In-Depth: A Comprehensive Guide To The Phillips Heuer Parade Auction

November 10, 2017

Jeff Stein is the founder and proprietor of OnTheDash, the leading online authority on all things Heuer. Jeff is also a collector of note C check him out on Talking Watches C and one of the most knowledgeable guys in watches. Ahead of Phillips's thematic Heuer auction this weekend, we wanted to bring you a full analysis from the master himself. Tomorrow night in Geneva, Phillips will offer up 42 vintage Heuer chronographs (and one modern watch), in a sale officially titled The Crosthwaite & Gavin Collection C Exceptional Heuer Chronographs from the Jack Heuer Era.??The sale's nickname however is much simpler C?"Heuer Parade." The 43rd watch included in the auction will be serial number 1 of the TAG Heuer Autavia Jack Heuer Edition, with 1,932 of these limited edition watches being issued to commemorate Jack Heuers 85th birthday. Phillips has published a magnificent auction catalog, which is also available online, with stunning photos and detailed descriptions of these watches. Consider this story a companion to the Heuer Parade catalog, placing the Crosthwaite & Gavin Collection, and each of the watches individually, into a broader context.?While the auction catalog presents the watches according to themes C chronographs for racing, for pilots, for the water, etc. C? we will take a chronological approach, describing the different generations in which Heuer produced these chronographs. The cover of the Heuer Parade catalog. Please note that we have not examined any of the watches in person or reviewed the condition reports offered by Phillips. Accordingly, we provide the history of each of the watches included in the auction, but do not comment on the condition or authenticity of any particular watch. For a quick look at all the watches included in the sale, following the thematic presentation used by Phillips, including photos of each watch and the auction estimates, head over to OnTheDash. Heuer History C 157 Years in 700 Words Ed. Heuer & Co. began producing watches in 1860, with the company continuing under the Heuer-Leonidas name in the 1960s and ultimately being acquired by Techniques d'Avant Garde ("TAG") in 1985, and continuing to this day, under the TAG Heuer name. From 1860 into the mid-1930s, Heuer offered stopwatches, pocket chronographs, and wristwatches, with an emphasis on precision timing, for sports and industry.? In the mid-1930s, Heuer broadened its line of chronographs, with the introduction of waterproof cases, and the 1940s saw the catalog expand to include three-register chronographs, as well as chronographs with triple calendars (day / date / month). Pre-Jack Heuer Chronographs In the 1950s, Heuer added several lines of simpler timepieces, three-hand watches that also offered a date display or a triple calendar feature (day / date / month). ?Throughout these years, Heuer used very few model names for its watches, with the various models and variations being identified only by their reference numbers. An advert announcing the arrival of automatic Heuer chronographs. All this changed in 1962, when Jack Heuer C then the 30 year-old head of the company C introduced? a new model, with the name Autavia written across the top of the dial.? Combining the words AUTomobile and AVIAtion, the name staked Heuers claim, as the watch of choice for racers, rallyists and pilots.? The next year saw the introduction of the Carrera, the beautiful sounding name that evoked the epic car race across Mexico.? The Camaro came in 1968, completing the line-up of chronographs that stood at the center of Heuers model lines for the 1960s. Heuers line-up of watches changed dramatically in 1969, as Heuer became one of the first brands to offer automatic chronographs.? The 1960s model line-up was expanded with the addition of the radical circle-in-the-square Monaco, and in order to accommodate the larger Caliber 11 automatic movement, the cases for the Autavia and Carrera shifted from the traditional round cases of the 1960s, to larger, C-shaped cases.? Thus Heuer marched into the 1970s with its Big Three, the Autavia, Carrera and Monaco. The Autavia was offered primarily with black or white dials, each with contrasting registers.? The Carrera offered silver or deep blue dials, also with contrasting registers.? The signature color scheme for the Monaco was midnight blue with white registers, although Heuer also offered a charcoal gray version.?? Heuer offered manual-wind version for each of the Big Three models, with the Valjoux 77xx movements residing in cases similar to those used for the Calliber 12 automatics. Heuer further expanded its product line in the early 1970s, with the introduction of large colorful models, including the Silverstone, Montreal and Calculator. The Silverstone. In the mid-1970s, Heuer led the electronic era with its introduction of the Chronosplit chronograph, which featured dual LED / LCD displays.? This line was extended with the radical looking Manahttan and Senator models.? The late 1970s saw some calming of Heuers designs, as the automatic Daytona, Verona and Jarama showed more restraint in their sizes, shapes and color palette.? All the while, Heuer continued producing its original named models, with the Autavia and Carrera moving to larger cases, to accommodate a mineral crystal.? From the late 1960s into the 1980s, the Autavia offered a GMT feature, using a colorful rotating bezel and dedicated GMT hand to indicate the time in a second time zone.? The Carrera line was expanded with gold cases, either 18 karat or gold-plated. In the early 1980s, Heuer struggled to survive, with the company being sold to the Piguet Group and Nouvelle Lemania? in 1982, and to TAG in 1985.? In its first decade, TAG Heuer featured a broad line of dive watches, and by 1996, the company had refocused on its heritage in chronographs, with the introduction of the first re-issues of the Carrera and Monaco coming in the late 1990s.? Carrera and Monaco, along with new lines such as the Link, were the heart of the line-up as TAG Heuer moved into the 21st century, with the Autavia first being re-issued in 2003.? Currently, TAG Heuer offers dozens of versions of the Carrera, including a wide range of three-hand and chronograph models, and approximately half a dozen models of the Monaco. The Monaco is among the most easily recognizable square watches ever designed. Position of The Crosthwaite & Gavin Collection The official name of the upcoming auction is The Crosthwaite & Gavin Collection: Exceptional Heuer Chronographs from the Jack Heuer Era.? With this, Phillips presents 42 vintage Heuer chronographs as the portfolio of Jack Heuer, the fourth generation leader of the company founded by his great grandfather.? Jack Heuer formally joined the family business in early 1958, and the Crosthwaite & Gavin collection begins circa 1962, with the first Autavia chronographs, followed immediately by the first Carreras in 1963.? This is reasonable, as the Autavia and Carrera were likely the first chronographs designed under the leadership of Jack Heuer. By positioning the collection to coincide with the career of Jack Heuer, we have the confession that the auction will not cover any of the chronographs produced before Jack Heuer joined the company.? This is not offered as a criticism of the collection, but only to inform those who are new to the Heuer brand that they will not be seeing the increasingly-popular chronographs of the 1940s and 50s.? We are seeing the preferences of two high-profile collectors, Rich Crosthwaite and Paul Gavin, and their aesthetic has led them to the Heuer chronographs produced from the early 1960s into the early 1970s. At the other end of the timeline, however, we note that the timeline of The Crosthwaite & Gavin Collection ends well before Jack Heuers sale of the company in 1982.? In essence, the Heuer Parade lops off the last decade of Jack Heuers career at the company (1972 to 1982), but comparing the portfolio of his first decade at the company with his portfolio of the second decade, most collectors would suggest that relatively little is lost with this truncation.? Considered from another perspective, in a sale of 42 vintage Heuer chronographs, it would be difficult to justify knocking out any from the 1962 to 1972 decade, in order to make room for some chronographs from the 1972 to 1982 decade. Yes, the second decade might have offered some interesting colors and technologies, with the Silverstone and Chronosplits, for example, but in offering the watches most cherished by todays collectors, we can understand the preferences and passions of collectors Crosthwaite and Gavin, and we can understand the decision of Phillips, not to supplement their Collection with watches from Jack Heuers second decade at the helm. The Early Autavias from the 1960s The first Autavia chronographs have several defining features the stainless steel cases are a traditional round shape, dials are black with contrasting white registers, and all the Autavias had rotating bezels.? Different inserts in the bezel would have markings for hours, minutes, a second time zone or the computation of speed by a tachymeter scale.? As with almost all Heuer chronographs of the 1960s, movements are manual-winding, with a capacity of 30 or 45 minutes (for the two-register models) or 12 hours (for the three register models). The case-backs of all early Autavias are marked, Stainless Steel Chronograph C Waterproof C Guaranteed 330 Feet Under Water." The Crosthwaite & Gavin Collection includes six of the early Autavias, representing three different generations, as follows: The Standard Production Models Lot 1 Lot 3 is an early three register Autavia (Reference 2446), with a screw-back case, and is distinguished by its oversized registers, known to Heuer collectors as Big Subs. These models are coveted by collectors, as they were produced only in the early days of the Autavias. The hands on the very first Autavias are dauphine shaped with luminous paint from edge to edge.? Heuer soon switched to steel edged hands with luminous inserts, as on this Lot.? The three-register model is powered by the Vajoux 72 movement. Lot 5 Lot 5 has the same characteristics as Lot 3, except that the Reference 3646 is the two register version, powered by the Valjoux 92 movement.? While some collectors insist on their chronographs having three registers, fans of the two-register models make the case that the open area below the center pinion offers better offers better balance. Lot 36 Lot 36 is the second iteration of the Autavia dial to appear in an early screw-back case, featuring both applied metal markers and luminous dots, at each hour. This configuration evidences a further attempt by Heuer to reduce the amount of radium used in the watches.? The metal-edged dauphine hands are carried forward from the previous models. Lot 41 Lot 41 represents the third generation of the Autavia dial, with applied metal markers taking the place of the luminoius markers used in the previous generations.? The case has moved from the first generation to the second, the primary visual difference being that the teeth on the bezel are cut diagonally, whereas they were rectangular shaped on the first generation screw-back case.? This is the model that was worn by racing hero Jochen Rindt, providing this Autavia with its instant nickname. The Special Autavias from the 1960s While the watches that we have described so far represent standard production watches from the three generations of screw-back Autavias, the Crosthwaite & Gavin Collection includes three additional executions of the screw-back Autavia that are far more rare. Lot 38 Lot 38 is called the Transitional screw-back, representing the last of the first execution screw-back cases.? This case is identical to the standard first generation cases, except that the lugs have only two primary surfaces -- the top and the side -- with no third chamfer between these primary surfaces.? The absence of this shaved surface between the two primary surfaces give the watch a beefier look than either the first or the second execution cases. Lot 34 After the run of third generation Autavias, Heuer made a small number of Autavias, which used a unique dial, in the second generation screw-back case.? The hours are marked with rectangular strips of luminous material, that remind us of the very first Autavias.? Lot 34 is one of these "All Lume" Autavias.? The hands are a continuation of the metal-edged hands used on the standard production models. Lot 28 Lot 28 represents the last execution of screw-back Autavia, and with it Heuer introduces a new complication C the three-register chronograph with a GMT indication.? This GMT Autavia combines a three register chronograph (with 12-hour capacity) with a colorful red and blue bezel that is rotated so that an additional hour hand (red with a luminous triangular tip) will track the time in a second time zone.? The Valjoux 72 movements were modified to allow for the extra GMT hand, which circles the dial once every 24 hours.? Heuer marketed the Autavia GMT chronographs to pilots and travelers, producing almost a dozen models over the life of the Autavias. Lot 25 Lot 25 is the last of the manual Autavias from the 1960s, a GMT model in a Reference 2446C (compressor) case.? Heuer replaced the screw-back case of the previous Autavas with a snap-back case, in order to improve the waterproofing of the watch.? Other elements pointing to the 1970s include the thicker lugs and the fluted pushers. The 1960s Carreras The First Carreras Lot 1 If the defining features of the first Autavias is the Big Subs, the defining feature of the first Carreras would be the long, thin markers and hands.? Indeed Heuer seemed committed to maintaining consistency between the style of the hands and the style of markers, and the lightness of these elements is also fitting for the smaller registers of the Carrera.? Lot 1 is an early Carrera, with the paint being eggshell white, rather than the silver-white that would soon follow.?Lot 13 shows the same light style of hands and markers, except that the markers are moved toward the center of the dial to accommodate a decimal minutes scale. Rally organizers and navigators used decimal minutes, rather than seconds, as it was easier to add or subtract times expressed in decimal minutes than times expressed in seconds.? With the markers closer to the center of the dial, the hands are shortened to maintain balance between these elements. Lot 13 The blue decimal minutes scale on Lot 13 was designed for automobile rallyists, and the Yachting Carrera (Lot 16) includes simple markings on the minute recorder so that the yachtsman can time the countdown to the start of a regatta.? This minute recorder is marked according to the five minute sections of the countdown to the start of a yacht race. Lot 16 Carreras With Contrast Lot 4 The first Carreras had dials and registers in matching colors C either white-on-white or black-on-black C with thin markers and hands.? By the late 1960s, however, Heuer began to mix things up a little.? While Heuer continued to offer dials with matching registers, it also offered Carreras with contrasting registers.? The markers on all the second execution Carreras were shorter and wider, with black inserts, and the hands also became wider, also having black stripes down the center. Lot 8 Lot 9 Lot 4 is one of the classic second execution models, the Reference 2447 SN, with a silver-white dial and black registers.? Lot 8 follows this same basic color scheme, with the addition of a Tachymeter scale, except that the three registers have faded to a tropical shade.? Lot 9 is the reverse of Lot 8, with a black dial, white registers and the Tachymeter scale.? Consistent with the theme of contrast, on both these models, the inserts in the markers contrast with the color of the dial. Lot 35 Lot 35 and lot 23 are two-register Carreras from this same period, both with 30-minute recorders.? Lot 35 has the SN color scheme C a silver-white dial with black registers.? Lot 23 shows a unique style for the Carreras, with elements designed for pilots C Arabic numerals painted in lume and bright white hands with luminous inserts.? This model was produced by Heuer for Lucht Macht C Forces Aeriennes (the Belgian Air Force), with military issuance marks on the case-back dating the watch to 1970. Lot 23 The Carrera Datos Commencing in the mid-1940s, Heuer offered three register chronographs that included the triple calendar complication, showing the day of the week, the date and the month.? These triple calendar chronographs were offered throughout the 1940s and 50s, and soon after the Carrera was introduced in 1963, the Reference 2547 triple calendar was repositioned as the Carrera 12 Dato. Lot 26 Lot 26 is a Carrera 12 Dato circa 1968, by which time Heuer had transitioned from screw-back cases with wider lugs (offered prior to the time that the Carrera was introduced), to a monocoque construction, with the movement being accessed by removing the crystal.? Consistent with the late 1960s Carrera theme, this watch features a black dial with contrasting white registers. Lot 29 While Heuers calendar chronographs from the 1940s used a hand pointing to the outer track to indicate the date, in 1966, Heuer offered a new way to display the date on a chronograph C a small window, above a date disc, as used on many non-chronograph watches of the period.? In the first execution of the Carrera 45 Dato (such as Lot 29) the window was located on the top section of the dial, just below the 12 oclock marker, and these first models used black-on-black or white-on-white dials and registers. Lot 11 Lot 24 In the second execution of the Carrera 45 Dato, the date window is moved to the nine oclock position , the chronograph minute recorder remains at three oclock, and the running seconds register has been deleted, to make room for the date display.? The Heuer Parade offers two of these Carrera 45 Datos, both with their own stories.? Lot 11 is a black-dialed Carrera 45 Dato, with the famous Wings and Wheel logo of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with research suggesting that these watches were sold in the gift shop at the track.? The Carrera 45 Dato offered as Lot 24 has more exotic origins C having been produced for the Jordanian Air Force.? Unique among the Carreras, the inner bezel (tension ring) is marked in whole seconds, rather than being divided by 1/5 second markings, likely a feature to make the marks for the seconds more legible for pilots. The Abercrombie & Fitch Seafarers Long before it became a chain of mall stores for teenagers, Abercrombie & Fitch was a very different style of retailer. The company had only two stores, in New York City and Chicago, and was the supplier of choice for well-heeled gentlemen embarking on adventures. Whether going on a climbing expedition, enjoying an ocean voyage, fly fishing, hunting or motoring, Abercrombie & Fitch offered top-quality gear for the most discerning customers. Lot 20 Beginning in the early 1950s, Abercrombie & Fitch had a unique relationship with Ed. Heuer & Co., calling on the watch company to design and build watches and chronographs to support its clients on their adventures. Heuer built rugged chronographs for Abercrombie & Fitch, and the most celebrated was the Seafarer, a unique watch that combined a 12-hour chronograph with a dial (at nine oclock) to show the high and low tides each day. Lot 17 Abercrombie & Fitch sold these colorful chronographs under the Seafarer name, while Heuer sold them as Mareographes and also produced them for Orvis, these being sold under the Solunagraph model name. The Seafarers were always housed in cases used by other models of Heuer chronographs, including cases for Carreras and Autavias. Lot 19 The Crosthwaite & Gavin Collection includes one Abercrombie & Fitch Seafarer and two of the Heuer Mareographes.?Lot 20 is the earlier of the two Mareographes, residing in the Reference 2447 (Carrera) case.?Lot 17 shows us the last case to house the Seafarer C the Reference 2446C from the Autavia.?The dials used in these circa 1970s Seafarers have gone from the silver / white of the earlier models, to a dark charcoal.? With Lot 19, we see the Heuer Mareographe version of this same execution chronograph. The 1970s Autavias Heuer introduced its first automatic chronographs in 1969, with the line-up consisting of three models C the Autavia, the Carrera, and the Monaco.?? In order to accommodate the larger Caliber 11 movement, the Autavia case that had been used in the 1960s was redrawn from scratch, the traditional round case of the 1960s giving way to a larger C-shaped case.? Of course, the rotating bezel, the defining feature of the Autavia, remained in place.? This new C-shaped case was used for both the automatic Autavias and the line of manual-wind Autavias that Heuer introduced in the 1970s.? The automatic Autavias were initially powered by the Caliber 11 movement, which was soon improved and renamed as the Caliber 12 movement.? Both these movements had the hour recorder on the left, at nine oclock, and the minute recorder on the right, at three oclock, with the date at the bottom of the dial.? The running seconds a feature of all the previous Autavias, was deleted on the Caliber 11 and 12 models.? In 1972, Heuer offered the Caliber 15 movement, a chronograph having 30-minute capacity, with the running seconds back in place. There were three primary cases for the automatic Autavias.? First was the Reference 1163 case, which used a plastic crystal.? In 1972, Heuer increased the size of the automatic Autavia cases, in order to equip them with a mineral crystal.? The last of the Autavias, produced starting in 1984, used an even larger case (Reference 11063), measuring 42.7 millimeters across the dial and 21 millimeters between the lugs. The Siffert Autavias Lot 42 The standard model Autavia that Heuer offered in the 1960s all had black dials with white registers, but with the move to automatic chronographs, Heuer offered a new color scheme C chronographs with white dials, black registers and blue accents.? Consistent with the motor sports theme, all these models were sold with a Tachymeter bezel.? Swiss Formula One hero Jo Siffert wore one of these Autavias, with the result that collectors refer to models with this color scheme as the Siffert Autavias. Lot 10 The very first automatic chronographs offered by Heuer had the word Chronomatic across the top of the dial, with the model name (Autavia, Carrera or Monaco) on the lower part of the dial.? Lot 42 is a Chronomatic Autavia, in the Siffert colors, so we know that it is one of the very first automatic chronographs produced by Heuer.? Lot 10 is also a relatively early Siffert Autavia, evidenced by the ridged markers on the dial and the polished steel hands.? Lot 33 represents the final version of the Siffert Autavia, as the markers now have black inserts and the hands are brushed metal with blue inserts and tips.? This sample features the MH (minutes / hours) bezel, in place of the Tachymeter bezel. Lot 33 Lot 7 is a variation on the Siffert theme, being a manually-wound chronograph with the date at six oclock.? As a manual model, the Automatic Chronograph is deleted from the lower section of the dial and the crown returns to is customary position, on the right side of the dial. Lot 7 Colorful Autavias of the 1970s Lot 37 The 1960s Autavias were black and white, and the "Siffert" Autavias were white and black, but Heuer offered some more colorful variations of these basic color schemes in the 1970s.? Lot 37 is the Autavia known to collectors as the Orange Boy.? The orange accents appear on the dial, as well as the main time of day hands, with the usual red of the chronograph second hand yielding to orange. Lot 14 Lot 14 is known as the Exotic Autavia.? The Caliber 15 movement has deleted the hour recorder, in favor of an asymmetrically placed hand for running seconds.? The markers are painted lume rectangles, the fifths of seconds follow a hash pattern, with orange for a stripe around the minute recorder and the main time of day hand. Lot 32 Lot 32 is offers another variation on the traditional Autavia themes, with Arabic numerals, placed radially around the dial.? This was a style traditionally used to enhance legibility and certainty for pilots.? Collectors refer to these models as "ShaunTavias", as the models were researched and cataloged by a UK collector named Shaun.? While most samples that employ the radial Arabic numerals were produced for the Kenya Air Force, Lot 32 is a civilian model. GMT Autavias of the 1970s Lot 31 Lot 27 Heuer introduced the GMT Autavias as manual-wind models in the 1960s, but with the introduction of the automatic Autavias in 1969, most of the GMT models sold by Heuer were powered by automatic movements.? Lot 31 is the first execution of the automatic Autavia (Reference 1163 GMT), identified by the 24 numerals on the bezel (from the earlier GMT Autavias) and the brushed steel hands (later used on the Viceroy model of the GMT).? Lot 27 is the second execution of the Autavia 1163 GMT, with the bezel now having only the even numbers and the hands on the registers now in bright red. Lot 30 Lot 30 is the only manually-wound model of the GMT Autavia from the 1970s, carrying forward certain elements from the automatic models, but using distinctive pencil shaped hands, with bright white edges, wide luminous inserts and red tips.? As on the manually-wound Siffert described above, we see no writing across the bottom of the dial and the crown in the customary position on the right side of the case. The Last of the Autavias Lot 21 Lot 21 represents the last generation of the Autavias.? The Reference 11063 case measures 21 millimeters between the lugs (versus the 20 millimeters of the earlier models), and the bezel is unidirectional, so prevent the diver from accidentally adding time to his dive.? This bezel on this model, the Diver 100, is specifically designed for divers, indicating the amount of time that the diver may remain at a specific depth. The 1970s Carreras Stainless Steel Automatic Carreras Lot 2 Like the Autavia, in 1969 the Carrera received an entirely new case, to house its new automatic movement.? And also like the Carrera, this new case was a C-shaped case, that broke from the traditional round style of the 1960s Carreras.? Throughout the 1970s, Heuer would offer a broad variety of automatic and manual-winding Carreras using these C-shaped cases, using stainless steel cases, as well as 18 karat gold and gold-plated cases. Lot 12 As described above, the very first chronographs using Heuers Calibre 11 (Chronomatic) movement were marked Chronomatic across the top of the dial, with the model name across the bottom.? Lot 2 is one of these early automatic Carreras, with the metallic blue dial and contrasting white registers, all set off by a red chronograph second hand.? This sample was produced by Heuer for Abercrombie & Fitch, as shown by the co-branding across the bottom of the dial. Lot 12 is another automatic Carrera, except that this one is a standard production model, rather than the earlier Chronomatic.? The dial is silver, with contrasting registers.? Note that both these automatic Carreras have the numerals 3-6-9-12 on the hour recorder, whereas later executions had all 12 numerals. 18-Karat Gold Carreras Since the mid-1940s, Heuer had offered chronographs in 18 karat gold cases, with this tradition being carried forward with the manual-winding Carreras of the 1960s.? Of the three automatic models that Heuer launched in 1969 C Autavia, Carrera and Monaco C the Carrera was the model chosen to be produced in 18 karat gold, however, it was only in 1972 that these were offered.? Related to Heuers sponsorship of the Ferrari Formula One team, Jack Heuer presented these Carreras to each of the Ferrari drivers, as well as other persons associated with the team.? Thus we see photos of theses Carreras being worn by Ferrari racers Mario Andretti, Clay Regazzoni and Nicki Lauda, among others, as well as technical director / engineer, Mauro Forghieri. Lot 15 Heuer offered several varieties of these chronographs over the years, with the dials being either metallic silver or champagne, and the champagne version being offered with either champagne or contrasting black registers. Lot 39 Lot 15 is the version with the silver dial, with the numerals 1 through 12 on t