Fergus Nash
In the internet age, finding a real bargain has become nearly impossible. People who are unsure of what they have can easily find out the value of their item with a little research, then advertise it online with a firm price. On the other hand, it’s hard to be angry that sellers are getting a fair value for their possessions, but you can still be bitter about missing that magical feeling when you realize that a zero is missing from the price tag. That said, there are still some ways to get lucky. My personal favorite is to search for “watches” on eBay, sort by early end date, and look for vintage Seiko bargains.
Once you’ve finished with the ton of listings that close in under a minute, you can take some time to browse. You can get a good idea of how competitive it will be at the end of the auction by looking at how many bids there have already been, but there are a variety of factors. When I first saw this listing for four vintage Seikos, there were nine bids, less than an hour left to end, and the price was around $35 AUD. I was looking to spend around $50 a piece that day, so I knew right away that this would be an exciting lot to bid on, even if none of the watches worked. To my surprise, only one of the four was listed as not working, and it was a mechanical watch with a gold bangle that would still look great as an accessory.
After an anxious moment with no other bidders, I put in my maximum bid of $50 in the last 10 seconds of the auction and waited with bated breath. Result! I won for $43.99 AUD and received the watch within a week. At first glance, the star of the collection must be the Tank, reference 2320-6350. A fairly faithful homage to the Cartier Tank, this watch has a serial number from November 1980 and looks almost brand new. There is one small scratch on one of the gold-plated bands that covers the steel case, and there are indentations at each corner that suggest screws. The Roman numerals give it a premium feel, especially when combined with the black leather strap, black-painted hands and black-tipped crown. At 21mm wide and 27mm lug-to-lug, it looks good on smaller wrists of both genders and captures the spirit of Cartier without feeling like a mere knockoff. I let my partner choose between them and I always end up feeling a little jealous that they picked this one.
I didn’t expect this watch to suit me, much less impress me, because the eBay photos weren’t that good, but what surprised me the most was the reference 1320-5490. I knew it was stainless steel, but the way it was all designed and finished made my brain think it was an ornate piece of jewelry in sterling silver. The case blends with the twisting and intertwining lines of the bracelet, evoking a style reminiscent of Viking art. It’s a neat mix of polishing, brushing, and cross-hatch etching that looks almost like Audemars Piguet’s frost gold technique. The dial is also hypnotizing, with a subtle fibrous pattern engraved into the silver that looks like an ancestor of the Grand Seiko SBGH295 “Sōkō Frost”. All of this comes from a 1981 watch that looks brand new, works perfectly, and technically cost me $11.
The most unusual piece is not the watch itself, but the gold-plated pendant. Ironically, the largest of the four cases, this 32mm x 19mm oval pendant features a floral motif at 12 o’clock, which connects to the loop on the chain. The dial is also very classical looking, with no hour scales other than Roman numerals. The hands are diamond-shaped with a flared center and arrowhead-shaped ends, giving the whole watch a very old-fashioned feel. The 17-jewel hand-wound mechanical movement is spotless and in perfect working order, so I suspect it was serviced with modern lubricants at some point. The serial number tells us that this watch was made in 1969, ’79, or ’89, but the condition and age of all the other watches makes me think it’s 1979. I’m not sure if this was originally supplied with Seiko, but the most interesting find on this watch is that one of the loops on the chain is stamped 18K gold. This means that even though it weighs only half a gram, this alone would cover the entire cost of four of these watches.
Only one is left that doesn’t work. The 1100-5350, made in 1969 or (probably) 1979, is a perfect mix of 70s gold swagger and Art Deco influences. The gold bangle that frames the watch and holds it on the wrist is a polished, gold-plated beacon, hinged to a rectangular case with a pronounced step in the middle. The acrylic crystal is also heavily beveled, emphasizing the geometric structure of the case and adding to the dial with distortion and shadow. The dial is vertically brushed yellow gold with simple black batons as hands and quarter-second markers. The movement looks pretty clean, but the balance wheel seems to be stuck on something, so I knew it needed an actual repair, not just a service. Considering the small amount I paid for the watch, I’m not particularly interested in spending hundreds of dollars on a repair anytime soon, but I’ll definitely wear this when I want something gold and flashy.
