Not everything at Walkabout is a hat.
After more than fifty years of travelling the world, the owner of these has decided it's time to let them go — a small, personal collection of vintage watches, picked up one at a time over a lifetime on the road. Six pieces in all. There is exactly one of each, and when one finds a new wrist, that's the end of it. There isn't another in the back.
These aren't showroom pieces. Every one has been worn, carries its own honest marks, and — importantly — has been recently serviced and runs. A vintage watch is a different thing from a new one: it already has a life in it before it ever reaches you. Here's what's in the collection.
Seiko Sportsmatic 5 — $695 Gold-plated, 21 jewels, waterproof, circa the 1970s. An automatic day-date on a leather band, with the warm patina only decades can give a case. The showpiece of the set.
Buren Intra-Matic — $495 Very clean, clean glass, a few minor marks on the case from honest wear. Recently serviced and running well — a quietly handsome Swiss automatic.
Nivada Grenchen — $495 An automatic "Leonardo da Vinci," Swiss-made and shockproof. Worn with normal wear and running fine — a characterful piece from a maker collectors have rediscovered in recent years.
Girard-Perregaux — $395 Hand-wind, 17 jewels, Swiss, on a new band, serviced and running fine, with only the faintest surface marks. A proper watchmaker's name at an approachable price.
Elgin Deluxe DP — $285 A 1948 American classic, 17 jewels, on a lizard band — the one that feels most at home alongside a good leather hat. Recently serviced and running.
Rodana — $275 A hand-wound vintage piece, 15 jewels, very clean with a single minor mark on the face. The gentle way into the collection.
They run from $275 to $695, each priced below what it would fetch elsewhere. If you've ever wanted a proper vintage watch — one with a story already wound into it, not a reproduction — this is a rare window, and a short one. Once they're gone, they're gone.
Have a look while they're still here.