Vintage as daily wearer

[btinl]

I wear vintage Rolex daily, but I'm admittedly more cautious with a few of my watches, especially ones with the older puffy lume plots that are a greater risk for crumbling.

[narembeen]

I will be wearing this when it is serviced, daily and I wont be gentle with it. The fact these watches are still around proves they were designed you take it.

Honestly, you guys with your recut cases and fear of lume loss...the original owners of these pieces would laugh at all of this.

https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=735411

[lhendrickson]

I wear my '72 1601 daily. I WFH right now and, when not WFH, am in an office. I happen to be a near-daily runner (trail/road), cyclist (gravel on a cx bike), and yoga practitioner. I wear this during all activities and it maintains pretty consistent time. I'm more worried about it getting magnetized from my phone to be honest. Plus, daily wear while getting shreddy completes the "fit dad" look that I'm going for.

[cmdr_foley]

Originally Posted by highcotton

I wear all of my Rolex watches to work at different times. My Tudor probably takes the brunt of the work though.

Now that looks like a well worn watch!

[cmdr_foley]

Originally Posted by Texote69

I’m in construction and wear a 6265 every day. I much prefer wearing the watch than leaving it at home

Very cool. The only thing cooler than that watch is your DGAF attitude about it.

[Tom1675]

Originally Posted by Undefeatable

Question for the vintage experts.

Let's assume someone has a vintage Sub from 1970, fresh service, new gasket and seals, and passes all the pressure tests. Whats the difference in diving with that watch vs. a brand new Sub?

Is it just the "irreplaceable" aspect if something were to happen?

Yeah, why take the risk. Your sub has an acrylic crystal and a modern sapphire will be more durable.

[roh123]

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/br...the-golden-sub

[Tom1675]

Originally Posted by Texote69

I’m in construction and wear a 6265 every day. I much prefer wearing the watch than leaving it at home

Woah!

[BDII]

Yeah, I'm with most others. I wear mine nearly daily.

Will you have issues? Almost certainly at some point and why it's good to have a relationship with a watch maker... But that is part of the game with vintage...

[Old Colonel]

I don’t believe in owning watches or side by sides I would be afraid to take out and use. If they are too precious to use, get rid of them.

A properly serviced Rolex is made to wear; wear it. I don’t mean abuse in a ridiculous situation of deep diving or heavy construction, (I have a few Seiko’s for abuse).

Wearing daily is a pleasure, more so when it was a parent or grandparent’s watch.

[Old Colonel]

I don’t believe in owning watches or side by sides I would be afraid to take out and use. If they are too precious to use, get rid of them.

A properly serviced Rolex is made to wear; wear it. I don’t mean abuse in a ridiculous situation of deep diving or heavy construction, (I have a few Seiko’s for abuse).

Wearing daily is a pleasure, more so when it was a parent or grandparent’s watch.

[00Seven]

Agree with many of the posters in this thread - wear ‘em...otherwise it’s just a speculative investment. Although it’s not a vintage (yet), I wore my F-serial 16610LV to summit Mt. Rainier. Part of the history of the watch now.

[ravenhome777]

Originally Posted by Texote69

I’m in construction and wear a 6265 every day. I much prefer wearing the watch than leaving it at home

That's awesome. Could you share a pic?

[donq]

I wear my 1675 with service dial/hands/bezel to work everyday.
I work on motorcycles and it’s on my wrist drilling, welding, using impact tools, hammering and changing tires. It’s never had a problem since I had it gone through by my vintage Rolex guy. Once the date wheel got stuck, but that was because I dropped it in the tile floor in the bathroom (ooops!). Took it in and had it fixed and had been fine since.

I bought it cheap about 7-8 years ago with the intention of using it as a beater. It was a nipple dial 2 tone with an aftermarket bracelet, and I have the original dial, hands, bezel and crown tucked away if I want to make it original again.
It’s not pristine, but the lume glows as good as my Seiko SKX007, it keeps solid time, and it looks great.

[Eric88]

I wear my 1680 nearly all the time and consider it my "nice beater watch" compared to my Milgauss that has PCLs. I wear the Milgauss when my activities are more limited (like desk work) and the 1680 most of the time for years and years. No issues!

[RobertoCleveland]

If it has an acrylic crystal or is more prone to case scratching, wear but with care. I swap out to a more rugged sports watch style with a sapphire crystal if I plan on doing any manual work or exercise.

[zapokee]

Originally Posted by donq

I wear my 1675 with service dial/hands/bezel to work everyday.
I work on motorcycles and it’s on my wrist drilling, welding, using impact tools, hammering and changing tires. It’s never had a problem since I had it gone through by my vintage Rolex guy. Once the date wheel got stuck, but that was because I dropped it in the tile floor in the bathroom (ooops!).

That's just gangster. Funny that you do all that heavy manual work with it and in the end it was the bathroom floor that got it!

[Jackie Daytona]

Wore my 1983 16750 daily for almost 20 years. It’s in a rotation now, but I think it’s probably the best watch out of the ones I own. Maybe I’m just a bit sentimental with it, but it seems to keep more consistent time, run smoother and oddly enough have a longer or more consistent power reserve than my others.

I would easily daily it again, but wearing them in rotation so my kids can have memories of each of them before I hand them down to them one day.

[brandrea]

I have to admit that when I owned one (a 67 / 5513) I was more careful with it than my modern watches.

I guess to me the risk of damage to a vintage piece is far greater than to a modern reference. Once you damage the case or the god forbid the dial, there’s no going back.

In the end, it took away from my ability to enjoy wearing it in the same way I wear modern references so eventually I moved it along YMMV

[Aceldama]

I wear my ‘72 5513. I won’t take it swimming as I opted for a vintage correct crystal, but it’s in rotation.


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[LSU-MOOSE]

I wear my 1966 1675 often. It brings me joy. If I ever get to nervous to wear it I’ll probably sell it. Original owner wasn’t in my family. I purchased in an estate sale.
I have other Rolex’s that I am the original owner and I will never sell and pass on to family.

[ChrisB]

I have worn my 1016 daily since 1972 except for running when I wear a GPS sports watch.
Regularly serviced so it goes swimming and in the shower (but not in a hot bath!)

[shinyhappyobjects]

I think that if your ONLY watch is a gilt dial 1675 I would at least think about getting another watch that can be used for occasions that are more precarious than everyday wear. But I would have no problem wearing that watch doing the things I normally do everyday. If I was worried about wearing any watch, either because it's too old or too valuable I would probably just sell it because my watches are meant to be worn.

But that's also why I have watches for different things. Watches are kind of like shoes, the more you have to rotate from for different things the longer they're likely to last.

[Gepetto]

Most of my watches are "vintage," the oldest being a pocket watch from 1926 (yes, I do wear it on occasion). I think as long as you're careful it's OK. Having a pressure test for water resistance is a good idea in case the watch gets wet accidentally. Otherwise, being a little more cautious is a good idea only because many of these watches are much more valuable now than they were even a few years ago.

Like many others, I do have new/newer watches that I'll wear for more rigorous activities or situations.

[Verdi]

Most people buy a watch and wear it for a lifetime, 40-50 years. They dont think its vintage.

If the watch is maintained regulary, you can easily add another 40-50 years.
I have/had several watches from the 50s and 60s that I serviced and use as a daily wearers on rotation.

The only thing Im careful about it is contact with water/moisture. Rolex, though, has a great advantage with its oyster case. Hence, I see a lot more good vintage Rolex watches than Omega and Patek from the same period. They just lasted longer and in better condition.

[Sandpit]

I asked this same question to a dealer I’ve recently done business with. He just said be careful like you would with any watch.

He then handed me over his daily watch to try on which was a Tiffany stamped 1655. He wears it every day.

[lupus66]

on call

[southtexas]

Wear them.




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[1675-David]

I wear my watches to work every day, I will take them off if I'm welding or working on something that creates excessive vibration.

[plexigary]

I wear vintage every day. This discussion reminds me of vintage guitars, and the hesitance of some players to gig with a valuable vintage instrument. But generally, anything considered "honest playwear" doesn't devalue a guitar. As long as you're not abusing it, any wear that it picks up through normal daily use is just added patina. I tend to apply that philosophy to watches too. It's not right to deprive tools from fulfilling their primary function!

Cheers,
Gary