It’s hard to remember a time when there has been so much focus on the movement that sits inside a watch- where it comes from, who designed it and who made it. It may sound strange to say that there was little focus on movements until around 2000- after all, they are not only an integral part of the watch, but are the actual components that deliver the primary function of a watch- keeping time.
I suspect that a big part of the reason was that by the 1990s no-one, putting …

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 …

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 …

One of the more interesting chapters in Heuers history is its relationship with Lemania in the 1980s. Heuer watches with Lemania automatic movements first appeared in the 1983 Heuer catalogue alongside what was to be the last appearance of the Chronomatic watches. Featured in the 1983 Heuer catalogue are the following watches, all powered the Lemania 5100 movement.

510.50X series- “Lemania 1000″ series
510.511/523- “Lemania Carrera”
510.513- “Lemania Cortina”
510.403- “Lemania Silverstone”
510.508- “Gold Lemania Carrera”

Heuer would later add two other limited production Lemania models- The Heuer AudiSport (seen right with its Lemania branded counterpart) …

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 …

The Lemania Heuer Silverstone reference 510.403 from Calibre11.com- Vintage Heuer Blog; TAG Heuer blog