Bring Back These Vintage Watches, Please

When TAG Heuer and HODINKEE teamed up to bring back the Abercrombie & Fitch Seafarer in its Autavia-cased form this week, I had mixed feelings. The new watch, from what I’ve seen, is super neat, and it revives a complication that had largely been dead (in mechanical form) for over 50 years. Furthermore, that TAG housed it within its excellent Carrera “Glassbox” case makes perfect sense given that platform’s malleability.

Now that TAG Heuer and HODINKEE brought back the Seafarer for the first time in a half-century, I want to see the original ref. 346 return to the (TAG) Heuer catalog. (And if I’m being picky, I want a second-execution ref. 346.) The spectacular colors on the tide indicator and the 30-minute yachting counter are complemented by a perfectly proportioned 37.5mm steel case, and the pushers and crown are wonderfully sized. With its incredible story, excellent looks and unique complication, the original Seafarer is now fully primed for a comeback.

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However, much as I decry the reliance upon vintage reissues in forming the majority of a brand’s contemporary catalog, there are instances in which I’d simply love to see a watch brought back one-for-one — or, at least nearly one-for-one. (To use another TAG Heuer example, the Skipper it made with HODINKEE in 2017, though technically a mashup of a “Skipper” and a Carrera “Dato,” looked and felt like a vintage watch. The new Seafarer, however, looks distinctly modern to my eye.) As stated earlier, there are brands that do indeed engage in this “vintage reissue” business to various degrees, and there are brands that do not. (While the majority of Rolex’s catalog is based upon models the company has been making for decades, you won’t find a note-for-note copy of, say, a “gilt” ref. 5512 debuting at Watches & Wonders in the 2020s.)

But a guy can dream — which is precisely what I plan on doing here: What follows is thus a short list of some of my all-time favorite vintage watches that I’d kill to see brought back from the dead in as faithful a manner as possible. And while most of this is an exercise in nostalgia and fantasy, I wouldn’t put it past some of these marques — Longines and TAG Heuer, for example — to indulge me. (Or, if not me specifically, then perhaps a vocal watch-buying audience.) If nothing else, the list should be entertaining for those who, like me, love vintage watches (despite the utter pain in the ass they present with regard to service and upkeep).

You might see some picks here that you disagree with, or feel that I’ve missed some watches — don’t @ me. But do write to your local congressman — ahem, watch company CEO — and voice your opinion. Who knows: Maybe together, we can gather enough signatures for a one-for-one reissue of the Seafarer ref. 346 I’ve been gunning for…

Abercrombie & Fitch Seafarer ref. 346

Rolex's “Padellone” ref. 8171 is a a triple-calendar moonphase in a 38mm case — Rolex’s “Padellone” ref. 8171 is a a triple-calendar moonphase in a 38mm case

Wind Vintage

Rolex “Padellone” ref. 8171

Rolex isn’t particularly known for complications — rather, the brand makes dependable tool watches and a handful of dressier everyday timepieces. However, back in the early-to-mid 20th century, it produced numerous models like the ref. 8171 “Padellone,” a triple-calendar moonphase in a 38mm, non-waterproof case that it debuted in 1949. Classical in its proportions and aesthetics, the “Padellone” (Italian for “frying pan”) was produced in just 1,200 examples. Let’s be real: Who wouldn’t kill for a whimsical, dressy Rolex calendar watch in 2024?

Patek Philippe ref. 1463

There are some truly incredible vintage chronographs out there — especially those made between the 1940s and the 1960s — and then there is the Patek Philippe ref. 1463. Despite production spanning 1940 through the mid-1960s, this outrageously beautiful 35mm chronograph was produced in just 750 examples across all metals. With its distinctive “Tasti Tondi” pump pushers and wide variety of dials, it’s exquisite in every variation. (It was also the first serially produced Patek chronograph to feature a waterproof case.)

Seaboard Yacht “Big Eye” Chronograph

One of myriad obscure watches made for a commercial enterprise that had nothing to do with horology, this chronograph was produced by J.P. Pingouin Co. in the 1960s for Seaboard Marine Supply Co. on Long Island. Housed in a wonderful 36mm steel case with twisted “lyre” lugs, its blue dial features a dual-register chronograph with a running seconds counter at 9 o’clock and a “big eye” yachting counter at 3 o’clock. The yellow lume and red, white and blue of the counter positively pop against the dial. (There have been talks of someone resuscitating this watch, but thus far nothing has materialized.)

Heuer Autavia GMT ref. 2446C

Speaking of vintage Heuer and the 2446C case, check this baby out: The hand-wound Autavia GMT from the late ‘60s/early ‘70s. Housed in the brand’s Autavia “compressor” case — the same type that held the Seafarer HODINKEE based its modern reissue upon — this wonderfully useful watch combined chronograph and GMT complications via the Valjoux 72C movement. With its 40.5mm diameter, blue and red “Pepsi” bezel and beads-of-rice bracelet, it simply couldn’t be more perfect.

Omega Cosmic ref. 2471/1

The ref. 2471/1 triple-calendar moonphase “Cosmic” is to Omega what the ref. 8171 “Padellone” is to Rolex: namely, a dressy, classically inspired complication from the late 1940s. (However, a ref. 2471/1 won’t set you back multiple-six figures.) This beautiful watch, produced in various metals and in different calendar languages, is well-proportioned and restrained. Wouldn’t it be lovely to see a slightly upsized version (maybe 38mm?) in Omega’s modern catalog? I’d venture to say I’m far from the only bloke who would spring for one.

Universal Genève Tri-Compax Moonphase ref. 881101/03

Now that Breitling has purchased Universal Genève, I’m holding out hope that Supreme Horological Overlord Georges Kern will revive this most audacious of timepieces, the annoyingly referenced 881101/01, aka the Tri-Compax Moonphase. This thing is so spectacularly useful it’s almost silly: Triple-date chronograph with 12-hour counter; moonphase display; date display; day display; month display; tachymeter scale; water-resistant case with screw-down caseback. Make it 38mm, keep everything else the same, and call it a day, please.

Longines Chronograph cal. 13ZN ref. 4270

The flyback chronograph caliber 13ZN from Longines is regarded by watch snobs as one of the finest mechanical movements ever made. In production between 1937 and 1951, it outfitted numerous references, perhaps none as striking and varied as the venerable 4270. With its flat-top “mushroom” pushers, large winding crown and stepped case, it has a strikingly contemporary look — though the dials, with their multiple timing scales and small handsets, are distinctly War-time. A modern version would delight watch lovers to no end.

LIP “Paul Newman” Chronograph

You know those vintage Rolex Daytona watches with the “Paul Newman” dials? Singer, the manufacturer of those “exotic” dials, made similarly colorful and funky-looking ones for other brands, including French marque LIP. So-called “Paul Newman” LIP chronographs (for lack of a better name) are incredibly distinctive for their stylized typography, blocky minute indices and pops of color. Plus, they can be had for under $10,000 — though this doesn’t stop us from wanting a modern version. (We’ll take the blue one with the orange accents, please.)

IWC Ingenieur 866A

In 2023, IWC brought back the Ingenieur SL “Jumbo” Reference 1832, a Genta-designed take on an old IWC model. At present, the “Jumbo” is the only Ingenieur in the brand’s modern lineup — but we wouldn’t mind a reissue of the 866A. Launched in 1955, this anti-magnetic tool watch paired the highly robust, accurate cal. 852 with a round case and a beautiful beads-of-rice bracelet in a package that looks contemporary even today. If IWC is down to bring this 36.5mm bad boy back, we’d take ‘em in silver, black and blue, please!

Lemania Chronograph ref. 818

Produced from 1975-1976, the Lemania chronograph ref. 818 was used by servicemen in the Royal Navy. Favoring the standard dual-button configuration — as opposed to the monopusher layout employed by several other Lemania mil-spec watches — its brushed, asymmetric 40mm case framed a matte-black dial with a dual-register chronograph layout, tritium-lumed hands and indices, and the famous “broad arrow” mark of British government property. Even without the broad arrow, the ref. 818 would make for a showstopper if it were to resurface today.

Audemars Piguet Chronograph ref. 5520

Via its [Re]master program, Audemars Piguet does bring vintage references back from the dead — so maybe sowing the seeds for the rebirth of the ref. 5520 isn’t such a wild idea, after all? Produced in the 1940s/1950s, this stunningly elegant rose gold chronograph was made in a series of just nine examples. Its 38mm profile was positively gargantuan for the time, while its silvered dial with recessed chronograph registers, applied gold indices, gold and blued steel hands and outer tachymeter scale are to die for. Pretty please, AP?!