HI Folks,

Just wondering where all the Heuers, especially 1153/1553 and Camaros gone to? As I'm relatively new to vintage Watch collecting I maybe missed something here?

Was there some sort of heuer craze a few years back or is it still going on? Same sort of like what we see with 321 Speedmasters today?

My Question Is rather why I hardly find any 1153/1553's and camaros for sale from private collectors, while they are readily available from Professional vintage stores. Were they all bought up?

Analogshift for example had 3 Camaros for sale over the last month so they must be out there...

On the other hand I saw ONE camaro for sale in eBay (Germany) from a private Person over the last three month and not even one single listing of 1553/1153's, whilst there were several Autavias for sale, from which I thought those would be much more rare.

Or am I looking in the wrong direction/places...


Cheers,

Max

 

Camaros were produced only from 1968 to around 1972, and only with manual-wind calibers. I don't recall seeing production numbers for these. They are out there, but not in the numbers you might expect, and not so many as Heuers later automatic caliber references.

Two good sources of info --- Caliber 11 forum and On The Dash

http://www.calibre11.com/ultimate-guide-heuer-camaro/
http://www.onthedash.com/Guide/_Chronographs/68.Camaro/

 

Thanks for the links! Think I stumbled over onthedash one or two times during my Research.

68-72... Learn something new everyday! Didn't Know that. That makes it even more crazy that they produced some 40'ish Dial variations in such a short period of time!

 

They do pop up on eBay reasonably frequently. Chronotrader is a great source for Heuers as well.

Be prepared to pounce when they come up.

 

Looks like we can see where they all went....

Into that lovely collection

 

Where have all the Heuers gone, long time passing?
Where have all the Heuers gone, long time ago?
Where have all the Heuers gone?
Fanboys hoarded them everyone.
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the prices gone, long time passing?
Where have all the prices gone, long time ago?
Where have all the prices gone?
Stratospheric, all and one!
Oh, when will they ever learn?
Oh, when will they ever learn?

 

Hoarders unite and take over! Sellers expect prices rising, supply diminishes, I think.

 

I think with all the attention on the Autavia, people aren't selling their automatic Carreras. They're rare to begin with, but not sought-after the way the models with racing connections are. Which is too bad, as they're quite attractive.

However, you never know.... someone with a nice 1553N might be needing to replace the clutch in their car soon.....

 

I'll trade mine with this:
http://www.porsche.com/usa/models/911/911-carrera-4s-cabriolet/

 

Here is one, gone to another esteemed board member (my bad!).



And here is one that I have but don't enjoy often enough. [Hard to capture the actual gray/blue dial tone.] Keep searching and good luck.

 

There are lots and lots of FrankenHeuers around so be really careful, too (steer away from ChronoAddict / vintage_chronos on the bay) - it seems that:

a) Heuer did play fast & loose with their model range and tried out lots of combinations of design during their lifecycle
b) ...weren't necessarily all that diligent at keeping specs stable (so it's not uncommon to find mismatched first and second execution dial/hands/case/bezel and yet it's very possible they were original to that individual watch)
c) There are no reliable records of serial number issuance - I think there was a fire at the factory that destroyed most of the records up to a point, so it's next to impossible to really validate a given watch based on it's serial no. I had a vintage Carrera and contacted TAG Heuer about it to try to get someone to tell me if they thought it was as-it-left-the-factory or not, and the best I could get was "yes, we think that looks OK". Not exactly a certificate of authenticity ;-)

 

Thanks for all the Info guys! I just started to Look out for These more seriously. Now I could kick me for not paying more attention 2-3 years ago. But that would be a Story for the "The one that got away" Thread. Unfortunately due to other more Important thinks that need funding I won't be in the market for one until mid Season next Year... But then again you never know.

 

Just watched Heuer Carrera 2447 watch with panda dial sell at UK auction ( Mellors & Kirk ) for £16000 plus commission . Wow !!!

And I thought it was just the pre-moon Speedmasters that everyone was chasing.


https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/...0090/lot-003414ad-1c87-40e6-acb5-a6b3010b4a8e

 

A friend of mine is selling his Heuer Carrera with panda dial in the W.O.K Nov 19th sale. It made the cover of the catalogue. I think he'll be nicely surprised!

 

Heuer was a very small company in the 60's and 70's...therefor the production numbers are quite small relative to the larger guys. You add the quality of the timepieces with the history of the company, the great marketing of Jack Heuer in the 60's and the association with cars and racing and you have a recipe for a very collectable watch.

Actually not a bad price, these have been selling privately for more. A very rare and elusive piece.

Thats a reverse panda on the cover...is he selling a panda (white dial w/ black sub dials)?
The reverse panda was made in far greater numbers

 

Yes sorry it's the reverse panda... He picked it up 5-6 yrs ago so was happy with the estimate they gave.

 

I have to say it's a lovely looking watch, must stop looking at vintage Heuer images from now on !! Will just watch others spending their money.

 

I love Speedmasters and always will, but Heuer is my favorite vintage brand to collect. Their designs in the 1960's were perfect across the Carrera, Autavia, and Camaro ranges.