Today was D-day for the Patrizzi Heuer auction- all of the results are in, with only two watches passed in.
For a full list of the items that were auctioned today, click here .
For discussion of the auction results, head over to OnTheDash
Full results:
One of the first watches that got me hooked on the vintage Heuer line-up was the 1533G Monaco- “G” for Grey, even though the dial has always looked silver to me. I remember considering buying one of these in 2006- a full mint set from one of the 
well-known Heuer collectors at OnTheDash. I still have the photos of that watch, and it is perfect. That set had a flawless Monaco 1533G (albeit not NOS) with original hands, bracelet, box and papers and the Heuer swing tag- all for a price of EUR4500.
Back in 2006 I had yet to discover OnTheDash and had only joined eBay a couple of weeks before the Monaco was up for sale, so I passed on the watch at the time not feeling experienced enough to know whether it was the right watch at the right price. Even though the price was certainly at the top end of 1533 Monaco prices, I’ve regretted letting that one go a few times and haven’t seen a better set for sale.
While not as complete as the set described above, I have recently added this 1533G Monaco to the collection.
The Ennstal Classic was first held in Austria in 1993 as a rally for classic cars made before 1972. The rally allows drivers to tackle the beautiful and challenging mountains and valleys in the Dachstein-Tauern region of Austria, and has quickly gained a reputation as one of the premier European classic car rallies.
TAG Heuer was an original sponsor of the event and issued a Carrera to the winners and notable participants. While these were generally standard production watches, TAG Heuer did make a special limited edition Carrera for the 2005 event.
On the left is the 2005 Ennstal Classic TAG Heuer Carrera. Only 50 watches were made, making it one of the rarest of the Carrera line since its re-introduction in 1997.
Following the post last week about the upcoming Heuer Silverstone re-edition, I’ve had several e-mails asking what the new model will look like. The simplest answer is it will look very, very similar to the Vintage Silverstone models.
And this is no bad thing, because the Heuer Silverstone is one of the most distinctive Heuer models- there’s not much else around from the other watch houses that looks like the Silverstone, a pure slice of 1970s design.
So rather than a detailed review of the Heuer Silverstone, below are a few photos of the Blue and Fume Silverstones to hold you over until the re-editions arrive. Its the Blue Silverstone that seems to be the most prized amongst collectors, but the Fume (or Smoke) Silverstone that has the most distinctive dial- a fabulous metallic star-burst finish that changes appearance depending on the ligh, a quality difficult to capture in photos.
More photos of the Silverstone pair after the jump.
On Saturday 28 November in Milan, Patrizzi & Co. will be auctioning off 129 vintage Heuers from a private collection. This is one of the largest (the largest?) Heuer-themed auctions, so it will be very interesting to see the results.
OntheDash has a fantastic preview of what makes up the 129 watches- sounds like there will be something for everyone…Monaco, Autavia, Carrera, Silverstone and more. Jeff Stein has picked out four of the more notable watches- the Autavia 11630P in particular is nice, but not the one that I am looking for, so I can relax and watch others bid. Personally, I am a healthy skeptic when it comes to the merits of buying a watch at auction, but open to having my opinion changed. Why skeptical?
Firstly, I’m not convinced that the pieces available at an auction will be better value than buying from a fellow collector and secondly, I don’t like the outrageous buyers premiums. I note that Patrizzi & Co. don’t charge a buyers premium, so that knocks out one concern and will increase the appeal to bidders.
So why buy at auction? One good reason is if you can buy a better watch for a better price than if you bought it elsewhere. Lets make a call on the value for money aspect once the results are in- never pay a lot of attention to “estimated ranges” in any type of auction.
The other angle is when the auction features very rare watches that a collector simply could not find elsewhere- limited editions, unknown models, etc. Those rare gems would seem to be the best reason to buy at auction, given that most of us could find a Mint 1133B Monaco any day of the week if we really wanted one and were prepared to pay enough. Fortunately, this auction does seem to feature such rare pieces, and its those watches that are sure to attract the most interest (and scrutiny!)
Finally, back on to prices. Most Heuer collectors will be torn in wanting to see high prices achieved at auction (good for pushing up the value of a collectors existing collection), but at the same time realising that if they’re too high, it won’t be the collectors buying…
For me, observing who is buying is more telling than the price paid when the hammer falls.
Some news on the TAG Heuer Silverstone re-edition, which we should be seeing in the next couple of months.
Can’t say much more for now, other than that the next few months will be exciting ones for Heuer and TAG Heuer fans, with themed auctions in Europe timed to coincide with the celebrations for TAG Heuer/ Heuer’s 150th anniversary.
The Heuer Super Professional was one of the last watches designed and manufactured by Heuer prior to the acquisition by TAG in 1984/5 and one of the last true Tool watches made by Heuer/ TAG Heuer.
The Super Professional was first available in the 1984 Catalog (reference number 840.006), coming in two models- the stainless steel bead-blasted case and a questionable gold-bezel version- quite why you’d want a gold bezel on a professional-grade diver watch is a mystery.
Both versions featured the same automatic ETA 2892 movement and were rated to depths of 1000 meters.
The watch came with an optional Divers kit that contained two spare rubber straps, a decompression table and a strap-changing tool. While most of the diving kits where black, Heuer also made a few in blue leather, such as the example shown on the right.
The two points that any new Heuer collector needs to know are these: Firstly, that the heart of the Heuer chronographs of the 1970s that developed the reputation that the company has today was the Calibre 11 Chronomatic movement (the world’s first automatic chronograph). The second thing you need to know is that the home of Vintage Heuer information on the web is OnTheDash.com- everything you need to know is there including photos of the majority of Heuer’s classic watches.
Jeff Stein has just posted a fantastic article on at OnTheDash about the Chronomatic movement that steps through the problems of the Calibre 11 movement and how it evolved into the Calibre 11-I and eventually, Calibre 12. Heuer later produced a Calibre 15 “economy” movement.
Take a look at the article here, including some great photos that illustrate the differences between the various Chronomatic movements. You can then discuss the article on the OTD Message Board.
Like many things to do with Heuer watches from the early 1980s, the story of the Autavia Diver 100 is hard to untangle. The watch is from the last of th
e Autavia range- the 11063V- with its distinctive over-sized case and heavily scalloped bezel. Today the watch is second only to the Chronomatic Siffert Autavia in terms of value and scarcity. Yet, there are some odd things going on:
The first three questions are linked- and the key to unlocking them is in this TAG Heuer packet on the right
Cheers Arno
