My recently acquired Heuer ref 844 diver

zakruvalcaba
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So you've probably seen my previous post on the Autavia 1163. I purchased that watch because I'm now intrigued by vintage Heuer. I've caught the bug I guess you can say. Thanks to a buddy of mine who recently gifted me his Heuer ref 844 that he purchased new in 1981. I had no idea what it was until I started doing a little more research. I'm still a bit perplexed by which version this is because I've seen the version with the cathedral hour hand and I've seen this version (Mercedes hour hand). However I have not seen this version without the "Made in France" lettering at the 6'oclock. What do you guys think? Which version are we looking at here? I also told my buddy I would compensate him some money....he insists that I don't but I want to. What do you guys estimate the value as this watch sits? The watch is running about an hour fast per day so I believe it to be heavily magnetized and in desperate need of a service. It's never been serviced in 40 years.
 
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SteveP
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Hi-well congratulations firstly. Your friend has/had good taste!

We see SO many variations of these 'Monnins'/844s it really is difficult to say what is correct or otherwise. A few points I'll comment on-
-it is not uncommon to have no 'Made in France' on the dial
-yours has the often coveted 'large lollipop' second hand.....although the tail is peculiar and not one I've ever seen before
-slightly unusual to have the bezel pip, but as it is a later model it is reasonable to say it is OK
-if you ever open the caseback (I'm not saying you should necessarily!) it will be interesting to see if the movement is the FE4611a or not.
-the main thing that strikes me-is there no '844' or other marking on the s? It is quite unusual but sometimes they get worn/polished until very feint or further!

If I had seen all these components together anywhere else, I may be questioning if they started life together but it seems like you have a solid story so it is another variation to add to the pile! Vebelnist's site is a good starting place to see some of the basic features-
Heuer Monnin 844: A Brief History and Collector's Guide — VEBLENIST

Value? While there is some dial degradation I think some would be blinkered towards the lollipop hand-very difficult to say but EUR2-3k?
Best, Steve
 
zakruvalcaba
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SteveP SteveP
Hi-well congratulations firstly. Your friend has/had good taste!

We see SO many variations of these 'Monnins'/844s it really is difficult to say what is correct or otherwise. A few points I'll comment on-
-it is not uncommon to have no 'Made in France' on the dial
-yours has the often coveted 'large lollipop' second hand.....although the tail is peculiar and not one I've ever seen before
-slightly unusual to have the bezel pip, but as it is a later model it is reasonable to say it is OK
-if you ever open the caseback (I'm not saying you should necessarily!) it will be interesting to see if the movement is the FE4611a or not.
-the main thing that strikes me-is there no '844' or other marking on the s? It is quite unusual but sometimes they get worn/polished until very feint or further!

If I had seen all these components together anywhere else, I may be questioning if they started life together but it seems like you have a solid story so it is another variation to add to the pile! Vebelnist's site is a good starting place to see some of the basic features-
Heuer Monnin 844: A Brief History and Collector's Guide — VEBLENIST

Value? While there is some dial degradation I think some would be blinkered towards the lollipop hand-very difficult to say but EUR2-3k?
Best, Steve

Great info Steve, thanks for the detailed reply. I have no reason to doubt my friend....he is in his 50's, not a watch guy at all, and this watch mostly sat on his desk at his house for many years. I fully trust that he bought this watch new and just never wore it past a certain period of time. I'm 99.9% sure that this watch is all original. As I mentioned in my post, the watch is running about an hour fast per day and the power reserve is highly inconsistent so I will be taking it in for service soon. I'll make sure to have the watchmaker take a good quality picture of the movement. What strikes me as very odd, aside from the missing 844 is there isn't s single serial number or other marking on the watch aside from what you see on the case back. I took the strap off and there's nothing in between the lugs. Very odd. Also, I sourced what I believe to be a period correct Heuer bracelet for this watch. I'm not 100% sure if these bracelets came with these watches but it fits the 844 perfectly. What do you guys think?
 
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SteveP
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Hi, no there wouldn't be any other serial/model number than that shown on the caseback as you say. Often just '844' but there can be a serial number too. I believe the story and it's an interesting one that's come to light-thanks!

The bracelet is 99% perfect-they certainly did come with a jubilee such as this. A real stickler could argue this is a later type bracelet but even then you would only know it from the clasp-type. Plus being an apparently later 844, you could argue back that it's not an early 1979 version anyway! 😉)
Best, Steve
 
zakruvalcaba
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SteveP SteveP
Hi, no there wouldn't be any other serial/model number than that shown on the caseback as you say. Often just '844' but there can be a serial number too. I believe the story and it's an interesting one that's come to light-thanks!

The bracelet is 99% perfect-they certainly did come with a jubilee such as this. A real stickler could argue this is a later type bracelet but even then you would only know it from the clasp-type. Plus being an apparently later 844, you could argue back that it's not an early 1979 version anyway! 😉)
Best, Steve

Great info and much appreciated Steve.
 
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