Hello - I have been trying to find this version of the Monza



I have seen it at the following places

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cu...ograph-celebrated-ferraris-greatest-comeback/

https://www.lot-art.com/auction-lot...3665-heuer_monza_chronograph-08.5.21-catawiki

And also on George Bamford's wrist in about effing time podcast (4:25)

But cannot find it or it's reference anywhere.

I can find the economy version (without the monza on the dial) 150.501 quite regularly but the one with monza on top of the Heuer logo and the balanced chrono registers seems to not even exist on

http://www.onthedash.com/watches/monza/

Any idea of what this model is? Was it a transitional reference between the economy version and the Niki Lauda version?

Appreciate the help!

 

The one you have pictured, with the symmetric sub-dials, is ref 110.511, not 150.501.



Ref 150.501 has asymmetric sub-dials. They're not hard to find.

 

The weird thing is all case backs I have seen for the symmetric dials says 150.501 on the back

Example: https://www.chrono24.sg/heuer/heuer-monza-ref110501-pvd--id25382002.htm

So there are three versions
1. Symmetric without Monza dial (110.511/110.501?)
2. Symmetric with Monza on dial
3. Asymmetric Dial (150.501)

Any idea what was the transition from one to the other and why? Was it just the cheaper caliber 15 movement?

 

If you look closely at the 1978 catalogue image I shared above, 110.511 does indeed have "Monza" above the Heuer logo.

I think what happened is in later years Monza was removed from ref 110.511 and 110.501.

Here in the 1981 catalogue, it does not have "Monza". Don't know exactly when the change happened, but it seems earlier versions from the '70s should have Monza, while in the '80s it doesn't.

Don't know why the caseback you shared in the C24 listing has 150.501 either, perhaps it was swapped?

Based on the catalogues I shared, there are 4 versions as follows:

1. Asymmetric dial - black case, Cal 15 (ref 150.501)
2. Asymmetric dial - metal case, Cal 15 (ref 150.511)
3. Symmetric dial - black case, Cal 12 (ref 110.511)
4. Symmetric dial - metal case, Cal 12 (ref 110.501)

Oddly, the suffixes (511 & 501) are reversed in their meaning of black case vs. metal case on the 110 compared to the 150. OnTheDash believes this may have been an error in the '78 catalog, see this link: http://www.onthedash.com/chronograph/monza-caliber-12-in-black-coated-case/
But in the '78, '81, and '83 catalogues that I have copies of, they all use the same reference numbers consistently: 110.511 for black, 110.501 for metal.

In addition, the symmetric dial Cal 12 came after the asymmetric Cal 15. The asymmetric dial Cal 15 was released in '76, and appears in the '77 & '78 catalogues. The symmetric dial Cal 12, doesn't appear until the '78 catalogue.

 

https://www.ricardo.ch/en/a/1226926494

 

Thanks! The weird thing is that almost all Symmetric dial versions I can find on the web have 150.501 on the case back

https://www.chrono24.sg/heuer/heuer-monza-ref-150501--id27277167.htm

https://www.chrono24.sg/heuer/heuer-monza-ref110501-pvd--id25382002.htm

https://www.chrono24.sg/heuer/heuer-monza--id25244963.htm

https://www.carousell.sg/p/heuer-monza-150-501-vintage-rare-1106933147/

 

Remember though, most watch catalogs back in those days (including this one) use an artist's drawn image of the watch that is usually based on prototypes or mock-ups. We've seen 'mystery' Speedmasters like this for instance, that don't actually exist. And in this case, I've never personally seen a Cal 12 with the 'Monza' name above the Heuer shield... not saying they don't exist, but if they do, they must be extremely rare and none have been photographed or documented as far as I'm aware

 

They are out there, but seem pretty rare.

George Bamford obviously has one.



I also found this one by searching on 110.501.



I found this one by searching on 110.511. It was recently for sale and even has 110.511 on the caseback.
https://www.ricardo.ch/de/a/heuer-monza-vintage-uhr-1975-kal12-ref-110511-uhr-laeuft-1220586792/

 

That is strange. I can only guess that with Heuer being in big financial trouble in the 80s, perhaps they were mixing and matching parts to use up old parts inventory.

Here's a pic from the '83 catalogue, again showing the same reference numbers.

 

What's also interesting is that "Monza" seems to have left the dial face right around the time Heuer's partnership with Ferrari ended. Coincidence? Perhaps not.

It seems that Heuer may have lost the ability to use the Monza name in the 80s. In the 1978 catalogue, it's referred to as the Monza in the text description. However in the '81 and '83 catalogues, it is only referred to as a "Chronograph", Monza is no longer used as its name.

 

Well the chase for a 110.511 begins now