What time is it? Watches and horology

So why are watch manufacturers making vintage looking watches? Not because some people are buying your run of the mill 1980s gold Seamaster, but because like the 7 figure 911, the proper lusted after watches are unobtainable.

Broadly agree with your post. But the main reason they're making new vintage is because of fashion trends, which then leads the marketing.

Watch manufacturers are just cashing in, like Barbour or Redwing do. Most of what I've read attributes this obsession with the knock effects on from the '07 Crash. With global growth up I wonder how much it will last?

The one curve ball with watches though is how many still make "old watches";

... to continue the car analogy its a bit like the way some British car models stayed they same for 30-40yrs - see OG Range Rover, Mini, Metro, etc.

EDIT: out if curiosity I tried to search and find out when "vintage lume" started. Came across this post which I thought hit the nail on the head in many ways;

We are told over and over by marketing materials and our fellow WIS, who are essentially marketing materials themselves, that mechanical watches are supposed to last generations. That's why we're supposed to be eager to pay so much more for them than quartz.

So the lume is supposed to fade on its own over the course of our lives (spent sitting at keyboards and occasionally strolling down to wherever our lattes come from rather than fighting wars and taming the ocean depths like the characters our watches are meant to evoke). Making that lume "vintage" in the first place is an attack upon our suspension of disbelief.