Fratello’s Top 5 Pre-Owned Sleeper Watches: Part 6 — Featuring Patek Philippe, Omega, IWC, And More
Another Friday, another Top 5! We continue our quest to bring you pre-owned watches that deserve your attention. In today’s market, it is worth looking at some of the hidden gems from the past. With list prices of new watches increasing multiple times a year, it might lead you to some amazing pre-owned options that could save you a lot of money. That’s why we started a series of articles highlighting some of the brilliant watches we encounter on the pre-owned market. Today, we present another five options in this sixth installment of the series.
The idea for this series popped up after realizing that we love to find hidden gems to show to other members of the Fratello team. Nothing beats finding some amazing watches that other colleagues have never seen or realized were this affordable. As we like to dig up some of our favorite picks, why not share them with you? No brands are off limits here, but the most popular and particularly expensive models are. This week, we tried to mix things up again with watches at different price levels. Let’s jump into this week’s selection!
Image: The Watch Club
Patek Philippe Calatrava Travel Time ref. 5134
Let’s kick this week’s list of five watches off with a banger. I was scrolling through some early 2000s Patek Philippe Calatrava models when the Calatrava Travel Time ref. 5134 caught my eye. After I checked the prices that these go for, I was surprised. This is the perfect first pre-owned pick, with prices starting at €18K and moving up to €25K.
Image: The Watch Club
This Calatrava ref. 5134 was first introduced in 2001 and was available in four case materials. The first was the platinum ref. 5134P, then came the white gold 5134G, yellow gold 5134J, and rose gold 5134R. No matter what your preferred precious metal is, they all look great. The case is a nice 37mm wide, 10mm thick, and 45.5mm from lug to lug, making it a perfect fit for various wrist sizes. It features two pushers on the left side and a crown on the right with crown protectors.
Image: Bulang & Sons
Patek Philippe made two dial variations in multiple colors. The first features applied hour markers and large numerals at 3 and 9 o’clock. Your tastes may vary, but I wouldn’t go for that one. I think the far better design is the one pictured here, which has Breguet numerals and a quasi-railroad track on the periphery. Additionally, the dial features a 24-hour sub-dial at 12 and small seconds at 6 o’clock.
Image: Bulang & Sons
The watch also has three central hands. The matching hour and minute hands indicate the local time, but there is an additional 12-hour hand in the same materials as the case. That hour hand is coupled to the 24-hour sub-dial that displays the reference (home) time. But you can also hide it behind the regular hour hand to keep the dial looking clean.
Image: The Watch Club
The hand-wound caliber 215 PS FUS 24H
If you turn the watch around, you will get a good look at the hand-wound caliber 215 PS FUS 24H made of 178 parts in-house. The movement operates at 28,800vph and has 44 hours of power reserve. It offers a great travel-time complication that is easy to use thanks to the pushers on the left side of the case.
Image: Buland & Sons
Using the pushers at 8 and 10 o’clock allows you to move the black hour hand forward or backward to set it to the local time or superimpose it over the gold hand when at home. It makes this Calatrava Travel Time 5134 one of the most stylish travel watches, and it goes for much less than expected in gold executions.
Image: Omega Forums
IWC GST Aquatimer 2000 ref. 3536
Our second pre-owned pick is the great IWC GST Aquatimer 2000 ref. 3536. Fans of IWC often consider this the brand’s best dive watch, and we think it’s right up there with some of the brand’s best releases ever. The watch was part of the GST (Gold, Steel, and Titanium) line, which debuted in 1997 and consisted of a series of sports watches.
Image: Omega Forums
The GST Aquatimer came in three different versions. The first two were stainless steel models with either a white or a black dial, and the third was a titanium version. The steel version with the black dial and the titanium version, which also has a black dial, are the ones you will see most often. The white-dial version is a rare(r) bird.
My favorite is the stainless steel version with the black dial and bezel. I love the steel bezel with its black anodized insert. The integrated bracelet also looks great with its brushed and polished parts. However, I must admit that the fully brushed titanium version also looks amazing and is substantially lighter. The watches all have a 42mm case that is 14.5mm thick and 49mm from lug to lug.
The thickness might be daunting, but Mike explained that the watch sits very nicely on the wrist. On top of that, the thickness is easy to explain since the watch is water resistant to a whopping 2,000 meters. However, it achieves this without using a helium escape valve. Inside the case, you will find IWC’s caliber 37524. It is a modified 21-jewel ETA 2892-A2 that operates at 28,800vph and has a 42-hour power reserve.
Image: Wind Vintage
IWC’s greatest dive watch ever?
Looking at the design, the GST Aquatimer 2000 hasn’t aged a day. It still looks amazing and is a great dive watch with impressive specs. Finding one is not that difficult, and they go for decent prices. In Japan, asking prices start well under €3K, which is incredible. But we also know that the final price is significantly higher after import duties and taxes.
Image: Wind Vintage
Finding a pre-owned GST Aquatimer closer to home in stainless steel will see prices between roughly €3.5K and €5K. The titanium version starts at roughly €4K and goes up to €5K. That money will buy you arguably IWC’s best diving watch ever.
Image: The Watch Club
Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 16713LN
You could debate whether people are truly sleeping on pre-owned Rolex sports watches, and you would justified in doing so. There are hardly any watches from The Crown that go unnoticed. However, as we state every week, these lists are about the less obvious choices for every brand. And when it comes to Rolex, the two-tone options are often overlooked.
Image: The Watch Club
That’s also the case with the Rolex GMT-Master II ref. 16713. But we didn’t go for the Root Beer version that our copy editor Brandon loves so much. Instead, we picked the version with the black dial and bezel. This watch was available on both an Oyster and a Jubilee bracelet.
Image: The Watch Club
The GMT-Master II ref. 16713 was in production from 1989 until 2007. During its production run, Rolex updated the lume from tritium to Luminova and, finally, to Super-LumiNova. The brand also updated the movement from caliber 3185 to 3186. What always remained was the 40mm case that measured 12mm thick and 48mm from lug to lug.
Image: The Watch Club
Its successor was the first Rolex that introduced the “Super Case” with its beefier look and fatter lugs and crown guards. Consequently, this is the last GMT-Master II with a classic presence. Regarding pricing, you can get one starting around €9K and moving up to €14K. But with many good examples in the €10K–11K range, it’s an easy winner over the stainless steel ref. 16710 if you ask us. But that’s only if you love two-tone Rolexes like we do.
Image: The Watch Club
Omega Seamaster 300M GMT ref. 2234.50
We stay with the GMTs for our next pre-owned pick. Nacho asked Omega to bring back the Omega Seamaster 300M GMT “Great White” ref. 2538.20. Lex and I featured the same watch in our New Year’s resolutions for this year and last year, respectively. While that is still our favorite, the 50th Anniversary model of that same generation goes for better prices and truly looks the part.
Image: The Watch Club
The Seamaster 300M GMT ref. 2534.50 was released to celebrate 50 years of the Seamaster in 1998. Consequently, it takes after the Seamaster Professional 300M 2254.50 of those days (Nacho’s beloved GADA watch) with its characteristic case and sword-style hands. But the presence changes drastically thanks to the addition of a 24-hour bezel and a red GMT hand.
Image: The Watch Club
In 2003, Omega updated the watch and changed the reference to 2234.50. The biggest update was a switch from the typical Seamaster bracelet to the simpler Speedmaster-style bracelet with a dual-push-button clasp that many fans prefer. The updated reference features the same 41mm stainless steel case that is 13mm thick and 47mm long. It has a 20mm lug spacing and, just like its 2254.50 counterpart, a 300m water resistance rating.
Image: The Watch Club
Besides the oversized hour markers and sword-style hands that define the Seamaster of that era, the aluminum GMT bezel insert is a great eye-catcher. With its large 24-hour scale and black and silver day/night portions, it stands out immediately. The red “GMT” text, red GMT hand, and red tip of the seconds hand add visual spice to the overall aesthetic.
Image: The Watch Club
The Omega 1128 movement
Hidden behind the commemorative 50th-anniversary case back is the Omega caliber 1128. The automatic movement is based on the ETA 2892-A2 and modified to meet Omega’s standards. The movement operates at 28,800vph and offers 44 hours of power reserve.
Image: The Watch Club
The movement is a flyer-style GMT that allows you to set the 12-hour hand independently of the others. This is the preferred style of GMT movement for many watch fans. Even well over 20 years since its release, the Omega Seamaster 300M GMT is still a great watch. Expect asking prices to start at roughly €2.5K and move up to €4K. That will buy you a great pre-owned GMT that still ticks all the modern-day boxes.
Zenith Defy Classic 41 ref. 95.9000.670
Our last pick for this week was rather close to home. My Fratello teammate Gerard used to own the Zenith Defy Classic 41, and every time he wore it, everyone was impressed by how cool and comfortable this watch was. Gerard wrote an extensive review of the watch. I suggest you read it if you want to know all about this modern sports watch with a seemingly integrated bracelet. As Gerard explained, it is not technically integrated after all, but it’s still a beautiful bracelet that fits the case perfectly.
As many of you will know, the Defy Classic was discontinued to accommodate the current Defy Skyline collection. You must resort to the pre-owned market to get one of these as a nice “youngtimer.” The Zenith Defy Classic 41 features a 41mm titanium case, and you can choose a leather strap or a titanium bracelet. The latter would always be my preferred option for its looks and comfort.
The watch has a blue metallic dial with polished and beveled indices floating above it. As the markers are fitted to the glass ring instead of the dial itself, the depth they create is rather stunning. Furthermore, the dial features a date window at 3 o’clock and the Zenith logo at 12. It’s an impressive dial that does not feature any unnecessary text, which I love. It leaves room for the hands and indices to shine, and they do that perfectly.
Inside the case, you will find the in-house Elite 670SK caliber, which beats at 28,800vph and has a 50-hour power reserve. It is the perfect movement to power this beautifully shaped Defy Classic. The combination of the case with the bracelet and stunning dial makes for an impressive timepiece that goes for roughly €4K to €5.5K. That gets you an awful lot of watch for the money.
Final thoughts on this week’s top five pre-owned sleeper watches
There you have it — five pre-owned watches that might not be the most popular picks but most definitely deserve attention. Except for the Zenith Defy Classic, this list was a mix of different styles from roughly the same era. But it’s wild to think that the IWC DST Aquatimer 2000 is almost three decades old! These five picks are proof that there are so many great pre-owned options. Again, these references are probably not the first watches that come to mind when considering their respective brands, but that’s precisely why we wanted to give them a place in the spotlight. Let us know in the comments section which of these is your favorite, and we will see you next week for another installment in this series!
