7 tips that will help you to keep your vintage watch in pristine condition for many years.
1-) Store your watches in suitable places
Our watches have two major enemies; moisture and dust. To protect against these enemies, do not forget to store them in an area where your watches will remain dry and temperature controlled. In particular, moisture can penetrate into the watches, ruin the dial, and cause the movement to rust.
You should also protect your watches from light. However, some traces of ‘experience’ may increase the value of your watch. Light can sometimes cause black dials to turn a chocolate-like color. Of course, this situation varies according to brand, model and design. Tropical - chocolate dials can be more valuable than black.
2-) Regular Service
Experts recommend that regularly worn watches should be sent to the service every four to five years. If you wear the watch for several occasions a year, it may not require such care. Complicated models with features such as chronographs and minute repeater can be taken to more frequent and detailed maintenance if used regularly.
3-) Communicate with Watchmaker / Service
It is very important that you communicate with your watchmaker and/or authorized service center. If you do not want parts of your watch to be replaced or polished, you must clearly state that. Unfortunately, even if you are in communication, you may sometimes experience things you don’t want.
An irreversible error from the watch can cause the collector to shed tears. For this reason, it is important to establish a reliable relationship with the watchmaker.
4-) Protect the Bezel and Dial
The value of many watches is measured by the dial’s condition therefore, we recommend that you do your best to keep the dial as original as possible in vintage watches. Most of the watches produced between 1930 and 1950 have radium on their dials, and if sent to Switzerland for service, the brand may not be legally able to export it back. In such a case, if you want to take back the watch with its original radium dial, you may and up traveling to Switzerland. Deleting the radium from the dial means that your watch is losing value; the same goes for the bezel.
5-) Protect the Original Bracelet
Original bracelets add value to the collection. Bracelets made by Gay Frères for brands such as Rolex and Patek Philippe can be very valuable. In time, many collectors began to care more about the authentic appearance of their watches. While it is often difficult to find suitable straps/bracelets for vintage watches, keep in mind that originals are always worth more.
6-) Protect the Originality of the Movement
Movements are the engines of the watches. They have to be taken well care of to be enjoyed for a long time, and this is precisely where the truly skilled watchmakers earn the real money. If the watches are exposed to dust and moisture and/or dry out, the movement may also be damaged.
The number of parts inside the movement can find hundreds. Skilled technicians are capable of disassembling, cleaning and lubricating the necessary parts. This allows the craftsmen to reassemble the clock and adjust the time.
7-) Avoid Magnetic Fields
Bluetooth speakers, TVs... Magnetic fields may cause the watch to lose or gain time. Therefore, it is useful to stay away from magnetic fields. In case you have such a problem; don’t panic! To demagnetize your watch, you can go to a watchmaker or buy a watch demagnetizer.
