Is my Vintage Heuer Authentic? All questions here please

L
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imagwai imagwai
As I posted on WUS, a number of things make me think it's genuine but a redial with replacement hands. Also definitely needs some TLC. Thanks for posting here - hopefully one of the members with knowledge of vintage Heuers will show up. One more thing do you have a side-on shot of the case?

Here the side view. Thanks for the help.
 
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L
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MRC MRC
Agree about the hands although they were used on other 1940s Heuers such as the one Jeff Stein posted in OTD today. However I do not see anything to suggest a repainted dial. For a watch that was only in production for a short time before the introduction of the tide + chrono three sub-dial references there is a lot of variation in dial and hands in the photos available.

The good news is that someone cared about it enough to have it serviced and replacing the hands used to be common for a manufacturer service. BTW, the lume on the hands and dial is radium based, and opening it up should only be done by someone with the knowledge about the precautions to take.

Absolutely surprising. I have no idea how this ended up abandoned in a drawer in my father's desk. Any suggestion on where to have it serviced? Thank you very much for the help!
 
MRC
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L LuisFer
Absolutely surprising. I have no idea how this ended up abandoned in a drawer in my father's desk. Any suggestion on where to have it serviced? Thank you very much for the help!

Better tell us where in the world you are then we should be able to find a recommendation for that country.
 
L
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MRC MRC
Better tell us where in the world you are then we should be able to find a recommendation for that country.

Makes sense 😀. In Portugal, though I frequently travel around western Europe. Thanks
 
MRC
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L LuisFer
Makes sense 😀. In Portugal, though I frequently travel around western Europe. Thanks

Abel Court in Belgium has an excellent reputation, I'm in the UK and Richard Askham looks after things like that for me.

http://www.heuertime.com
http://thewatchspotblog.com

Both have a long waiting list and lots of repeat customers. Also in the UK Nic Green is frequently mentioned for vintage watches. http://chronomatic.com/home.html

Any more European suggestions? SteveP?
 
Calibre11
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I agree- Abel is the guy to go to. He'll be able to tell you straight away if the dial has been retouched...but given the age of the watch, I'd guess not
 
SteveP
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MRC MRC
Abel Court in Belgium has an excellent reputation, I'm in the UK and Richard Askham looks after things like that for me.

http://www.heuertime.com
http://thewatchspotblog.com

Both have a long waiting list and lots of repeat customers. Also in the UK Nic Green is frequently mentioned for vintage watches. http://chronomatic.com/home.html

Any more European suggestions? SteveP?

I think you've covered it Mike. I'm not up with many ex-UK watchmakers generally but Abel in Belgium can certainly confirm if it's genuine or otherwise......but if you're looking for a service, you could be in for a looooooooooong wait. He is at http://www.heuertime.com/?lang=eng&p=home

Yes, Rich Askham would be a great UK bet- http://thewatchspotblog.com/ for excellent work, or Nic Green http://chronomatic.com/ as you say. I haven't used Nic personally but he's incredibly knowledgeable and I only hear good things about his work.
When it comes to Heuers, these are the top guys that I'm aware of!
Good luck with it and make sure to keep us posted!
Steve
 
L
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SteveP SteveP
I think you've covered it Mike. I'm not up with many ex-UK watchmakers generally but Abel in Belgium can certainly confirm if it's genuine or otherwise......but if you're looking for a service, you could be in for a looooooooooong wait. He is at http://www.heuertime.com/?lang=eng&p=home

Yes, Rich Askham would be a great UK bet- http://thewatchspotblog.com/ for excellent work, or Nic Green http://chronomatic.com/ as you say. I haven't used Nic personally but he's incredibly knowledgeable and I only hear good things about his work.
When it comes to Heuers, these are the top guys that I'm aware of!
Good luck with it and make sure to keep us posted!
Steve

Thank you all for the help and the suggestions. I'll keep you updated!
Best,
Luis
 
L
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SteveP SteveP
I think you've covered it Mike. I'm not up with many ex-UK watchmakers generally but Abel in Belgium can certainly confirm if it's genuine or otherwise......but if you're looking for a service, you could be in for a looooooooooong wait. He is at http://www.heuertime.com/?lang=eng&p=home

Yes, Rich Askham would be a great UK bet- http://thewatchspotblog.com/ for excellent work, or Nic Green http://chronomatic.com/ as you say. I haven't used Nic personally but he's incredibly knowledgeable and I only hear good things about his work.
When it comes to Heuers, these are the top guys that I'm aware of!
Good luck with it and make sure to keep us posted!
Steve

Dear all,

Getting back to you for advise following the feedback I got from Rich and Abel.

Rich, suggests I should look for someone closer to home for the restoration due to the potential high cost of shipping insurance. He also suggests I should ask you guys (Heuer experts 😀) how far a restoration should go not to end up devaluating the watch.

Abel, as you said, is fully booked until sep’18. On his opinion the Solunar "looks tired, but all original".

Once again, thank you very much for the help.

Best,
Luis
Edited:
 
MRC
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L LuisFer
Rich, suggests I should look for someone closer to home for the restoration due to the potential high cost of shipping insurance.
Personally I would transport it myself. That's what I do with the Carrera I've worn since 1970, can't insure it for sentimental value. Waiting until you might be on a trip to Belgium (anywhere Benelux really) or the UK won't hurt it. Sorry can't help with a suggestion closer to home for you.

L LuisFer
He also suggests I should ask you guys (Heuer experts 😀) how far a restoration should go not to end up devaluating the watch.

Dial: don't touch.

Hands: Maybe look for "more correct" Alpha hands. Good luck with that! The existing hands are certainly in period and could optionally be re-lumed to the same faded colour as now. The watch I am wearing today has gaps in the lume and I am just going to leave it alone. It is not noticeable on the wrist against a white dial as you also have, but only really shows up in the shadow of the hands under a strong light.

Case: Here you three choices. Leave it alone, re-chrome or clean nickel off and lightly polish as brass. Re-chroming is very tricky and would result in noticeable loss of shape because it would have to be heavily polished. Out! Removing the remnants of chrome and/or nickel would be more in tune with modern fashion. However I'd leave it the way it is, it will look a lot better with that verdigris removed -- which should be easy for a watchmaker. That way you have not affected future options if you decide to sell it.

Movement: Looks very clean. Just a service needed here.

Crown (that's the winder): looks well used, but I'd still leave it alone.

Spring bars: Definitely renew!


But everyone has their own taste.

Mike
 
L
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Thanks indeed Mike for the comprehensive answer. I'll get back to you with the results.

Best,
Luis
 
Sher
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Greatings!
Found this little one for sale in my area and I don't know much about it. I have only found a couple of examples on the internet for this Grassy watch, but with Heuer automatic movement.
What do you think?
Thanks!
 
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Bellerophon85
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Hi all, I've been offered a 60's Heuer Carrera Ref. 3647N (see pictures below). In my opinion this piece looks genuine but Im not sure if the crown is original. What do you think? I know there are early crowns without "Heuer" sign, but this one looks somehow odd to me...

Best regards,
Andreas
 
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imagwai
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No expert but I'd agree it does look like it might be a replacement. Of course an original would be preferable but on the other hand, it a sign its been maintained. Even with a non-standard crown, it looks to be a highly desirable piece in good condition.
 
MRC
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This 3647 crown is also not signed, but it is noticeably thinner than the one in your photos. The illustration in the Crosthwaite & Gavin Carrera book in the background is thinner too. OTOH, it's a minor point when the rest of it looks so nice.

These photos are the same watch despite the different straps.
PB150255.JPG P1000608.JPG
 
Bellerophon85
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Thanks for your opinions! So that's what I thought, a replacement crown of an earlier service.

But I agree, the overall condition of the watch looks great. Hope I can get it 😀
 
gophishin
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Depending on what the serial number is, a Heuer signed crown might be more correct, and might be easier to identify to replace this one with. As the others stated, the earliest Carreras had a thinner unsigned crown, that, IIRC, had 32 teeth or knurls in it. The rest of the watch looks okay, the only other thing to confirm is the length of the minute hand. It's tough to tell from the angle of these pics, but you want to be sure it's not a shorter one, like used on the models with outer T/D/P tracks.
 
abrod520
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Length of the minute hand is OK, the crown is definitely not original. Crowns for '60s Carreras had less height out from the case, whether they were signed or not - the only difference is that the earlier unsigned crown had a larger diameter.
 
Bellerophon85
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Thanks for the really useful information! I checked my other pics and compared it to some pics of other Carreras, and yes, I think the minute hand is alright.

@gophishin: I haven't seen the serial number yet, but do you maybe have any information for me from which serial on the signed crowns were used? Any ideas where I can get an original part from?
 
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