Chrongraph and Divers watches from 20th Century - Before the crazy prices of today

[sinner77]

This is a thread for watches produced in the good old days when you could walk into any any official watch dealers and buy 99% of the range available without a special handshake.

This was my first divers watch, which i bought in 1979 from a Migros supermarket in Switzerland with my pocket money.

Migros is the equivalent of Tesco here, so to be able to buy a swiss made watch in a supermarket with an ETA automatic movement now seems somewhat extraordinary.

I paid around SF140 for it, (I can't remember the exact price), but at that time the FX rate was about 3.5 Franks to £ so it cost around £40

the movement is an ETA 2783 (25 J) and i wound it recently and it started working immidiately. it has a screwdown crown, and is around 44mm (but i've not measured it.)

the photo is as i found it when i got it out of a box for the first time in 10 years. i think it now deserves a clean.

The strap is not original, as the original corroded after i used it in the sea !! so it was replaced with a Seiko strap in the mid 80's

(PS appologies for the sideways image .... it is right way up on my PC, and i don't know how to rotate it on the post)

These Mirexals are probably the last thing that vintage hype hoodinkee guys have not discovered. Great watches. The one you have has a Monnin type case.

[Speedy2254]

I remember in around 1995, I was working in the Tower Records store in Piccadilly Circus. how we laughed at "Mick Thick" because he'd got a bank loan for £1,000 to buy a no date Rolex Submariner. If he's still got it I bet he's laughing now...

[walkerwek1958]

I think the period from ca 1995-2005 was a golden era for watches, even taking account of inflation prices were far more affordable and availability wasn`t a problem, there were far more shops too than today. I have a couple of old Omega catalogues with pricelists from this period, quality was very affordable in those days. I`m not convinced the offerings of today are significantly better despite the technical advances, the differences certainly don't justify the prices.

[Sinnlover]

I think the period from ca 1995-2005 was a golden era for watches, even taking account of inflation prices were far more affordable and availability wasn`t a problem, there were far more shops too than today. I have a couple of old Omega catalogues with pricelists from this period, quality was very affordable in those days. I`m not convinced the offerings of today are significantly better despite the technical advances, the differences certainly don't justify the prices.

I agree
I bought my first nice watch in 2001 at the age of 20 - a Speedmaster reduced it cost less than £1000. Is the modern equivalent auto Speedmaster any better? Nope! Would most 20 year olds be able to buy a nice watch now? Probably not at the current prices (you could argue most would not want own and would prefer an Apple Watch)

[walkerwek1958]

Between late 90s and ca2005 watch prices were very stable. In 2004 I was fortunate to get a Speedmaster Reduced 3510.50 as a 30 year long service award from my employer, They had a catalogue and points system, 30 yrs didn’t get me enough points so I had to contribute £183! List price was around £950 and discounts of 10% were readily available. The SMP bond was a tad over £1100. A work colleague got a quartz SMP from Cosco for around £600! Watches were affordable, and with a few exceptions parts were readily available.

It started going crazy around 2011 when watch prices started to spiral upwards, by 2015 Swatch Group stopped supplying parts to wholesalers. The only upside for folks who already owned several decent watches has been the increase in value as second- hand prices have climbed, but I feel the whole watch scene is far less healthy and enjoyable than it was 15-20 years ago. Maybe the folks paying over £5k for a new SMP will find it so reassuringly expensive that they’ll disagree with me!

[PSTW]

I agree
I bought my first nice watch in 2001 at the age of 20 - a Speedmaster reduced it cost less than £1000. Is the modern equivalent auto Speedmaster any better? Nope! Would most 20 year olds be able to buy a nice watch now? Probably not at the current prices (you could argue most would not want own and would prefer an Apple Watch)

I can relate to this. I had my first nice watch in the nineties when I was eighteen, that was a Breitling Colt, which was about nine hundred quid. I followed it up with a Seamaster Pro, which was just over a grand. Great watches, certainly not cheap but not ridiculous and superb quality.

When I look at today’s offerings, the prices are insane. A Submariner is eight grand (I’m wearing one - it isn’t worth eight grand, certainly not the ten plus it sells for second hand), a Seamaster is five grand, again, not worth it, a Speedmaster is seven or eight grand? Truly ridiculous prices.

My old man question, and witho it wanting to sound like a knob, I’m well off and I think these things are pricey - so who is buying these overpriced watches to give Watches of Switzerland record sales?

[ChronoPantera]

These Mirexals are probably the last thing that vintage hype hoodinkee guys have not discovered. Great watches. The one you have has a Monnin type case.

Wow, does that mean i've accidentally got something cool and trendy !!

i'm going to start wearing it again now.

I think it needs a leather or NATO strap.