Antique watches: the most beautiful models from the major brands

There's nothing like the charm and timeless luxury of a legendary antique watch from the great watchmaking houses. As collector's items or everyday timepieces, antique men's or women's watches are popular. The models that have marked history and continue to inspire watchmakers in the 21st century. Today, we invite you to discover the most beautiful antique men's and women's watches that can be found.

This ranking concerns wristwatches, with antique pocket watches representing a niche. Particularly occupied by antique Lip watches, which can be acquired at a reasonable price. This remark made, let's now dive into the heart of the matter, namely the most beautiful antique watches that you are likely to find, particularly at Miller.

The Most Coveted Vintage Watch Brands

People who are interested in antique watches may be motivated by different reasons. These may include:

From a passion for these collectibles (collection)
From the desire to wear an antique watch on the wrist due to aesthetic preferences
To invest in a piece of jewelry whose value increases over time

Of course, there are several reasons for this at the same time. Some of the most sought-after vintage watch brands include:

Antique Omega watch
Vintage Citizen Quartz Watch
Gucci women's timepieces old collection
Antique Jaeger Lecoultre watch
Vintage Lip women's watches
Michel Herbelin antique watch
Antique Pierre Lannier watch
Vintage Rodania watch
Seiko vintage women's watch
Vintage Timex watch
André Col women's watches
Vintage Tissot women's watch
Vintage Zenith watches
Blancpain Ladybird watch
Vintage Yonger and Bresson watches
Fred watch for women

Vintage Rolex Submariner

The Rolex Submariner is a rare vintage watch, but also perfect for everyday use. No need to introduce the brand with the crown, the most popular luxury watch manufacturer. The most popular Rolex watches are the Daytona and the Submariner . Today, it is difficult to find a Rolex Daytona watch for less than €10,000. However, you can find a vintage Submariner at such a price. Especially the reference 16800.

The Rolex Submariner 16800 was produced between 1977 and 1987. It was the first Rolex Submariner to feature a sapphire crystal. The other models feature a plexiglass crystal. Additionally, Rolex collectors love this model for its tritium and old-fashioned matte dial. It can be difficult to find a Rolex Submariner 16800 in good condition. However, if you can get your hands on this model, it is a beautiful vintage Rolex watch that you can wear every day.

Cartier Tank 1919

There Cartier Tank antique watch was the first commercial wristwatch in history. Famous owners include Princess Diana, Andy Warhol, Ralph Lauren, and Cary Grant, among others. The Cartier Tank is not only one of the most coveted antique watches. It is also considered by many to be the first “ modern ” watch to be commercially available.

Before the Tank, a wristwatch was nothing more than an old pocket watch on a bracelet. Cartier changed that by creating a new timepiece from scratch. It wasn’t designed to be slipped into your pocket, almost hidden away. The goal was to show it off conspicuously on your wrist. As the name suggests, its shape was influenced by the geometry of army tanks. But it was the use of Art Deco style that allowed Cartier to bring together the watch’s dial and old bracelet into a unique design.

Antique Breitling Navitimer watch

Another great brand to check out is Breitling. Hardly any other watchmaker has created a wider variety of chronographs than Breitling. Of particular interest are the models from the 1950s and 1960s, a period during which Breitling created a stunning array of beautiful watches. The Breitling Navitimer “Reverse Panda” is more affordable than the brand’s other vintage chronographs.

This series is probably the most iconic of the brand. Breitling introduced the Navitimer reference 806 with black dial in 1954. These usually cost more than €10,000. The Navitimer 8060 reverse panda costs less. This model debuted in 1965. It was worn by famous race car drivers Jim Clark and Graham Hill. But also and especially the legendary jazz musician Miles Davis, who regularly wore a Breitling Navitimer during his many performances and recording sessions. On top of that, it is the model that most closely resembles the Navitimer as we know it today. It is a vintage watch whose beauty remains undeniable , even after several decades of existence.

When we talk about precious stones, the diamond , the emerald and the real ruby immediately come to mind. And it is true that these are very valuable stones. But there are things that are even rarer and more valuable. These precious stones are so rare that they exist in very limited numbers, which makes their value higher than the emerald, for example. Here is a list of the most expensive precious stones in the world.

Lesser-known but highly valuable gemstones

There are over 4,000 types of stones that lie in the bowels of the Earth, even geologists will only see a small part of this assortment in the course of their work. Thanks to the magic of nature, some stones are extremely rare. They have always been coveted for their beauty, sometimes sacred. For more down-to-earth reasons, precious stones continue to fascinate today. Here is the ranking of the most expensive stones in the world at the time of writing.

Blue Diamond

The most sought-after gemstones are colored diamonds . Diamonds, the birthstone of April, are not only very rare, but they also have spectacular brilliance and unmatched hardness. Add to this rarity the marketing that is organized around this stone, and you can understand why colored diamonds are the most expensive gemstones in the world. Currently, a blue diamond holds the record for price per carat. The Oppenheimer Blue was sold for $57.5 million. Based on the total price, another colored diamond holds the record, the Pink Star ($71.2 million).

Musgravite

The wonders of the Earth are such that new stones can still be discovered today. Musgravite is one of the more recent discoveries in this field: it was only in 1993 that a specimen of appreciable size was found. Today, the number of musgravites likely to lead to the creation of a jewel can be counted on the fingers of one hand. This rarity explains the extremely high price of this precious stone: it is necessary to count around $35,000 per carat.

Jadeite

Jadeite is the most beautiful, rarest and therefore the most expensive variety of jade. It comes in different colors (lavender, mauve, apple green, etc.), but it is the Imperial Jade tone similar to emerald that is the most sought after. The most beautiful examples of jadeite are found in Cambodia. In some civilizations such as the Aztecs and Mayans, jadeite was considered more precious than gold. And when you know the taste of the Mesoamerican peoples for the yellow metal, you can understand how much they appreciated jadeite, which is traded for up to $20,000 per carat today.

Alexandrite

Alexandrite is another very rare gemstone that is very difficult to acquire, even for $12,000 per carat. This stone stands out from its peers because of its incredible optical properties. Depending on the lighting conditions, the stone changes color dramatically, whether in intensity or angle, from green to red. This stone was discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia in the early 19th century. It was named after Alexander II , the future Tsar.

Red Beryl

Red beryl , also known as red emerald, is a very rare variety of beryl that ranges in color from raspberry to deep red. Despite its nickname, it is not an emerald. Red beryl was discovered in 1904 by a man named Bixby. To this day, only one place on the planet is known to have it in its depths, namely the Wah Wah Mountains of Utah. Red beryl is so rare that it is estimated that there are 8,000 times more rubies in the Earth's crust! This explains why this stone, regardless of its quality, is sold at a high price. Around $10,000 per carat.

Padparadscha Sapphire

Padparadscha is the rarest and most expensive variety of sapphire in the world. It is characterized by a beautiful orange color with shades between ruby and yellow sapphire. Most Padparadscha sapphires are found in Sri Lanka, but they can also be found in Tanzania and Madagascar. The gemstones found in the latter country are pink, and therefore less sought after. This sapphire sells for around $8,000 per carat.

Benitoite

Considered one of the most beautiful gemstones in the world, benitoite has an atypical blue color and a dispersion coefficient higher than that of a diamond. As its name suggests, it was first discovered in the San Benito River in California. However, its remarkable dispersion can be masked by the intensity of its blue. Benitoite lovers are therefore faced with a choice:

Choose a less intense blue to take advantage of its dispersion
Opt for the intensity of blue over dispersion

Black Opal

Black opal is a gemstone found mainly in New South Wales (Australia). It is particularly spectacular on a black background, when it displays all its subtle nuances of color within it. This stone is very precious, but it has the disadvantage of being very fragile due to its sensitivity to shocks and temperature variations.

Demantoid

Demantoid is a gemstone from the garnet family whose luster is reminiscent of diamonds. In fact, its brilliance and dispersion are superior to those of diamonds . It is in its emerald green form that it is most valuable. Unfortunately, it is very rare to find it in large stones: demantoids rarely exceed 2 carats. It was first discovered in the 19th century in Russia by a Finnish-Swedish mineralogist, Nils Gustaf Nordenskiöld. Given the rarity of this stone, demantoid jewelry is often antique jewelry .

Taaffeite

You may never have heard of taaffeite . It is nothing to be ashamed of, it is an extremely rare light purple stone. So rare that it is estimated that there are 1 million times fewer taaffeites than diamonds! Its name is derived from its first discoverer in 1945, Richard Taaffe . He did not make his discovery in a mine or on a riverbed: it was in a jewelry store that his find took place. While observing a spinel jewel, the geologist noticed that the stone displayed different properties, particularly in terms of light refraction. Taaffeites are mainly found in Sri Lanka and Tanzania. Not only is this gemstone rare, but examples that can be cut are even rarer.

Also read: top 10 biggest diamonds in the world

Heuer Carrera 2447T

The Heuer Carrera 2447T vintage watch evokes the brand’s rich history in motorsport. This illustrious name has been part of the Heuer (later TAG Heuer) catalogue since its introduction in 1963. How much does such a vintage watch cost ? Although it may come as a surprise, you can actually buy a first-generation Heuer Carrera for less than 10,000 EUR. As you may know, Heuer has a rich history in motorsport.

When designing the Carrera in the early 1960s, Jack Heuer and his team focused on developing a chronograph specifically designed for pilots, with perfect legibility. And that’s exactly why this watch has become iconic. The sleek 36mm case and plain white dial with white subdials are clean and crisp, even nearly six decades later. If you have one on your wrist, this beautiful vintage watch will let those around you know that you have some knowledge of vintage watches .

Vintage Rolex Explorer II watch

With this Rolex, we now enter the category of " young vintage watches ". In order to illustrate that it is perfectly possible to buy a Rolex sports watch in steel for a reasonable price, we have selected the Rolex Explorer II , for example the reference 16570. This model was created in 1989 and remained in production until 2011.

To find an antique watch like this, visit our pre-owned Rolex watches page. Rolex developed the Explorer II to expand the Explorer line with a more modern timepiece. It was designed for cavers. In normal use, this antique Rolex watch is ideal for telling the time in a second time zone.

Panerai Luminor 1950

Besides the Cartier Tank, if there is one watch that caused a sensation when it was released, it is the Panerai Luminor 1950. Like its illustrious predecessor, this timepiece started a real revolution when it was released.

Originally designed as a diving watch for the Italian Navy, the Panerai Luminor was the first watch of its kind to be widely worn by both men and women . With its imposing 45mm diameter, Panerai’s Luminor is a bulky watch that dwarfs the typical men’s watch of the time, with its 37-38mm dial. This boldness had paid off.

Rolex Daytona

There is no family of vintage watches that has been in greater demand than the hand-wound Daytona over the past 5 years. However, this is a category of watches that requires a thorough due diligence process. When you buy a vintage Rolex Daytona from Miller, you can be sure that you are purchasing an authentic restored timepiece.

Yema Superman Vintage Watch

Finally, let's end our list of the most beautiful vintage watches with a French brand that has recently come back to the forefront, Yema. The Yema Superman is without a doubt the brand's iconic model. The original Yema Superman vintage watch is ultra rare. It was originally designed to equip the Air Force's rescue diving team.

This specific division has around fifty members. The vintage Yema Superman from the 70s are legendary watches.