Guys - I need urgent input. Ideally from those of you who have had the (potential) issue fixed or (even more ideally…) from those who fix it (@abcoro comes to mind, particularly)…

I'll be seeing a Cal.12 chrono later this week locally and am so far pretty inclined to pull the trigger. You’ll obviously see the pics once done

The seller has shared hi-res photos with me, which were taken by a pro (from whom he bought the watch) and are a couple years old. That doesn’t really bother me since he says that condition has hardly changed since then and I will be easily able to verify that for myself…

However, what I just realized is that in these old pics it looks like the crown might not be at a 90 degree angle on the winding stem, but a little bit “tilted”. Now:
- I know that that doesn’t prevent one from winding and adjusting (in short: using) a vintage watch;
- It might be that the photos accentuate the “issue” more than necessary;
- It might even be that this was still fixed by the pro back then - because on the one or two low-res pics I did get, I cannot see anything particular re. the crown…

But just in case it WOULD end up bothering me: Does anyone know whether this is a big deal? Can this be tackled by simply “redressing” the end of the (pulled) stem? Or changing the stem? Is a stem a piece which is a headache to source for a Cal.12?

Many thanks in advance for your help…

 

It might look a bit tilted.
This was mine:



Maybe @abcoro has more insights

 

Hey there!

Probably crown is bent...stem will not be bent. So, we could try to straighten the crown by bending it back into position (but NOT when stem still sits in the movement obviously...). Worst case scenario is that crowntube will eventually break off...so NOS crown will be needed then (I do have limited stock, and...Heuer crowns are expensive)...new stem is no problem either and not rediculously expensive either...

So...happy to have a look at it, at your convenience. Feel free to send me an email abel@heuertime.com and we can see what possible/needed in detail. Cheers, Abel.

 

I’m able to answer my own question So sharing just in case someone else here needs to evaluate a Montreal from afar / based on pics:

On this model, the crown doesn’t sit “flush” with the case but a little bit more afar. Moreover, on the underside there's a relative big cutout (since otherwise the crown would sit even less “flush”), which in itself isn’t square but rather trapezoid in shape.

As a result, certain angles for photos can easily give the impression that the crown isn’t parallel to the case - especially on those taken from the underside - while in reality there’s nothing really worrisome to be seen

 

Hi Abel - immensely appreciate your input Great to see how this forums continues to be a source of valuable vintage Heuer knowledge!

I had written my reply above without refreshing the web page and had thus not seen your response yet when writing…

As mentioned, in this case it was essentially an “effet d'optique”… There's a tiny “imbalance” in the crown positions during a full turn, but IMHO nothing really alarming for a 50 year old piece. So it can easily wait until next revision

 

It not something that would bother me necessarily-as long as the overall price is OK. My 1153 STILL has a bent crown since I've owned it but still winds OK...ish. Crowns and stems can be found (there is a seller on Ebay who has crowns for £50 each)
Steve

 

Tks for your input, @SteveP Yes - it was overall a good offer and a very nice encounter… —> https://tagheuerforums.com/threads/...share-your-photos.19267/page-101#post-2149184