What Are "New Vintage" Watches?

Vintage "big crown" Rolex Submariners, Patek Philippe 2499s, and AP Royal Oak 5402 "Jumbos" have ruled the vintage watch market for decades. But the passage of time and common sense dictate that age and nostalgia eventually overtake newer watches. While the vintage watches of yesterday likely will never lose their appeal, newer watches built after the "Quartz Crisis" appeal to younger watch collectors who came of age in the 1990s and 2000s. The watches from that era are "new vintage" watches, and they are the subject of tonight's show. Tim Mosso features a broad cross section of Omega watches, Audemars Piguet, and Patek Philippe. The Omega Seamaster Diver 300M, launched in 1993, soared to international fame and commercial success thanks to its association with James Bond during Pierce Brosnan's turn as Agent 007. The 41mm dive watch feels like a product of a different era with its printed dial, tritium dial fade, and a pre-co-axial Omega caliber 1120. The success of the model made it the best selling Omega Seamaster of all time, and the reference 2531.80.00 remains venerated to this day. Hard as it is to believe, "Goldeneye," the first Bond film to feature Omega, debuted 30 years ago. That's the difference between 1999 and the Moon landing. Patek Philippe is best known for its Nautilus and Aquanaut sports watches, but it stretched the definition of the term "sports watch" with 1996's Patek Philippe Neptune 5080. Neither purely a dress watch nor clearly a sports watch, th