustive list), of just a few of the independents that started out during the late 20th century and into the early 2000s.

Phillips, ‘Reloaded: The Rebirth of Mechanical Watchmaking, 1980-1999’ thematic auction was well represented with a who’s who of independent makers from the period.  Three superb neo-vintage examples by independents, including an F.P. Journe that achieved an astounding CHF 7.3 million, (approximately £6.5 million) in the auction.

Chrono24 Neo-Vintage Market Trends

Of course it is one thing to talk about an uptick in interest in collecting neo-vintage watches but obtaining hard data is another thing. The fact that the Phillips curated an entire thematic auction devoted to watches designed during the 1980-1999 period, which was 100% sold definitely points to this interest. But in the wider secondary market what is happening? To help obtain some data, Chrono24 have kindly undertaken some analysis of their global online watch marketplace specifically for this article.

Before diving into the data some notes are needed. Firstly the data is based on sales revenue. In other words what has sold via the Chrono24 platform. Chrono24 has clustered the data based on the listed age of the watches on their platform. This data has then been broken down by modern, being watches with dates after 2004. Neo-vintage, watches listed as aged between 1980 – 2004. Vintage, watches with age dates prior to 1980. With respect to the neo-vintage data classification it therefore includes all watches sold on their platform with watch age dates listed as between 1980 – 2004. It must therefore be noted that this is not the same as watches designed and released during the period, which typically is the focus of neo-vintage collectors. Nevertheless the data is very interesting, as follows.

The first graph might raise some eyebrows as it actually shows a decline since 2019 in watches brought on the Chrono24 platform that had listed watch age dates between 1980 – 2004. Potentially this could be explained by the tremendous ‘hype’ bubble that occurred between 2019 to 2023 for near new modern watches. Of note so far for 2024, watches with listed ages between 1980 – 2004 have seen a market share increase in sales on the Chrono24 platform of 6.5% when compared to 2023.

Now, this graph showing 2024 sales data from Chrono24 is fascinating and confirms a trend that has been noticeable in the auction market more recently. The interest in wristwatches by Cartier from all eras, be it vintage, neo-vintage or modern. The smaller cased watches of Cartier, their asymmetrical designs, dresser but elegant look, and the heritage of Cartier have all collectively combined to create collector interest. The graph covers watches bought on the Chrono24 platform that had listed watch age dates that fall between 1980 to 2004. A surprising piece of data from the graph is the growing interest in watches aged between 1980 – 2004 made by Jaeger-LeCoultre, famed for their Reverso wristwatch first launched in 1931.

Another revealing graph shows the top selling watch models, (one per brand), so far in 2024 on the Chrono24 platform which have listed watch age dates between 1980 – 2004. Many of these watches are models that were designed and launched prior to 1980. But some of the watches listed did get designed between 1980 – 2004 and reflect interest in collecting pieces from the period. These include the Patek Philippe Aquanaut released in 1997, the Vacheron Constantin, Reference. 47101 launched in 1989, and Breitling Chronomat, Reference. 81950 designed in the 1990s.

More details at Chrono24.

 

​Oracle Time 

Read More