Travel in Style with Cartier Pasha GMT and Tissot Heritage Navigator
A Pair of Pre-owned Gems That Would Not Break the Bank
I had avoided buying pre-owned and vintage watches for a long time. The main concern was the likelihood of getting a broken or fake watch. I ventured out of my comfort zone recently and acquired two pre-owned pieces. Two months into the ownership, I could not be happier with these two pre-loved gems.
There are (at least) two reasons for looking into pre-owned watches. First, there are many desiable watch models that are no longer in current production. The only way to acquire such pieces is through pre-owned (or New Old Stock if you are super lucky).
The second advantage is the opportuntiy of getting a watch at a great price. Despite all the talks about watches being an investment, the truth is that most watches lose value after the initial transactions. The prices for new watches are increasing every year, due to strong demands. As a result, pre-owned and vintage watches present attractive values. Today, I will share with you the two pre-owned pieces joining my collection this year.
Tissot Heritage Navigator Worldtimer 160th Anniversary COSC
I first learned about the Tissot Worldtimer from Tim's wonderful YouTube channel Caseback Watches. Tim has impeccable taste for watches that offer excellent values. In this episode, Tim showcased his Tissot reference Z 197 in 36mm case from circa 1995. I loved the elegant world time design so much that I started my research immediately.
The very first Tissot Navigator was released in 1953. It was to celebrate the venerable brand's 100th Anniversary. Note that it was in 1953 that Rolex was asked by Pam Am to design a dual-time watch for their pilots. We may see that Tissot was at the cutting edge of travel watch designs in 1950s.
60 years later, in 2013, Tissot released a remake of the original worldtimer. This time, it was for Tissot's 160th Anniversary. The aesthetic remained the same except for the increased case size of 43mm. A movement with COSC certification was used. This would be the most recent time Tissot shipped the Navigator. Today, this model is no long available in the Tissot catalogue.
I purchased my example from a private seller in France for $1160 (not including the sales tax). The watch was first bought in 2017 and was in excellent condition with box and paper. The timing accuracy was -1.0 secs per day, well within the COSC specs.
I love the novel design for displaying of the 24 city names. Most world time watches would have a globe in the middle of the dial with city names on the peripheral. The Tissot design is more readable with the names laying out towards the 24-hour ring. A straight line next to each city name pinpoints the exact time on the ring.
The city names are the same as in the original 1953 design, which I adore very much. The choices of some names are different than those found on today's new world time watches. San Francisco instead of Los Angeles. Geneva instead of Paris. Shanghai instead of Beijing or Hong Kong.
Among the 24 cities displayed on the dial, I have visited 11 of them! I'd love to visit the rest of 13 cities in the future! The appeal of traveling around the world is the reason I love world time and GMT watches. The Tissot Navigator is a very well-designed world time watch with top accuracy. The watch wears very comfortably with a leather strap. The best part is the availability of examples with excellent conditions at the pre-owned markets at prices that are hard to beat!
Cartier Pasha Power Reserve GMT Reference 2388
While doing research for the new Cartier Pasha with a grille, I was fascinated by all the fantastic Pasha models released over the years. There was one model standing out vividly. It was even featured on the cover of the WatchTime magazine December 2003 issue (see below). A shinning star in its era for sure. It was the Pasha Power Reserve GMT reference 2388.
The good news is that there are still many affordable Pasha pre-owned models available today. Compared to the prices of brand new models, they are very reasonable indeed. I obtained mine from a private seller in Japan for a total of $2850 (not including sales tax). This piece was first purchased in UK by a Japanese owner traveling there in 2002, I guess. It comes in the stainless steel case with a steel bracelet. This timepiece has circled the Sun 20 times :).
Cartier is known for its timeless designs and this Pasha piece is no exception. The elegant dial design encompasses a 24-hour second timezone sub-dial, a power reserve indicator and a date display. There is even a rotatable bezel with blue markings for handy timing usages.
I'm a sucker for a power reserve indicator. It offers a peace of mind that there is enough power stored in the watch. It is fun to track the rotor efficiency too (excellent for this watch). The second time zone makes this watch a nice travel watch as well.
Powering this Pasha model is Cartier automatic Caliber 480. Excellent news here as Caliber 480 was built from a Girard Perregaux Caliber 3100 ébauche. The same base caliber was inside the first generation of Vacheron Constantin Overseas (referred to as Caliber 1311). Timing measurement of my watch showed -0.8 seconds per day. The movement was decorated beautifully with double Cartier logos. What could we ask for more?
Conclusions
Pre-owned watches are normally defined as watches made from 1990s to present. The vintage watches are those made prior to 1990s. My first ever experience of acquiring pre-owned watches has been quite good so far. With watches from top brands becoming harder to get and the new watch prices going up, the pre-owned market will become more and more attractive to watch lovers. There are so many interesting pieces to choose from!
It is not a coincidence that these two pre-loved watches are both travel watches. I love traveling and long for the opportunity to travel more. I definitely have more travel companions on the wrist now and I'm quite ready to travel more! Travel in style with either the Pasha GMT or the Tissot Navigator :).
Thanks for sharing this! The Tissot is a fascinating piece - I didn't know about this reference. It makes me think of an updated version of my JLC Memovox Worldtime (vintage, from 1960). I'm a sucker for a worldtime display too...hence the interest in the Omega Aquaterra you talked about recently.