From the launch of the automatic Calibre 11/ 12 in 1969, the manual-wind Valjoux movements became the poor cousins of the range throughout the 1970s. Whether it was the Autavia, Carrera or Monaco, when you look at the most collectible models today, they're all automatics. I guess part of this is the preference for Heuer's own movement, and I also think that the crown on the left is also a drawcard. But....take a look at the balance of the dial of the 3-reg models from this era...dare I say more beautiful than the autos?
I do like manual movements, there is something satisfying in winding a watch up. That's not to say I have a preference for either manual or automatic as I have both in my collection. I agree the balance of the dial of the 3-reg models are very attractive. Must explore further - thanks for posting.
Reviving an old thread...there just isn't much info out there on these 70's manual wind Carreras. Does anyone have any idea how many of these were produced? This seems to be an earlier reference with serial number 152,XXX. I would assume these weren't as popular as their Calibre 11 brothers, so the production numbers should be low...but so far I have found very little about this series
I guess the other point is from a servicing perspective, which would you prefer to deal with, as I've heard the Calibre 11 / 12 can be tricky if there are some parts damaged for an independent watchmaker to deal with and I'm not sure what the situation is at TH in terms of long term parts supplies on them. For the Valjoux's at least there are thankfully plenty or lesser brand and lesser condition quality chronographs that much like a motorcyclist in the rain, serve as excellent organ donors for their much more attractive and desirable Heuer cousins.
Not to mention the fact that the Calibre 11 is not very accurate. Personally I much prefer a manual watch over an automatic, but thats just me. From the little Ive read the Calibre 11 is more popular as a collectable...I don't understand why this wouldn't be a more desirable collectable. Its thiner, lighter, keeps better time and the crown is on the right side BTW- Craig at Chronodeco has no issues with repairing the Calibre 11, he has repaired several of mine.
This article by Christian in the UK is what got me wondering: http://watchguy.co.uk/repair-heuer-autavia-buren-12/
Funny, but almost the same issues with one of my 1153's...an excerpt from the repair notes: "mainspring was missing the bridle (your old one is on top, replacement on the bottom in the pic). Whoever worked on it last would have known this and used it anyway! He also made a lot of other incorrect adjustment and did not know how to properly work on this movement." I think the main problem is there are not that many watchmakers who know the Calibre 11 as well as they should.
Carrera 73353N with the Valjoux 7733 movement..effectively, this is an updated version of the Venus 188. When Valjoux first acquired Venus, they changed the name to the Valjoux 7730. The updated version is the 7733. Agree with you that these are very rare and would have been produced in much smaller numbers (but no- we don't know how many) than the automatic movements...but something being more rare doesn't mean it's more valuable or sought by collectors. These were only made for a couple of years..really like them and yours is a beauty