What is Vintage?

When I were a lad 'vintage' meant 50 years ago (roughly speaking), as in 'VIntage cars' would be Model T's etc... Classic cars would be 50s and 60s.

It's something which needs constant reappraisement, in 50 years time your new Autavia will be 'Vintage' but... then I guess the original Heuers will be 'antiques'..

I reckon that in the same condition, a Heuer 844 will command a small premium over a TAG Heuer 844...but I'd rather have a nice TAG Heuer 844 than a scrappy Heuer 844.

Good man! 👍

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the feedback. There were some rough Heuer 844's for around 1k and a lot of restored Tag dialed 844's for 2k and up so I thought an all original Tag in great shape for 1.5k made the most sense but I immediately started worrying I'd made a mistake after I pulled the trigger. It arrived today and I cant tell that its not brand new so thanks again for putting my mind at ease that i didnt pick the wrong one getting the 844/3 😀

To stay on topic, could it be that the only "vintage" Tag dialed Heuers are the transitional carryover models that were sold both before the buyout as well as after? I don't know if that tracks but thats sort of how I always viewed it, and that all pre-buyout Heuers were "vintage". I also never considered models with the green and red Tag logo to qualify. That doesnt translate to other brands though so its tough to pin down an exact criteria for general vintage. On a sidenote, that 1984 Autavia Heuer in the op is absolutely incredible, one of my all time favorite Heuers

I think the 1980s Tags are approaching vintage. They are definitely of a certain age, by which I mean distinct and recognisable as 1980s design. Whether they are generally desirable or considered beautiful is another matter. Maybe they need another 10 years 😀