Do me a favor, I want you to head to eBay and type “Dreffa watch” into the search bar. This search will yield a long list of absolute trash, no offense to these sellers:
Again, no shade, but these watches aren’t even worth collecting - they’re bottom of the barrel vintage pieces
To go along with this, Dreffa isn’t a known name. There’s very little, if any, die hard Dreffa collectors. There’s no ‘hot’ models, and the brand died off in the 1970s amid the Quartz Crisis (yes their name was bought by some holding company blah blah).
But, and one big but, before the brand died, they released some absolute HEAT that has yet to go mainstream. If you’re anything like me, you’re always looking for a vintage bargain, and I think I found one to share…
Dreffa’s *Very Brief* History
The company was started in 1874 in Genève, the brand’s name being a play on the founder’s name, Armand Dreyffus.
Dreffa primarily produced watches for the Swiss market until the 1920s when they sought to expand to other countries. Not long after, they started selling watches in the United States until the brand suffered greatly in 1975 amid the Quartz Crisis.
In the late 70s/80s the brand died and was bought for cheap by an investor who wanted to continue selling watches, yet it wasn’t the original Dreffa company.
“If a Zodiac over $1000 is considered a bargain, then this is the deal of the century”
^^^^^What am I talking about?
Imagine a vintage diver, one with 200m of water resistance, 40mm steel case, unique colorway, screw-down crown, Bakelite bezel, easy to service ETA, produced entirely in Switzerland. Okay, now that you’re imagining this, does it look anything like this?
Coined the ‘Baby Panerai’
Probably didn’t expect to see something THAT unique, right? Especially from a brand that was suffering amid the Quartz Crisis (reminds me of a Hail Mary attempt).
Man, this thing is beefy on wrist, really has a presence you notice, not to mention the way it feels. It just feels a lot more expensive than it really is, especially considering it was priced under $500 while on a $200 strap.
But goddamn, just look at this dial! Is it brown, gray, or its own unique thing???
Shoutout to the sun for helping get this lighting
I know I know, I’m just a vintage geek goin on and on about this one, but it’s just too beautiful not to be shared. The fact that there are watches to this level of quality still well below $500 is mind boggling, especially with the way the market is these days.
It goes to show that with a bit of hunting, you can still find something incredibly solid, way off anyone’s radar for a bargain.
A theme I will continue to push is urging collectors to look beyond that which is mainstream. Through uniqueness and a little hunting, you’ll discover a true love for the hobby that goes way beyond ‘hype’ pieces.