Monaco 1133b std

Reebs · Feb 28, 2023

Vintage Heuer Monaco std 1133b

My father just gave me Heuer Monaco he bought in 72. It has definitely seen better days: missing crown, missing band and glow in the dark on hour & minute hands burned out after he left it on the dash of his truck decades ago. Dial still seems to be in good shape and the crystal seems fairly clear and only lightly scratched. Band on it currently is a $5 Chinese piece of crap.

I would like to get a ballpark idea of restoration or at least getting the missing components, who\where could do the work, value as is versus restoration versus fixing?

Any thoughts from the community?

abrod520 · Mar 1, 2023

Hard to say on cost without knowing the condition of the movement inside, but I'd budget $1-2k. Try reaching out to Abel Court at heuertime.com as he's the foremost specialist in Heuer restorations.

Reebs · Mar 1, 2023

Thanks. Precisely the info I was looking for.

If the movement, once the crown is installed, only needs a maintenance done could you ballpark as-is value?
I ask because the one high-end collector watch place around me tends to be slightly predatory on trying to pick up watches cheaply. The owner of the store is actually a watch collector himself. I just want to know what to expect as far as making a decision when I walk into his store later this week if at all possible. Just trying to cover all my bases you know.

abrod520 · Mar 1, 2023

The case is pretty polished down which is a major value detractor on these I'm afraid - to bring it back to original spec would require adding metal and polishing, and that's a whole new level of restoration beyond reluming.

Lume is missing from the dial completely too, and while that can be added back like with the hands, there appears to be some spotting left by the melting. There's also some gasket melt around the edges. Eventual value depends a lot on whether these can be cleaned up - if not, also a major detractor.

Finding a crown isn't super hard to do. Finding movement parts is, so again if the movement needs more than just a cleaning/oiling/adjustment then it'll be a big hit too. These aren't that easy to open without dedicated tools, so if I'm the watch shop buyer, I'm definitely not taking my chances.

A collector buying this might pay $7 or $8k, the shop owner will likely offer $5 so he has a nice margin left if he can't find someplace to restore it himself.

Personally, I think it has more value as an heirloom with just a bit of cleaning, a movement service, new crown, and crystal. (Don't worry about reluming unless it's your personal preference)

Reebs · Mar 1, 2023

Thank you very much I appreciate the break down

NGO1 · Mar 9, 2023

Abrod520 helped me with mine. His comment above is good as gold.
Here’s my 1133B from a German collector. You can compare to your own.

I’ve seen original bracelet on eBay for $4k. To get your watch running, I’m guessing $1000, service plus crown and some parts. If you want to restore it to former glory, add $2000 for case refinishing. Polish that crystal will clean up the watch nicely—you can do this yourself. I wouldn’t refinish the dial, collectors shy away from redial.

Bring the watch back to working condition and enjoy it. Sell it as-is when you are ready to let it go.