For watches, there is no strict and universally agreed time period that makes a watch “vintage”. At its broadest, the term covers anything from the earliest wristwatches of the 1910s and 1920s up to approximately 1990.

There’s some debate over whether watches from the 1990s and 2000s can yet be described as vintage – you’ll occasionally hear people say “contemporary vintage” or something similar. Largely, it’s agreed that watches from 1990 up to the present day are more typically referred to as “pre-owned”.

Majority of vintage watches hail from the 1950s to 1970s, with an increasing interest in pieces from the 1980s as well.

“The 1970s are a sweet spot,” Windsor says. “People gravitate towards the era where Gérald Genta’s creative genius reigned and was responsible for so many of the watches we now covet. But I find collectors are also gaining interest in 1980s and 1990s watches. Audemars Piguet and Cartier created some very special watches in the early 1980s that are now iconic.”

Every guide to vintage watches will give some variant of the same warning: before you buy the watch, you’ve got to buy the seller. The good news is that you can rest easy buying through MR PORTER: we work with trusted partners who have sourced, authenticated and carefully checked every single watch that we offer.

It’s true that, mostly, people start out with new watches and gravitate towards vintage once they’ve worked out what they’re interested in and developed an appreciation of mechanical watchmaking. But there’s nothing that says you have to do it this way – if you like, a vintage watch can be your first watch.

If you’ve started toying with the idea of buying a vintage watch, you’ll probably have come across the idea of “investing” in watches – buying a watch because you’re hoping that it will go up in value. While it’s true that, in recent times, a lot of vintage watches have seen their values rocket, that doesn’t guarantee they will forever. The most bankable pieces are already expensive for that exact reason. If you’re going to start trying to pick the next sleeper hit, be prepared to miss more often than you hit. Fundamentally, we say buy a watch because you love it – if it goes up in value, that’s a bonus.

“I have definitely seen double-digit increases in certain vintage watches in the past year alone,” Windsor says. “At the same time, a timepiece has to speak to you. I think most collectors appreciate the quality, history and craftsmanship of a watch. It is like any other passion (cars, wines), it starts with [that] passion.”

While the vintage watches you’ll find at MR PORTER are always going to be the best examples we can get hold of, there’s no getting around the fact that these are watches that have lived a life. Some wear and tear is natural. Connoisseurs tend to prefer a degree of honest patina, especially to the dial, and it’s preferable for cases and bracelets not to have been overly repolished, wearing down their crisp lines. Our photographs are a true representation of the condition of a watch, and if you have any questions you can get in touch with one of our experts.

“Many collectors want the imperfections garnered over time,” Windsor says. “They want that authenticity in a watch that shows its age, which adds to its provenance. That is part of its intrinsic value. Certain Rolex sports models gain more value with the scratches.”

But not everyone feels the same way. “There are also clients who want vintage items that look brand new, as if they sat in a time capsule,” Windsor adds. “Depends on the client.”

It follows on from the above that vintage watches need handling with a little more care than their modern equivalents. Some – especially tool watches, dive watches and the like – will still be pretty sturdy beasts. But, over the years, the advances in manufacturing processes and materials mean today’s watches can take more of a licking. You won’t necessarily find scratch-proof sapphire crystal on a vintage watch, for example, and case coatings, dial pigments and luminous materials are all susceptible to age. There are two specific points of watch care that are worth highlighting…

Even dive watches, over time, can lose their water resistance – the rubber seals that the watch depends on can degrade. We’re happy to field any questions on a specific watch, but as a general rule, if a watch hasn’t been recently pressure-tested by a watchmaker (and potentially had its seals replaced), don’t assume it’s still as seaworthy as it once was.

The older a watch is, the more vulnerable it can be to magnetism (read our full guide to watch care here to understand just why this is such a problem). Modern watches use antimagnetic alloys, thicker and more protective cases and silicon components to counteract the effects of magnets, which are everywhere in the home, but little of that was available half a century ago.

Technically, all watches need regular servicing. Most manufacturers recommend somewhere between five and 10 years as the longest a watch should be left before it has a little tune-up. Your vintage watch has already lived multiples of that and even though it will have been checked over by expert watchmakers before we sell it, you should bear in mind that within five years, you should get it looked at again. Like a classic car, it’s a machine that’s done an awful lot of running. A once-over for peace of mind every few years will spare you an expensive bill one day.

“The best advice is to service when you need it,” Windsor says. “Your watch will tell you when it needs some TLC as in an adjustment by not keeping time properly. I would also advise being very discerning about where you go: authorised service centres, known watchmakers. Because bad service – replacing an authentic component versus fixing it – can gravely devalue your watch.”

Entering the world of vintage of watches is taking the first step in an almost limitless journey of discovery. Every vintage watch – unlike, obviously, something brand new – is unique and is a gateway to all kinds of interesting historical avenues. Whether you’re interested in motorsport or music, architecture or aviation, there are myriad connections with the world of watches.