The Top 5 Vintage Inspired Watches 

Blake Malin

Windup Watch Shop     |     July 24, 2024

Vintage-inspired watches have been popular for a long time and with good reason. When a design is strong enough to stand the test of time, why shouldn’t it be revived? Look at Tudor's success with the Black Bay, Oris with their Diver 65, and Doxa with their numerous Sub models. What about designs that originated in the 80s? Can they be considered vintage? Think about it: 1980 is as far away from us as 1936 was from 1980. That’s three full years before World War II even started! So, if anything made in the 1930s was considered vintage in the 1980s, most assuredly, things made in the 1980s are considered vintage now. If any of you feel old after reading that, here's a list of 5 super-cool watches to make you feel young again.

CASIOTRON

If you are a child of the 70s or 80s, chances are your first watch was either a Timex or a Casio. Our first selection just might have even been your first watch. This is the Casio Casiotron. Brought back from the land of yesteryear to celebrate its 50th anniversary. It still packs all the cleaver features you know and love, such as a world timer, stopwatch, timer, alarm, full auto calendar, and LED lighting, but that’s not all. This made-in-Japan model is equipped with solar-powered technology, multiband 6 radio-controlled synchronization, and Bluetooth connectivity. It also has a solid stainless steel bracelet and a fully milled push-button clasp. To make it even more special, the clasp’s swing arms are in gold tone and feature the original Casiotron logo on them. This definitely isn’t your childhood Casio, but it might be your next Casio.

PROMASTER AQUALAND

In the 1980s, Citizen's Aqualand dive watch was a popular item at most watch display counters. It featured a distinctive design with a large protrusion at 9 o’clock, housing the depth sensor. The watch was incredibly cool and has since gained a cult following, even among non-divers. Reimagined today, the Aqualand J20007-09W is nearly identical to the original, except this one has a few tricks up its sleeve. Mind you, who would want to hide this bad boy under a sleeve? Its oversized but still quite wearable case is PVD-coated black, along with the pushers and crown, giving it a more discreet look. However, turn off the lights and discretion goes right out the window, or perhaps goes overboard, is a more apt analogy. This watch glows like a torch, with luminescent paint filling the hands, markers, and the entire dial. If you’ve ever wanted one of these, now’s your chance to own the coolest iteration yet.

PROSPEX SPEEDTIMER 1/100 SEC SOLAR CHRONOGRAPH

In 1998, Seiko released one of its wildest chronograph designs: the Sportura Kinetic 9T82. It was like nothing else. It featured a large subdial at 6 o’clock, which depicted the time in hours, minutes, and seconds. A slightly smaller subdial above it at 12 o’clock provided the chronograph's running seconds. On either side of that one, there were even smaller subdials for the 1/10 of a second reading on the left and the passing minutes + hours on the right. There was even a tiny porthole for the date display. It was polarizing, and its design was too avant-garde to endure. Fast-forward to today and Seiko has brought it back, but this time, it is a 1/100 of a second chronograph all under one sapphire crystal, and it is now solar-powered. This may still be an unconventional design, but it is much more unified and a great conversation starter. Wouldn’t you like to walk up to someone and say, “Check out my subdials.”

BENRUS ULTRA-DEEP

When companies recreate watches from their back catalog, they usually update them with what they feel are contemporary proportions, which generally translates to making them bigger. Unlike most companies, Benrus has stuck with the winning formula that made the Ultra-Deep so famous in the 1960s. Yes, we are discussing a nearly one-to-one recreation of one of their classic timepieces. It even has a double-domed acrylic crystal with an internal date magnifier to give it that old-world charm and warmth. It is equipped with a modern Soprod P0024 movement, and its vintage appeal is enhanced by an internal rotating bezel, just like the original. Keeping it strapped to your wrist will be a familiar 5-link bracelet with twin trigger release. Reaching for this one in your watch box will be like reaching through time, but with all the luxuries of today’s reliability and timekeeping.

ORIS BIG CROWN POINTER DATE CALIBRE 403

Oris has consistently produced pointer date watches since 1938. Their Big Crown watches have experienced a resurgence recently, mainly due to the 2020 Roberto Clemente collaboration piece. With its modern proportions, that watch brought the model into the spotlight after being overshadowed by the Aquis and Diver 65 lines. Since then, a few other models have garnered attention, however, the design really seems to have hit a home run with their Big Crown Pointer Date Calibre 403. Going back to its routes, the fluted bezel is replaced by a polished surround. It still has a large crown, and the dial looks cleaner and more refined, as do the hands. The standout feature is the movement, visible through the display case back. It’s their in-house Calibre 403, which boasts an impressive 120 days of power reserve and is equipped with anti-magnetism features. It even has a 10-year warranty and can go 10 years between service intervals. Long-running, long-lasting, this one is pointing directly at you.

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