Even ignorant people are but a few taps at a smartphone away from expertise. Which makes the chance of finding a genuine vintage watch bargain harder now than ever. 

It’s not difficult to find a proper, pre-loved watch, but the market has become level across almost all sales areas. You may pay a premium if you buy from an established dealer but think of this as a surcharge for peace of mind. The best purveyors are scrupulous about the providence of the watches they sell, reducing the possibility of your purchase being a fake or an assembly of parts of different models of watch – a Frankenwatch, as more lurid commentators have dubbed them. Watches from established dealers should also be supplied serviced and covered by some kind of mechanical guarantee. 

Auction sites often yield cheaper watches, but you can be less sure they are not counterfeit and you will be taking a gamble on their movements being genuine.  

Counterfeiting has existed almost as long as the watch industry. Even in the 18th Century, some German and Swiss manufacturers were producing watches bearing the forged signatures of the best-known English watchmakers. 

Fortunately, historically most fake watches lacked the quality to last long enough to be resold as vintage. But counterfeits in the vintage market will become more of a problem. The most sophisticated fakes produced now can fool all but the experts and the increasing quality of their manufacture will make them last for years. 

There are two types of people. Those who are happy to try and fool others into thinking the watch they are wearing is the real deal and those who prefer not to fool themselves. We do not think we are being presumptuous when we say we know that you fall into the latter camp. And that counterfeit watches are not for the likes of you. So unless you can examine the watch before you pay for it, or better still, show it to a watchmaker, we advise you never buy blind. 

Buying a new watch from a registered dealer gives you the peace of mind of a long guarantee and papers to prove its providence. It also ensures you will have a watch identical to tens, or ten of thousands, depending on its exclusivity, of others. A watch fresh from the manufacturer’s box will be perfect. It won’t have developed the character of watch that has served owners through many years - the patina of ageing, the tiny irregularities that speak of that service. 

The choice is between perfection and character, unless you are playing the long game. You can buy a brand new watch and wait for it to age on its own terms. Or you can buy one with established character. Each option holds discrete pleasures. And neither precludes the other.