2 Vintage Driving Watches You Can Buy Right Now

Since we’ve been discussing “poor man’s Heuers” in previous weeks, I now make sure to keep my eyes open for interesting examples in my daily searches, and this week, I found a piece that’s sure to impress. It’s not uncommon to see Carrera-style chronographs with other brand names on the dial, but the Autavia is a different story…especially if it’s really a ‘Dugena’.

Dugena Chronograph

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What you’re looking at is a vintage Dugena “Big Eyes” chronograph that’s reminiscent of Heuer’s early Ref. 3646 Autavia, with its large registers and seemingly identical bezel and case design. My personal favourite aspects of this watch are the blue sunburst dial, and red hash marks seen within the minutes subdial, which I feel would pair nicely with a blue shell cordovan strap.

Heuer Daytona

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In watch collecting circles, the name Daytona is almost exclusively associated with Rolex’s celebrated sports chronograph. Almost. Case in point: the Heuer Daytona. Yes, that’s right. In the late 1970s, Heuer introduced their own Daytona, which was one of the last collections launched to make use of the Chronomatic movement.

It’s not your average-looking Heuer, seeing as it features a fully brushed case, and an integrated stainless steel bracelet, but this was intended, as the brand wished to offer a watch that looked radically different from anything it had produced before. Earlier this week, I found an example on eBay which looks to have aged quite gracefully over the years. If you’re in the market for a Heuer chronograph, and a Carrera or Monaco just won’t do, give the Daytona a shot.

Rolex Day-Date

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For many years now, Jackie Stewart has been a brand ambassador for Rolex, and has been prominently featured in their advertisements. Stewart has also been seen sporting some of the brand’s latest releases at the various classic motoring events throughout the year, and I must say, he appears to have great taste.

On eBay, I came across an original, vintage advertisement for the Rolex Day-Date, which dates back to 1973. One thing to note is the advertised price of the watch—I don’t know about you, but I’d gladly pay for $1,300 for a President today!

Your turn: which vintage driving watches have caught your eye this week?