Vintage Watch FAQ | Samurai Vintage Co.
Questions you may have on Vintage Watches / Vintage Seiko
Background of Samurai Vintage Co.
Started in 2018 by two watch enthusiasts. Years of sharing our passion for vintage watches — especially Japanese vintage watches — have made us one of the leading sellers of Japanese brands (Seiko, Grand Seiko, Citizen, Orient) in Asia. We also offer vintage European brands including Omega, Universal Genève, Cartier, IWC and more to customers around the world. We focus on dress watches, vintage dive watches and chronographs, and we make in-house handmade leather straps to pair with them.
How to find a trusted seller for vintage watches?
As the saying goes, “buy the seller, not the watch.” Look for a proven track record, reviews across platforms, transparency on sourcing and authentication, a guarantee on authenticity and function, and after-sales support. Time in the industry matters. Dealers who have been doing this for years usually have the knowledge and the network.
Samurai Vintage has been operating since 2018. Our team and watchmakers authenticate and service each piece. We sell to collectors worldwide.
What vintage watch brands do we acquire?
Seiko
We mainly acquire vintage Seiko from the 1970s and 1980s. We think that era has the strongest overall design, and it is the period when Seiko was pushing against Swiss observatory competition. A vintage Seiko is a horological hidden gem and still one of the best value watches you can buy. King Seiko, Grand Seiko, Lord Matic, Lord Marvel and the 6138 / 6139 Speedtimer all show how far Seiko was willing to go. These are stories, not only watches.
Important models for new collectors:
- Dress: King Seiko 56KS 5625 / 5626, Grand Seiko 61GS 6145 / 6146, King Seiko 45KS, Grand Seiko 56GS 5645 / 5646
- Affordable dress: Seiko Lord Matic, Seikomatic P
- Divers: Seiko 6105, Seiko 6306
- Chronographs: Seiko 6139 Pogue, Seiko 7018 Panda
Citizen
A rival to Seiko, still underrated, and often a better conversation piece for the money.
- Citizen Chrono Master — built as a rival to Grand Seiko, chronometer-grade movement, golden phoenix medallion on the caseback
- Citizen Record Master Chronograph
- Citizen Homer railway watch — issued to Japanese Railway employees
Universal Genève
A Swiss brand we like for dress watches: Polerouter, White Shadow, Tri-Compax, and the link to Gerald Genta (Royal Oak, Nautilus, Ingenieur). The ultra-thin micro-rotor movements from that era sit, for us, close to period Patek movements.
- Universal Genève Polerouter
- Universal Genève White Shadow
- Universal Genève Tri-Compax
Omega
Most people know the Speedmaster and the sports trio. The vintage dress pieces are the ones we keep coming back to: the right size, clean dials, some of them Genta. 1960s–1980s Seamasters work on leather or bracelet and do not look like costume.
- Vintage Omega Seamaster, 1960s–1980s
- Vintage Omega Constellation, 1960s–1980s
- Vintage Omega Chronostop
Cartier
Vintage Cartier is the dress-watch icon. The Tank has kept the same idea since 1917. Vintage Tanks and Santos are what people reach for when they want to dress up, and they still look like themselves decades later.
- Vintage Cartier Tank Must, 1960s–1980s
- Vintage Cartier Santos
What are 5 reasons to buy vintage watches and vintage Seiko?
- Rare and valuable. Production is closed. Good examples get harder to find. Unlike unlimited modern watches, well-chosen vintage often holds value better and can appreciate.
- A legacy on your wrist. The piece already has a life. Marks are part of that story. You are not the first owner, and you do not have to treat it like a new watch you are afraid to scratch.
- Timeless appeal. You are buying the original form of an icon, not a current marketing version of it.
- Better value for the same design. A large share of a modern watch’s price is marketing. Reissues of icons such as the hand-wound Cartier Tank or King Seiko 44 often cost three to four times the vintage reference.
- Elegance in subtlety. Quiet, not loud. The watch does the talking for people who already know.
What is the difference between a vintage watch and an old used watch?
The line is blurry. For us, a vintage watch has brand, design, movement and a story worth telling. It is not only a tool that happens to be old. Not every old watch becomes that. That is why we only list pieces we would stand behind.
What are buying tips for selecting a vintage Seiko?
We wrote a full collecting guide here:
A Comprehensive Guide to Buying Vintage Seikos
How to identify an authentic or fake vintage Seiko?
It takes time and a lot of references. Do not assume a cheap vintage Seiko cannot be faked. Reprinted dials and wrong crowns are common.
Look at many period photos of the same reference and compare: dial text and font, printed logo, index positions, crown logo, caseback marks. Fakes usually miss those details.
If you do not want to learn all of that first, buy from a seller who has been doing this for years and will stand behind authenticity. That is the job we take on before a watch goes on the site.
How to maintain a vintage watch? Is it hard and expensive?
The usual fear is wrong. These watches have already survived decades. They are tougher than they look, and with a competent watchmaker they run for a long time.
You do not service them constantly. Normal wear rarely destroys a movement. A typical service on a three-hand watch is about USD 130–200. Chronographs cost more because there are more parts.
We work with our watchmaker in Japan. If you have a repair question after buying from us, email us and we will see how we can help.