I started collecting in the late 1980s to early 1990s. I used to be in Geneva for skiing or study (CERN). I would go around the small (but cheaper / touristy) watch shops and ask to see their stocks from the 1970s. They would always say "no you don't need to see that old rubbish, here's some quartz watches" but after some persauding they'd bring out a tray of 1970s manual watches. I did love Heuer at the time (Ferrari F1 connections) but I was buying the cheaper end of funky 1970s watches, for £10-25 (I was a student and had little money). I wish I would have started buying 1970s Heuers then...

By the early 1990s I had started work and was still searching for funky 1970s watches, but searching mainly in flea markets in my travels on holiday. Some time in Asia so inevitably bought some 1970s Seikos like this, always for $20-30:

Or this Buler, which I think is a poor man's omega (inexpert guess - I just thought it was cool):

One of my first Heuers I bought was this beauty I picked up in Mexico City in the early 1990s, I think it was around $500 (the bracelet came afterwards, and cost more than the watch I seem to remember):

I bought 4 or 5 beautiful Heuers in the 1990s, many from Peter (I think it was his name) in Portobello Road - he's still there selling military watches. 1970s Carreras for $500, a Monaco for $700. Unfortunately at the time I thought four or five watches was excessive, so I didn't buy more.

Then later came the twin demons: onthedash and ebay, but I only jumped on that bandwagon in the early 2000s, prices were already rising......