Originals or Reissues? Decisions, decisions…

You no longer need to be a regular attender at auctions to winkle out a few period watchmaking pearls: original models can now be just a mouse-click away. What’s the best option? A timepiece that’s original, rare, and legendary; but also pricey, fragile, and often inaccurate, for which repairs are likely to become increasingly challenging? Or a reissue that’s almost exactly identical that you can also wear every day – and obtain at a fraction of the price of the original, with tried and tested reliability?

Sometimes, the choice isn’t easy: take TAG Heuer, for example. The manufacture has brought out many reissues of its 1969 Monaco. For each new release, every component has been optimized. The Caliber 11 has given way to the more accurate, more reliable Caliber 12. All of the functions are identical, but the new versions are mass-produced and modern, whereas the original has become almost impossible to find, acquiring increasingly mythical status.

The same applies to Tudor, the historic brand created by the founder of Rolex: the manufacture now operates independently and is reissuing many of its historic models, including the renowned Black Bays. Should you choose period models or a new edition?

A Chip Off the Old Block

Jaeger-LeCoultre has produced an updated version of its 1968 Polaris Memovox. The manufacture’s approach was clear, using the original as a base from which to explore modernity. Doing so has involved a great many changes. The dial boasts three levels of finishing, something the 1968 model didn’t have; the lugs, meanwhile, are now brushed rather than polished. The hands are steel, as opposed to the gold-coloured originals. An hour marker has been added at 3 o’clock and the strap has been altered, as have the crowns. The caseback, originally solid, is now transparent, revealing a fully overhauled movement.

In The Shadow of the Crown

Things are different for Rolex. The original timepieces are still available, but at astronomical prices, whereas the brand’s contemporary models are constantly being updated; Rolex models are always new rather than reissues.

The Oyster Perpetual GMT-Master is a typical example. The timepiece was created in 1955. Its legendary ‘Pepsi’ bezel was made from aluminum from 1959 onwards. As of 1982, an additional hand could be adjusted independently of local time: this was known as the GMT-II feature. From 2005,  ceramic was used for the bezel. In 2018, the third generation of movement came into being: the Caliber 3285, featuring a new escapement, a new hairspring, and a new barrel. Here, the choice is straightforward: you can either purchase the original as a piece of history at a sky-high price or acquire a blue-chip investment that you can wear every day, at a tenth of the cost.

The Evolving World of Sports Models

There remains the realm of sports watches, predominantly dive watches. The issue here is a different one: period watches’ technical capabilities are now obsolete. Acquiring a 1953 Blancpain Fifty Fathoms may be a delight for the eyes, but diving with one on your wrist is certainly not recommended. Reissues, on the other hand, retain the look and feel of the original whilst also having undergone major technical modifications that also allow them to live up to their underwater vocation. The bezel, crown, case, movement, strap, and crystal have all been redesigned throughout to ensure the Fifty Fathoms remains what it always has been: an operational diving watch. In short, you can still buy an original, but if you do, it will be as a collector’s item, rather than something to wear while diving.

Happy Anniversary!

Lastly, there are anniversary watches, issued to commemorate a particular event; Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso is one such piece. The manufacture was founded in 1931, and the watch has been reissued to celebrate the manufacture’s ninetieth anniversary in 2021.

Aside from minor details such as the price and how to find one from 1931, the question is what use one could make of an original. Acquiring a treasure like this is akin to purchasing a 1930s motor car: the investment is profitable, but daily use is out of the question. These are museum pieces to be kept in a safe – not just because they’re fragile, but also because styles have changed. The 1931 Reverso is so small that by today’s standards, it would be a ladies’ watch. That observation yields further guidance as to how to make up your mind: do you want to wear your watch every day, or keep it in your safe and admire it only from time to time?