When I started in this business 35 years ago, vintage womens watches fell into two categories: Rolex Datejusts and Lady Presidents, and diamond-set vintage “cocktail” watches from an earlier era. These were popular back when people went out to fancy dinners and dressed to the nines.

As times and tastes changed, and women began to wear and collect men’s vintage watches, these elegant, dainty, and often lavish vintage timepieces fell somewhat out of favor. Although I saw the value proposition in these magnificent, hand-finished ladies timepieces, many dealers in the 1980’s and 1990’s did not share my enthusiasm. Even fabulous vintage womens watches by top makers such as Patek Philippe, with incredible celebrity provenance, sold for relatively bargain-basement prices.

The Value Proposition of Vintage Womens Watches

In today’s marketplace, there is significantly increased demand for mint-condition ladies vintage watches, especially from brands like Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron & Constantin, and many others. It is interesting to note that certain vintage womens watches, which were lavishly set with diamonds and other precious gems, often sold for retail prices far exceedingly even those of complicated watches.

For example, in a 1948 advertisement for the Los Angeles retailer Brock & Company, we see a men’s rectangular platinum Patek Ref. 425 with a diamond dial priced at $975 (incidentally, a considerable sum for a men’s wristwatch in 1948), next to a ladies Meylan & Cie platinum bracelet watch “ablaze with over one hundred brilliant gems” – priced at $3,000! By way of comparison, during that same year, one could purchase a brand new Patek Philippe Ref. 1526 perpetual calendar wristwatch for $1,600.

Vintage Womens Watches at Auction

Although American and Swiss brands such as Hamilton and Longines sold beautiful cocktail watches during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, the watches they sold were generally mass-produced. On the other hand, the top Swiss makers lavished enormous care in producing their most luxurious ladies watches, which were meticulously hand-finished and sold in extremely limited numbers.

To illustrate just how exclusive these ladies watches were, consider an informational article published in The New Yorker magazine on November 21, 1959, with the headline “To The Ninety Two Women in America Who Will Receive Diamond Patek Philippe Watches This Year”. This may represent a somewhat extreme example, but when you consider that brands such as Patek and Vacheron made fewer than 10,000 watches a year throughout the 1950s, you start to understand why these costly, hand-finished ladies watches are so rare today.

Although it has been somewhat trendy for women to wear men’s watches, the pendulum seems to have begun swinging in the opposite direction and there is still something to be said for the dainty femininity of vintage women’s watches from the past. Many of these timepieces are hand-finished and extremely rare — and frankly, many are shockingly undervalued.

Vintage Womens Watches Today

If you are in the market for a vintage women’s watch today, please don’t hesitate to call or email me, or any member of my team. Vintage ladies watches are beautiful and elegant, but prices for premium examples are definitely rising and the time to collect is now before everyone collectively realizes just how undervalued vintage ladies watches are.

Until next time,
Joe

Joe DeMesy is the owner and President of DeMesy & Co. in Dallas, Texas- One of the largest dealers of vintage and contemporary luxury timepieces. He has been actively involved in the pocket watch and wristwatch market since 1979 and is well known by dealers and collectors throughout the world. Joe is a member of the International Watch & Jewelry Guild (IWJG), as well as the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors (NAWCC). His company has been featured as one of Inc. Magazine’s 5000 fastest-growing, privately-held businesses in America.

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