I posted this at another popular forum and nobody replied over several days, hoping here to get a better crop of opinions?

This vintage Heuer just came back to me from being serviced at a local watchmaker I trust to work on vintage stuff (Bob Thompson Jewellers in Ottawa). It's a great original condition 750-503B with original case finish and the (I've been told) rare blue dial. I bought this watch some months ago online thinking it was a common black dial model and paid a black dial price. I was pleasantly surprised with it turned out to be a blue-dial 750-503B and not just a regular 750-503.

The watch retains wonderful caramel colored aged tritium hands and dial markers. Rotor is marked Heuer-Leonidas. The watchmaker got it within COSC timekeeping standards, which is great for a watch this age.

I know the Autavia-pattern montreals with 2 sub-dials are considered (horologically) to be more significant than the initial-run Valjoux marked movement in this reference (i.e. NOT an ETA!), but I'm told the blue dial and tachymetre make this one special, rare enough to not be in the usual catalogues, but common enough to be a known collectible variant. As one of the first watches to use the new (at the time) Valjoux movement, it was not "just another ones of those" when it was made.

So here's the conundrum (recognizing I'm in an Omega forum with inherent preferences)... I'm struggling if I should keep it in the rotation or spin it and get an Omega Speedy Pro? I'm very confident I won't find another Montreal in the same original condition any time soon (or any vintage Heuer chrono from the era), and I do like the watch, but I also love the speedmaster pro case and almost can't believe I don't have one in my watch box right now.

I've owned many many many modern omega watches, but never a haselite speedie pro (I did have a reduced haselite model once).

What would you do? Is this Heuer too good to not keep?

And no, I can't just get both - the wife made that abundantly clear, I'm on a 1 in, 1 out allowance now.

 

Seems too good to go. Keep it, you'll regret it if you part with it.You can always get a speedy, maybe when your wife has a change of heart they both can be in your collection.

 

Exactly as you said!

Ah, do you have anything else to throw out? Perhaps a $10 charity shop, back of sock drawer, watch you'd "forgotten" about?


For Assessing My Bias I have one more Heuer than Omegas, but I'm working on that.....

 

For me it would be a no-brainer to keep the Heuer, so much less common and is in marvelous condition. You could try trading in your wide, 1 in 1 out.

 

I believe their are countries where 1-in 0-out is permitted. Fancy watches might not be though

 

I've sold watches i knew i would never get back, because of the rarity and condition.
But if I rather have another watch, i have no problem selling it. I also never regretted it.

It usually is a process of months thought before i make the decision to sell it.

 

That's where I'm at. I was going to service it either way as it hadn't been serviced in decades and likely sat in a drawer or safety deposit box. It now runs great. Watchmaker said he replaced a few lightly rusted parts in the winding mechanism, but otherwise movement was like new. It's a really low mileage watch and has great wrist presence.

I've been debating it in my mind since I acquired it maybe 4 months ago and am having a tough time deciding. I always wanted a vintage Heuer, I now have one, and if I ever want another, finding a pre-Tag chrono in this condition for anything like reasonable prices has gotten all but impossible of late. I think I would like the speedy more in the short term, but not sure over the long term, and I'd likely still want another vintage heuer at some point.

The modern "heuer-marked" tags that aim to re-create the grandeur of the brand before the merger, to me, are just half-hearted attempts to rejuvenate the brand after Tag made a mess of it. I don't think I could ever be happy with a modern TAG.

 

Thanks for sharing your conundrum! My 2 cts:
- comparing these watches on the merits won't get you anywhere. This Montreal and a Speedy pro are totally different watches, both aesthetically and in terms of the movement. To me it's apples and oranges.
- having said that, to me a speedmaster pro is MUCH more value for money. Don't get me wrong, I love vintage Heuer to death, but the prices on these are way beyond rational levels.
- I find the Valjoux 7750 to be clunky and noisy, plus it sucks how you can't change the date a few hours before and after 12:00 for fear of damaging the movement. Compare that to the (albeit hand-wound) cal. 861 you'd find in a speedmaster pro 145.022. Your Montreal looses that battle big time.
- As you got lucky with the blue dial, the value inflates even more. In your position, I'd sell it well and put those funds towards a nice 145.022 or 145.0022.

And finally: didn't yo mama teach you never to be dependent on a spouse? It may seem generous that she gives you a credit card and a monthly allowance, but you need your own income to become a strong, independent man making your own watch-purchasing decisions

Sorry...couldn't help myself. My thoughts on your original question are sincere though

 

Lol... she does keep my impulses in check, and that has some value

 

keep the heuer, buy your choice speedy, but promise your wifey you will not buy a new or vintage watch the next 50 years.

 

1) I won't live that long.
2) I would not be able to keep that promise!

Maybe it would help to describe my current roation (in no order):

1 - Omega 2535.80.00 GMT Seamaster 300M coaxial (blue bond-like dial and bezel on bracelet)
2 - Omega 4512.50.00 Deville Dress watch (black dial, arabic numerals, on bracelet)
3 - Silver dial Seiko Pogue with pepsi bezel on bracelet
4 - Heuer Montreal (subject of thread)
5 - Rolex 1601 DJ, silver dial on bracelet
6 - Omega 145.009 Chronostop on leather

I know someone is going to say get rid of the chronostop, pogue or deville, but... I can't ditch the deville as it's the only black dial dress watch with date I have to go with suits where I accessorize black (same reason I keep the DJ as a white/silver dial for tan accessories). Also, the Chronostop and Pogue are FAR cheaper (price wise) watches than the moonwatch and even if I sold both, would only raise half the funds.

I'm not selling the GMT - it was a long time grail and I like it more than I ever would a speedy.

I could likely flip the Rolex, but I'm kind of attached to it and everyone needs to have at least one token rolex given the iconic nature of the brand.

The only truly valuable watch in the rotation that gets me in the speedy ballpark is the Heuer, and also, the Speedy and heuer kind of cover off the same territory - vintage styled 3 register chrono. That said, I really enjoy the day/date function of the Heuer as I tend to sign a lot of documents and never remember the date. The Speedy would likely be mostly a weekend sports watch, I think...