Wearing a vintage watch is a nice way to participate in fashion’s current obsession with the ’50s and ’60s without having to don a cravat or look like Austin Powers. Many Swiss brands are introducing vintage-style watches this spring as part of a strategy to emphasize their heritage at a time when flash is, well, history. Models are culled from brand archives or introduced as new collections with a vintage design. The look is defined not so much by the era as the styling: domed crystals and dials, gorgeously elongated lugs with rounded or beveled finishing, minimalist dials and, in some cases, distressed finishes on the case or strap. What is not vintage are the movements: these watches tick to the tune of modern mechanical calibres.

TAG Heuer Silverstone automatic chronograph, in the original cushion-shaped case of the original from 1974, named for the Silverstone Circuit, an English racing track. $6500

Tissot Visodate 1957, inspired by a design for Tissot’s centenary in 1957, in steel with PVD coating, large day/date window, automatic movement. $750

Rolex Tudor Glamour Day/Date in steel with double bezel, retro logo and styling, and leather strap. $2,020
 
Longines Legend Diver, a reissue of a 1960 model, with 300-metre water-resistance, superluminova indices, in steel with an automatic movement. $2,600

Concord C1 Vintage, with a hammered (worn look) PVD case, faded bezel and “worked” strap, with automatic movement and rubber crown. $14,500