The Return of the Opulent '80s

The all-gold Piaget Polo, Hublot Classic Original, and Rolex GMT were kings during the '80s. Now they're coming back for their crown.

- CAM WOLF

A DECADE AGO, when Menta Watches founder Adam Golden first started working in the industry, he would weigh certain historic but undesirable pieces, then price them purely based on their gold value, like he was some kind of 19th-century prospector. At the time, the titanic steel sport watches of the '70s were in vogue: the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Patek Philippe Nautilus, the Vacheron Constantin 222. But lately, Golden has noticed a change in the market for these sport watches, even the classic ones. "Prices have flatlined on them," Golden tells me. Today, many collectors are more interested in what he calls "jewelry watches"-tickers that blind with diamonds, sapphires, precious metals, and immaculate stone dials. Gold is no longer gaudy; it's cool. Whereas women were once those primarily interested in these watches, now, he says, "it's literally everybody."