One of the reasons that I have spent time looking into the history of the Heuer and Lemania relationship recently (see here and here) was to find out more about the heritage of a watch that I’ve recently bought- a Heuer 510.500.
The watch on the right is a series two 510.500, distinguished from the first series by the Day/ Date feature (the first series 510.500 was date only) and often coming with the TAG Heuer logo on the bracelet, even though the dial is “Heuer”.
The 510.5XX watches were the only Lemania-powered Heuer to survive into the TAG Heuer era, with the TAG Heuer version having the reference number 510.500-12.
This different model number signals more than just the addition of the TAG Heuer logo to the dial- it also signifies that most of these watches use the slower-beating 5012 Lemania movement and not the 5100.
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Heuer’s relationship with Lemania in the early 1980s was brief, but intense. As the first part of the Heuer/ Lemania story detailed, Heuer was actually owned by a consortium involving Lemania for a few short years before being sold to TAG in 1984/5. This relationship explains why there were so many Heuer models using the Lemania 5100 movement in the early 1980s.
However what this doesn’t explain is why are there so many other brands that sold almost identical version of these Heuer watches. Based on the trusty formula of two-parts research mixed with one-part assumption and one-parts guesswork, the conclusion is perhaps surprising: Because for the most part, they were not Heuer designs in the first place.
Before explaining why many of these designs were likely owned by Lemania itself, its worth revisiting the basics of the way that Swiss watch industry was structured.
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There has been some intense debate over the last few days about the Heuer Silverstone Lemania, and in particular the authenticity of one example. As was the case with many Heuer models in the early 1980s, there are some inconsistencies between different examples of the watch, which has led to questions over what characteristics a 100% genuine Silverstone Lemania should have.
You can read more about the points being debated here and here
The Lemania Silverstone is one of my favourite Heuer watches and you may recall this earlier post on Calibre 11 about the Lemania-powered Silverstone- http://www.calibre11.com/2009/08/22/the-other-silverstone/
Rather than add to the debate here, below are a couple of photos of my Silverstone, which have different markings than the watch under question over at Vetroplastica. A warning- to show these markings in detail, the images after the jump are large files that may take some time to load.
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Since the original post on 18 September, there have been two examples of the predicted “big movers” that have sold on eBay. Given that these came up so soon after the initial post, I thought it would be worth tracking to see whether there were any signs of values heading north.
1) Heuer Montreal
Sold for USD1,525- 25 Bids
- The white-dial Montreal is the rarest of the lot, so on the face of it this is a pretty disappointing price. However, look a little closer and note that the hands are not correct and that the case had been polished- two sure ways to reduce your selling price
- The bracelet looks like it comes from a 5100-series/ Valjoux Montreal and is not correct for the Cal. 12 version of the Montreal
- Its also worth noting that the seller of this watch always goes for “Private Auctions”-I always get a bit nervous about these (no insinuations about this seller- they are a well-known vendor on eBay) and wonder if that also reduced the final price
- Verdict: A poor price for an average- below average example of a rare watch
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Every year it seems that a different Vintage Heuer model enjoys its moment in the sun- collectors suddenly realise that there are some under-appreciated models out there (with under-appreciated prices to match), a few examples are bought and photos posted…and the Heuer collecting world has a new favourite.
Of course, there are always the “blue-chip” models- 1133B Monaco, Siffert Autavia, Carrera 12 that will continue to appreciate (although my view is that the Siffert and 1133B values will slow in their appreciation), but the real fun comes in finding models that are off the radar of most collectors and so can still be bought at reasonable prices.
I have tried to limit my list to models that are reasonably easy to find- some models have such a low “Samples Per Year” count (see http://onthedash.com/priceguide.shtml) that a some collectors will pay whatever the asking price when one is available…because it will be a long time before the next one comes long.
Here are five models that I believe could be the big price movers for 2010:
1) Heuer 510.500/ 501/502/503
These Lemania 5100 powered watches were released in the final days of Heuer and survived through to about 1986 as TAG Heuer models. Through their production run they were offered with a date window and later a day/ date window as pictured left.
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The Calibre 12 Heuer Silverstone (Ref. 110.313 and available in Blue, Red and Fume) is one of the most famous and distinctive Heuer models from the 1970′s. Introduced in 1974, the watch was part of the Heuer range until 1977 when it was dropped. Heuer never played around with too many variations of the Silverstone- three dial colours in the same case and each with the same movement (The Calibre 12- although there have been examples of Calibre 11 watches turning up).
The Silverstone made a comeback to the Heuer range in 1983 with a new model that bares no resemblance to the Calibre 12 model. Despite this, the “other” Silverstone is a great watch in its own right.
The 1983 Heuer Silverstone (Ref. 510.403) uses the Lemania 5100 movement and features a high-gloss case design that TAG Heuer later appropriated for the TAG Heuer Monza re-edition (the design of the TAG Heuer Monza being a combination of design cues from the Heuer Camaro and the Heuer Silverstone Lemania).
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Cheers Arno
