Six of the Best Heritage Releases of Baselworld 2018

Baselworld 2018 was another strong year for vintage-inspired releases, proving once again that the trend shows no sign of slowing down. Today, we teamed up with StockX’s Blake Buettner to round up six of our favorite heritage releases from this year’s show.

Detroit-based StockX is an online platform billed as the “Stock Market of Things” aimed at fostering a buying/selling experience that values transparency and authenticity above all else. To learn more about StockX, click here, and follow them on Instagram here.

Blake’s Picks

Omega Seamaster 1948 Limited Editions

Omega’s done an incredible job with anniversary watches in recent years. Look no further than the Trilogy pack of watches released last year for evidence of this. This year, they’ve done it again with a pair of limited edition watches celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Seamaster. The new watches are true to form in looking the part, with dials that authentically re-create the look of the time period, and we’d expect nothing less from Omega.Things get a little more modern on the inside. Turning the watch over yields a view of the thoroughly modern Omega caliber 8806 (center seconds), or 8804 (small seconds). How modern? Part of the spec sheet on these movements features stuff like a silicon balance spring, Omega’s free-sprung balance and Co-Axial escapement, rhodium-plated bridges and rotor, and blackened screws—so you get the idea these movement’s aren’t messing around. One detail I’m not so crazy about is the graphic on the exhibition window, but hey, you can’t have everything.

The center-seconds version is 5,700 CHF and the small-seconds is 6,200 CHF.

Seiko SLA025 Hi-Beat Diver

Seiko has a deep back catalog from which to draw inspiration for their modern dive watches, and they’ve done so to great effect in recent years. Their latest example comes in the form of the SLA025, a recreation of a model first shown in 1968. The original was the first watch to feature a 36,000 bph, high-precision automatic caliber. It also featured a one-piece case, screw-down crown protection, and a unidirectional rotating bezel. The latest iteration, the SLA025, is built in a similar manner, with a single piece body and a high beat caliber, though with the latest model, that movement is the caliber 8L55, replete with far more modern bells and whistles.

The Seiko SLA025 is $5,400.

Longines Legend Diver 36mm

Okay, so this watch, at 36mm, may be marketed toward women, but let’s be honest, who among us wouldn’t rock this thing? The dial is a perfect throwback, with the stencil-style 12, 6, and 9 standing between extra-long minute markers. And then there’s that internal rotating bezel that adds a load of character all on its own. Inside beats an ETA-based movement, which may not win any awards, but it keeps the price reasonable at just over $2,000. Rock this on its milanese bracelet for max vintage-style points.

Worn & Wound’s Picks

Longines Heritage Skindiver

Yep, another Longines, but what can we say—they killed it this year. The Heritage Skindiver is based on the Nautilus, a rare dive watch Longines produced in the ’60s. The reissue here is a near one-for-one aesthetic recreation, with just a handful of small changes fitting of a contemporary timepiece, but ones that don’t alter the spirit of the original. Sapphire replaces acrylic, and the plastic bezel is swapped out for one made of PVD steel. At $2,600, it’s in line with we’ve come to expect from Longines, and it’s sure to be a huge hit given the early hype.

Mido Multifort Datometer

This was a big year for Mido, with 2018 marking the brand’s 100th anniversary. To honor this occasion, Mido tapped into their archives to bring a number of iconic watches back from extinction, and among them was the Multifort Datometer. Drool-worthy vintage styling aside, what makes this watch especially cool is the pointer date, which is relatively uncommon today, and that’s a damn shame. I’m a big fan of the pointer date, and to see it here so masterfully executed is a real treat. At $1,350, the Multifort Datometer doesn’t break the bank.

Rado Tradition 1965

It’s a watch we didn’t expect to like, and yet we did. The Tradition 1965 is based on the Manhattan, a timepiece Rado produced in the ’60s. Inspired by NYC’s iconic skyline, the Manhattan featured severe architectural elements that resulted in a wild rectangular case and dial. The reissue carries those elements through, and it does so to great effect. On the wrist, the watch works, despite everything in your head telling you that it shouldn’t, and it’s without a doubt one of the more adventurous heritage-inspired offerings we saw in 2018.

The Rado Tradition 1965 is $1,950.