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Carl Magazine

Your guide to buy a vintage watch

There are few style markers as clear as a good vintage watch. We give you some advice on how to complete your first purchase.
Photos: Olof Händén Text: Mikael vallin
Your guide to buy a vintage watch
Interest in quality watches has risen sharply with the development of male style consciousness. There are few details in male attire that say as much about the wearer as his watch does.

Buying a vintage watch is often a very profitable way to enter the watch world at a very favourable price. The online second hand market is huge and opens the door of opportunity for bargains. With the right knowledge of how to proceed, the risks of being cheated are also reduced, as it often involves significant sums, should you buy a quality watch. At Care of Carl we receive and sell both pre-owned and vintage watches. You can find our pre-owned and vintage watches here.

The first step is to decide which watch you want. However, this often comes naturally when you have come so far that you are considering buying a vintage watch.

What is a vintage watch?


The difference between a pre-owned watch and a vintage watch is its age. Generally speaking, a garment or watch should be older than 25 years to be considered vintage.

Well-known traders


A website such as eBay can be a gold mine in the search for your vintage watch. However, there are also plenty of scammers. It takes a lot of knowledge and intuition to make safe purchases here. At Care of Carl, we can offer secure purchases, with free insured shipping and 30-day return policy, which facilitates the buying process of your investment.

Buy the seller


The first step in buying a vintage watch is to "buy the seller". This is simply a matter of the gut feeling you get when dealing with the seller of the watch. Have they sold many watches before? Do they seem to know what they are talking about? A seller who wants to rush through a deal is never a good sign.

References


Exercise caution in proportion to the size of the deal. Buying a watch can involve anything from a small amount of money to money enough to buy a car or house. It is always valued if the seller can provide references of previous buyers. This is especially important if it is a purchase between private individuals. You should also be vigilant when buying through online shops. Do thorough research on the seller.

Colour and materials


The colour of the dial sets much of the tone for the clothes and colours the watch pairs with. The colour and design of the strap/links also plays a role, but these are often interchangeable. A white dial generally matches with all colours of clothing. The metal of the case can also be something to consider, in relation to other steel details you often wear in accessories and similar details. Having a gold wedding or engagement ring, of course, does not require you to wear a gold watch.

Buy a vintage watch at Care of Carl


Care of Carl's Pre-Owned & Vintage Watches department has an exclusive range of pre-owned premium and luxury watches. We carefully select models from some of the world's most recognised brands to offer a timeless and quality assured range. Purchasing your vintage watch with us means we make it both safer and easier for you to invest in a pre-owned or vintage watch.
4.70/5 38005 Reviews

Incredibly fast deliveries and flawless!

Otroligt snabba leveranser och felfritt!

Johan O

2025-10-28

Buyer

2025-10-19

Fast delivery and good product

Snabb leverans och bra produkt

Marcin K

2025-10-28

Buyer

2025-10-19

Unique

Unikt

Sergej G

2025-10-25

Buyer

2025-07-22

Very good purchase, maybe a bit too long.

Mycket bra köp, kanske lite väl lång.

Lars L

2025-10-22

Buyer

2025-10-13

Fast delivery and good products!

Snabb leverans och bra produkter!

Anton A

2025-10-22

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2025-10-13

Unbelievably good!

Overkligt bra!

Robert A

2025-10-22

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2025-10-13

Fast delivery, smooth return.

Snabb leverans, smidig retur.

Ludvig L

2025-10-20

Buyer

2025-10-09

Fast deliveries, good descriptions that make you feel secure when buying online.

Snabba leveranser, bra beskrivningar som gör att man är trygg vid att köpa över nätet.

Stefan K

2025-10-19

Buyer

2025-10-10

10/10

10/10

Johan A

2025-10-19

Buyer

2025-10-10

Excellent!

Utmärkt!

Frank S

2025-10-17

Buyer

2025-10-06

Fast delivery

Snabb leverans

Robert G

2025-10-17

Buyer

2025-10-08

Very smooth and fast delivery as well!

Väldigt smidigt och snabb leverans dessutom!

Viktor W

2025-10-16

Buyer

2025-10-07

Mugav tellimine ja kiire tarne. Tänud.

Aare P

2025-10-15

Buyer

2025-10-06

Perfect shopping

Krzysztof J

2025-10-14

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2025-10-03

Super fast delivery as expected from DHL :)

Olivia P

2025-09-27

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2025-09-17

Very fast delivery!

Sean D

2025-09-25

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2025-09-15

Rapid fulfilment of purchase &amp delivery from Sweden to UK in 2-3 days.

Bernard E

2025-09-10

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2025-09-01

Everything was perfect! Thanks.

Radek H

2025-09-05

Buyer

2025-08-27

Very good company.

Jonathan B

2025-09-04

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2025-08-26

Good products and fast delivery!

Jurij G

2025-08-21

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2025-08-12

Fast delivery, good service.

Jadran K

2025-08-19

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2025-08-08

Excellent from buying to delivery

James M

2025-08-15

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2025-08-06

fantastic products and fast delivery!

Tomislav D

2025-08-13

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2025-08-04

Fast delivery. Good service. Thank you!

Triin P

2025-08-09

Buyer

2025-07-31

Great service, thank you for starting to deliver to Canada!

Mark M

2025-08-08

Buyer

2025-07-30

Szybka dostawa. Wszystko w porządku

Dominik S

2025-08-07

Buyer

2025-07-29

Great service and really fast delivery. Will definitely be back

Simon O

2025-08-06

Buyer

2025-07-28

Fast delivery.. perfect item… very pleased would use again

Derek A

2025-08-06

Buyer

2025-07-28

Thanks quick and excellent service. Goods are very nice

Andrejs R

2025-08-03

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2025-07-25

Quick Delivery and a price that was reasonable.

Kurt E

2025-08-01

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2025-07-23