Vintage? Repair or not?

Attached is a pic of my pro 2000 automatic (bottom left corner) I just sent this off for service in the US through my AD. I bought the watch in 1991 along with a women's 1000 series diver for my wife as wedding presents for us. The watch is in great cosmetic shape as it sat up for years and has a new TAG band. It runs fairly well, but loses probably 15-30 seconds a day. The winding mechanism is bit stiff. Since it had never been serviced I decided to get it spiffed up. The original estimate was $400 for the service. I got word from my AD that US service needs to send it to Switzerland to get repaired and the minimum is $1,000. ($250 just to look at it) I am willing to do this because of the sentimental value, but that is going to be my limit. I know I will not get my money back any time soon but the watch has gotten some good feedback because of the movement, and it has a neat backstory for me. Two questions 1) Is this considered a "vintage" watch by the strictest standards? 2) What would cause a US service center to bail out and want to send to Switzerland? Lack of parts? etc.

ADs and the importing agents today shy away from anything over a few years old. I needed a new crystal for an admittedly 1960s Heuer and the TAG-Heuer / Breitling / Omega AD who had been helpful in the past wanted to send it to Switzerland. A Rolex + Longines AD two streets away replaced it for £15 total cost and got the rehaut lined up properly 😀 The difference -- a very experienced watchmaker who visits two days a week. So I suspect that most ADs now have to pay high rents for fancy locations and have eliminated the expense of having someone on call who can actually handle more than a strap change. The service centre also does not want to pay for experienced workers or, as you suspect, for stocking "obsolete" parts.


Backstory is the important thing! Get it sorted out by an independent. Wear, enjoy.


Nice little collection BTW. You clearly like your TAG-Heuers. Now, about adding one or two 60's or 70's Heuers....

Appreciate the feedback, I will search around to see if I can find an experienced local guy to do the work. I had something similar happen on another brand in which they tried several options with me and they finally said it can't be fixed, go pick one out off of our site with a 35% discount. Which I happily did...but I want this one fixed. Thanks for the positive comments on the TAGs. I actually have a couple more that are from the weird mid to late 90s era. I have to keep a few around because of my initials....TAG. I have been called TAG since day one. Little did I know that my first Heuer would evolve into my nickname. I am keeping my eyes open for a good 60s or 70s model.

Definitely get it sorted. It is the relationship with the watch that makes it so important in my eyes.

The reason they may be reluctant to work on it is because of the Depraz Dubois chrono module, which were replaceable items, but these days simply rare as rocking horse poo.

If it’s just a quartz movement that needs a service then it can be cheaply done by a good watchmaker.....of which there must be plenty in the states. I had my 2000 sorted earlier this year and cost around $70 for service and crystal replacement. Autos cost a little more, but again a good watchmaker can easily assist on the movement element.

Hunt around and find a watchmaker that’s known and trusted, and ideally with Heuer/Tag Heuer as they may be able to source any parts required, or will do more than maybe other watchmakers.

That is interesting, the watch is an automatic movement, but I am a bit confused as to the descriptions of this movement. It seems to be some type of hybrid if you take the descriptions literally. I can see that being an issue when it comes to repair. Any feedback on this is appreciated, as I certainly didn't buy it with any prior knowledge. I was fairly young at the time and knew nothing other than it was a good looking watch. I got into watches later in life and found my old TAG's in the same box my wife had put away her old TAG's...it was like finding buried treasure. I think am going to take a chance on sending it to Switzerland.

It is (https://www.calibre11.com/tag-heuer-2000-series/) of the construction that has a basic time-only movement with a specialist chrono module sitting on the top. The Heuer Calibres 11, 12, 14 & 15 were built that way starting from 1969 and have some enthusiasm in these forums 👍 👍 The advantage to a manufacturer is that if already available modules can be sourced then time to market is faster than designing and developing your own integrated movement. The disadvantage to the owner is that it is more complicated to service which then costs more and requires more specialism from the watchmaker. The construction is still used in some very expensive brands.



I started that way too, and picked a Heuer Carrera out of a mail-order catalogue when I was 20, a long time ago.... Then many years later pulled it out of a drawer when all the battery powered watches I owned were dead and started wearing it again. I have let an Omega go to Switzerland at great cost and some visible parts were changed to the detriment of its appearance, but now with all the help and advice available here and in other specialist websites know that I don't need to suffer that again.

Great info and seems to be exactly what is happening. Apologize for my ignorance but still learning. Love your story as well.

I have until after the 1st to find a local guy. I am going to try, we are a bit limited in our area. My AD is not too interested.

Below is a thread I posted on the Vintage Heuer Forum. After investigation I should have posted this to the TAG side of the forums site. Apologies to the Heuer side. I got some helpful feedback and it is much appreciated. Anyone that saw this previously can ignore. I was advised to seek a local watchmaker but so far no joy. I am located along the US Gulf Coast so if anybody has a suggestion I am all for it. As it stands now, I will go ahead and ship to Switzerland and cross my fingers.

Attached is a pic of my pro 2000 automatic (bottom left corner) I just sent this off for service in the US through my AD. I bought the watch in 1991 along with a women's 1000 series diver for my wife as wedding presents for us. The watch is in great cosmetic shape as it sat up for years and has a new TAG band. It runs fairly well, but loses probably 15-30 seconds a day. The winding mechanism is bit stiff. Since it had never been serviced I decided to get it spiffed up. The original estimate was $400 for the service. I got word from my AD that US service needs to send it to Switzerland to get repaired and the minimum is $1,000. ($250 just to look at it) I am willing to do this because of the sentimental value, but that is going to be my limit. I know I will not get my money back any time soon but the watch has gotten some good feedback because of the movement, and it has a neat backstory for me. Two questions 1) Is this considered a "vintage" watch by the strictest standards? 2) What would cause a US service center to bail out and want to send to Switzerland? Lack of parts? etc.

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@TAG as in TAG sorry I should have said “if it is a quartz movement” rather than suggesting it was.....changed it to avoid confusion.

The Autos are more expensive to service, but quite often can be serviced with little or no parts required.

As MRC says the DD2000 module is used in some very high end watches and can’t remember the specific AP it was used in, but it was quite a development at the time.

You could try posting on Chronocentric on the Heuer forum for servicing recomendations in the US. There are plenty of good watchmakers about in the US, and if you get desperate do a search on google for Jeff Stein’s email and ask him if he can assist.....he’s a legend within the Heuer community and a prolific collector with a wealth of knowledge.