3 Vintage Driving Watches You Can Buy Right Now

Over the past few weeks, I’ve highlighted some of the more stand-out chronographs produced by Omega in their heyday. This week is no different, as we’re continuing this theme by starting off with a stunning Omega that dates back to the late 1960s.

Omega De Ville Chronograph

Long after the Speedmaster had already been established as a mainstay of the Omega collection, Omega introduced the Ref.145.017 De Ville Chronograph. While the De Ville collection was typically made up of slightly more elegant watches, this piece was on the sportier side of the spectrum, with a striking grey dial, that’s accented with details in red, black and white.

The years have been kind to this specific example, as evidenced by the sharp case, and presence of the original “beads of rice” bracelet. If that wasn’t enough, this piece comes complete with the original boxes, service documents, paperwork, and even the original purchase receipt.

View

Heuer Daytona

Next up, we’ve got a Daytona. While it may not be the Daytona you’re thinking of, there’s still a lot to love about this footnote to Heuer’s Chronomatic era. For example, the Ref. 110.203B was one of the last to make use of the brand’s Cal. 12 movement. That combined with the avant-garde integrated bracelet make this a Heuer to take note of, in my opinion.

While browsing eBay — my unofficial home on the internet — I came across an example that has aged beautifully over the years. The blue dial has darkened slightly to a pleasing shade of navy blue, and all of the luminous compound has aged to an even custard color, just as you’d want it to.

View

Vintage Bovet Chronograph

Your last vintage chronograph of the week comes from Bovet, and it’s a great looking one at that, thanks to its syringe hands, and two-tone, multi-scale dial. What first caught my eye about this piece was the case, which has a quite a Pre-Daytona-ish look about it.

The Daytona-ness continues when you remove the screw-down caseback to reveal the Valjoux 72 movement, which is found in most early Daytona references, among other important vintage chronographs. This is yet another piece that proves that great watches don’t have to break the bank, or not entirely at least.

View