Vintage Watches A 1969 Rolex 'Red' Submariner, A 1940s Breitling Premier Chronograph, And A Pair Of Heuer Autavias

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On the latest episode of HODINKEE Radio, Brynn Wallner, founder of Dimepiece, Daisy Alioto, HODINKEE’s Audience Engagement Manager, and host Stephen Pulvirant explored the idea of emotion in watch collecting. The factors which influence collectors or buyers into this world are vast and there is nothing better than discovery. Brynn urged listeners to "start wearing a watch," if not for any other reason than to "get used to wearing a watch."

Vintage watches, before extreme collector interest entered the market, were long the best entry point to the watch world and, arguably, remain so – if you know where to look. Sure, the mainstream models have moved past entry-level price points, but we do our best to offer accessible vintage pieces every week in the HODINKEE Shop. This week, for example, we have an Aquastar Regate, a Heuer "Pre-Carrera," and a Tudor Date+Day – all for under $3k.

In the rest of this article are some picks of the litter from the HODINKEE Vintage Team. We have a complete-set Rolex "Red" Submariner with a "meters first" Mark II dial, a pair of Heuer Autavias (one super and one "Siffert"), and a Breitling Premier chrono from the '40s. Clicking through the slideshow above, you can find the rest of the selection making up the full drop. Spanning seven brands and plenty of price points and personalities, there's a ton to appreciate this week.

Another "Red" Submariner hits the shop this week; this one is a real beauty, complete with box, papers, and accessories. No matter how many times I see one of these, that little line of red text gets me going. This one is particularly beautiful with lovely custard-colored lume and an overall great vintage vibe. It features the sought-after Mark II dial, which is indicated by the "meters first" depth rating on the dial. Additionally, Mark II dials are known to go "tropical" or change color with age. You can find completely black dials or ones that have turned brown like a Hershey's chocolate bar. The dial on this example has stayed fairly black, but it does have a brownish look to it in certain lights and a real tropical feel in the metal – we'll need to keep tabs on this one to see how it looks in 20 years.

Another thing to sink your teeth into here are all the accessories. We love finding watches with most of the original accessories still with them. Today, people tend to keep the box and papers when buying a watch, but back in the day, it was not the norm. People purchased watches to use and would often toss the box and everything soon after the purchase. If they didn't throw it away, the box would typically get lost or misplaced after decades. Included with this example is the famed "cigarette card." This is one of my favorite pieces of accouterment. The cigarette card is a piece of paper that tells information about the exact model purchased. In small text at the bottom, it says, "Use box for cigarettes after removing this card and watch support." So Rolex was telling its clients to repurpose the watch box for cigarettes – how thoughtful.

As I have mentioned here nearly countless times, the ref. 1680 is the perfect watch for me. It's sporty, classic, and even robust for a vintage watch (although we still don't recommend getting it wet); knowing from personal experience, you can still wear these pretty frequently as long as you are mindful. All in all, if you are in the market for a classic, blue-chip, four-digit Submariner with a pop of color and accompanied by all the bells and whistles – this should a real contender. Check it out here.

Here is a pair of watches that juxtapose each other in almost every way. One is for the dash and the other for the wrist. One has a black dial with red-orange accents; the other a white dial with blue accents. One is named Super, the other is nicknamed "Siffert," after its earliest prominent owner. All that said, the two work well as a pair. As a testament to Heuer's dialed-in brand identity in the 1960s and '70s, the motorsport vibe comes through in both.

Starting with the earlier of the two, the Super Autavia we have here dates to the 1960s and represents the ultimate dashboard timer in the history of Heuer. Purpose-built timers, like this one for the racetrack, are where the brand's bread was buttered for a long time. Dash Autavias first hit the Heuer catalog in the 1930s (as seen in the early example we offered a few weeks back); these were always timers but were never before chronographs prior to the Super version. Hit the shop to get all the details on this Super dash chrono.

In a similar revolutionary way, the ref. 1163 "Siffert" came along in 1969 as the first white-dialed Autavia from Heuer. Taking its name from Jo Siffert, due to the watch's presence on the legendary driver's wrist back in the 70s, this particular Heuer chronograph was offered only between 1969 and 1972. As a later example, dating close to '72 in that range, the watch we have here is referred to as a "Mark 6."

With all respect to Mr. Siffert, I would say the most famous wearer of this Autavia drives as a hobby rather than a profession. Comedian Jerry Seinfeld can be seen regularly sporting his example of a "Siffert" on Comedian In Cars Getting Coffee and even revealed, back in 2012, that he bought the watch "from an Italian gentleman." Mr. Seinfeld, an extremely well-known lover of Porsche, cited his buying of the Autavia because he loves Siffert and the driver's 908/3 Porsche. The watch is certainly a favorite of Jerry's as it even popped up in a 2009 HP commercial starring the comedian. Check out our "Siffert" Autavia in all of its glory now in the H Shop.

Willy Breitling once said that the Premier is an "unmistakable stamp of impeccable taste." I couldn't agree more. Breitling has gone through its design evolution over the decades but its core philosophy has not changed much. If Navitimers and Chronomats are the serious and robust tool watch of the brand's catalog, the Premier is the more slick and dressy of the bunch with just enough edge to the design to also be considered a tool watch. It has a solid balance of sportiness and elegance which is not easy to pull off, but Breitling was able to do so in a pitch-perfect way, playing with details and proportions. And to top it off, it comes with a gorgeous patina that developed over the years.

The case size at 37.5mm lends itself to easy wear; plus, the relatively slim profile allows for dressier wear under a cuff. Another interesting feature is the lug design. The lugs are faceted toward the bottom which allows for an optical illusion of a slimmer appearance from the front, but the facets add an extra sculptural presence from the side. The toughest thing for making any chronograph watch into dressier territory is the pusher design. Here, the pushers are well-considered and are big enough for easy operation but small enough not to be distracting in the overall appearance. The dial has a clean configuration with two slightly oversize registers with a tachymeter and 60-minute scale placed neatly around the perimeter.

Finally, the blued steel luminous syringe hands add to the blue accents of the tachymeter, plus add to the overall military watch vibe. But what makes this watch truly attractive is the ideal amount of patina on the dial and the lume. A soft champagne hue, overall, with some very light spots on the dial makes it a real lived-in watch. Check out all the info on this Breitling right here.