
Companies throughout the design and fashion spaces frequently operate on the duality of looking to the past to shape their future endeavors. When brands struggle to innovate, they often peruse the annals of history to find inspiration or pivot entirely by widening their breadth of offerings. As of late, brands throughout the creative spaces haven’t just been taking inspiration from their past collections, they’ve been reviving them completely and capitalizing on them. In the case of J.Crew, they have not only expanded their purview to selling classic watches, but they have also partnered with vintage watch specialist, Analog:Shift, to curate a collection of vintage watches for sale.
J.Crew has been selling affordable watches for a while at this point — namely new models from Marathon — however, their partnership with Analog:Shift marks their first serious foray into the vintage watch space. The collection from J.Crew and Analog:Shift features 18 gorgeous pieces that cover most of the watch spectrum. You can find famous military watches like the Marathon military watch or the iconic Benrus Alarm, which epitomized the simplistic and functional approach to American watchmaking in the mid-century that led to their defense contract with our military. There are also pieces from iconic luxury Swiss watchmakers such as Rolex and Omega. In particular, the Rolex Datejust circa 1964 features an early Alpha handset, an engine-turned bezel, a pie-pan dial, and classic 36mm proportions, while the funky, backward-wearing Omega Chronostop driver’s watch is fitted with a highly unusual flat-link stainless steel bracelet with a seatbelt-style clasp. The collection also features a pair of reverse-panda chronograph stunners in a 1960s Breitling Chronomat and a 1980s Zenith De Luca.
When curating the pieces for this collection, James Lamdin, the founder of Analog:Shift, wanted to feature watches that had different wears and patinas, as they all have different stories. All of the timepieces in the vintage collection curated by J.Crew and Analog:Shift are in phenomenal condition and can be purchased on J.Crew’s website starting at $950.
