Birth year watches
Watches made in 1981.
By 1981 the digital watch had grown up. Alarms, stopwatches, dual time and calendars were standard, and the novelty had worn off into genuine usefulness.
The analogue quartz watch had meanwhile become the default adult choice: quiet, thin, and accurate to a few seconds a month without any thought at all.
145
In our collection
73
Available now
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Returns window
Made in 1981
9 watches
c.1981
Seiko 8223-704B
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
£100
c.1981
Seiko 1719-3000
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
£260
c.1981
Seiko 2628-5030
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
£135
Soldc.1981
Seiko 5Y23-8A60
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
Sold
Soldc.1981
Seiko 8222-7000
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
Sold
Soldc.1981
Seiko 1320-5609
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
Sold
Soldc.1981
Seiko 7123-8430
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
Sold
Soldc.1981
Seiko 7122-7000
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
Sold
Soldc.1981
Seiko 7009-3130
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
Sold
Could be a 1981
136 watchesSee everything from the 1980s
c.1983
Seiko E029-5540
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
£135
1980s
Gucci 2305L
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
£220
1980s
Raymond Weil 9517
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
£220
Sale −15%1980s
Favre-Leuba 394
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
£200£170
1980s
Tissot J126/226K
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
£125
Box
1980s
Tissot Elecronic Crown
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
£150Box
1980s
Tissot J136/236K
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
£140
1980s
Tissot -
- Movement
- Case size
- Strap
- Condition
£130
Further reading
Buying guide · 9 min readLED, LCD and ana-digi: a guide to vintage digital watchesRed LED displays, always-on LCDs and the ana-digi watches that put hands and a screen on the same dial. What each era was, what goes wrong with them, and what they cost now.Guide · 6 min readHow to date a vintage watchSerial numbers, reference numbers, movement calibres and design clues: a practical guide to working out exactly when a vintage watch was made.History · 6 min readThe quartz revolution: why 1970s watches matterThe 1970s is the most consequential decade in watchmaking history, and arguably the most misunderstood. The 'quartz crisis' is only part of the story.