Curating the Collection is a new regular feature for the VAPAUS blog and newsletter, where we interview watch aficionados whose collections we admire.
In our first interview, we spoke with Jordan Litt, whose Instagram feed @retrowatchguy and website we have long admired. Jordan is extremely knowledgeable about vintage watches, with an impressive collection of 1950s, 1960s and 1970s timepieces, so let's get into it...
If you could only keep 3 watches from your collection, which 3 would you keep?
That’s a tough one. My personal collection has been ballooning out of control recently. I’d say my 1971 Seiko 6139-6005 (Pepsi Pogue) is my most sentimental piece having been given to me in my early 20s by my late father.
I suppose I’d be in big trouble if I sold my mid 2000s Longines Flagship Chronograph that my wife gave me for our wedding. I still really enjoy this one.
The last one has no sentimental value but is nevertheless indispensable. About 2 years ago I acquired a very rare “single line” variant 1970 Bulova 666 Surfboard Dive Chrono which I’ve named the “Silver Surfer Devil Diver”. This used to belong to one of the watchmakers who worked for Bulova back in the 60s and 70s and actually assembled this one. People ask to buy this off of me almost everyday. It’s a non-starter for me. The answer will always be “No”.
What's your biggest watch collecting regret?
I had a very cool minty Pierre Vallee Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver that was made by Nivada/Croton back in the 60s which I bought off Ebay in the mid 2000s for $150. This was in the beginning of my vintage watch collecting, and I really didn’t know much about the piece. I think I sold it after owning for a month for $175. They’re easily worth $1500 plus now. Oh well.
What's your grail watch?
I’d really like to land a solid gold early 70s Movado Datron with the Zenith El Primero Movement. The prices on these have somewhat spiraled out of control, and I should have jumped on one when you could find them for under $2000, but I’d love to stumble on a barn find for one of these.
Given £3,000 (~$4000 / 3400 EUR) which new watch would you buy today?
I think for around that price, I’d go ahead and pick myself up a classic plain jane Speedy Pro. No gimmicks, no special editions. Just the original design that’s been produced with very little change for 50+ years.
