The "Official" Watch Thread and all Things Horological
- Thread starter backmarkerducati
- Start date
A picture is worth a thousand words. I finally got around to downloading my camera. Yes, I take pictures with a camera; I use my phone for calls and texts only; and I use a watch to tell me what time it is.
When my Sub was in the shop I started looking at other watches. I have a Heuer that I used for decades and hundreds of dives. I tucked it away somewhere for safe keeping. I thought I would wear it for a while, but I had tucked it so well that it took me about 3 weeks to find it. In the meantime, while wearing the Ingraham that I bought in grade 9, I Googled parts for my Heuer and an old Citizen that’s been in a drawer for 50 years. That lead to a quickly returned Amazon purchase with a chip on the inside of the crystal. As promised, here’s the pics.
When my Sub was in the shop I started looking at other watches. I have a Heuer that I used for decades and hundreds of dives. I tucked it away somewhere for safe keeping. I thought I would wear it for a while, but I had tucked it so well that it took me about 3 weeks to find it. In the meantime, while wearing the Ingraham that I bought in grade 9, I Googled parts for my Heuer and an old Citizen that’s been in a drawer for 50 years. That lead to a quickly returned Amazon purchase with a chip on the inside of the crystal. As promised, here’s the pics.
I'd like one but it's a minefield buying vintage. Darryl has a nice Temporada. It's different than the ubiquitous Autavia and I trust his rating and servicing of the watch, but he wants a lot for the composite case version IMO.
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This guy specializes in them.
www.tag1000diver.com
Looks like he does nice work. He has parts too, but they are not cheap, especially when you account for exchange rates and cross border shipping. I got thinking about restoring mine, which is how I found him. I may yet. For decades I was always told that bezels were impossible to find. Apparently that is no longer true. This guy makes his own and they look really good and authentic. I chose to stay local when I found one right here at Perrin (Thanks again to you guys). It's shiny, unlike the matte original, and the Kentucky sourced one, but it will have to do. I gave the case a good going over and installed it recently. I'd like to replace the crystal and all the gaskets. I'll use a Pro for that if I do.
Tag Heuer Watches - 1000 Parts, Service, & Restoration - Louisville KY
At Tag Heuer 1000 Parts, Service, & Restoration, we offer quality services to customers worldwide. See us a message if you need your Tag Heuer serviced. We work on all models of Tag Heuer, not just the 1000 models. We also service the 1500, 2000, 6000, Kirium, Formula 1, Chronographs, etc.
www.tag1000diver.com
I was close on a “new” Autavia , but to get all those clocks in the case it’s very thick . I have seen some Heuer dress style lately in the market at an almost tolerable price . It has to be a Heuer , a pre Tag Heuer . That’s my current fascination.
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I am surprised they do not drop completely TAG from the branding, at least for the higher end sport stuff. Techniques d'Avant Garde (TAG) sold control to LVMH in 1999 so they really aren't TAG anymore.... I get some people (masses) may know them as TAG but higher end watch people I think would prefer just Heuer and drop the reference to what many consider their much less than great time period (80s early 90s) for some models.
I bought a couple vintage watches. Pick them up later this week and will post pics when I get them. A Gruen wristwatch and a Spiridion silver pocket watch. The spiridion is a dice roll. Some have very interesting movements inside. It will get sold if I got lucky.
I have a couple pocket watches that were inherited, neither worth much beyond recovery gold . Better one is a railroad works , which is supposed to be more value . But I think both would cap out at $200.
The Tag days for Heuer were not my favourite, still very good watches but I think the designs got different for my taste . I had a Tag and sold it on , it didn’t fit my style ( that week)
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The Tag days for Heuer were not my favourite, still very good watches but I think the designs got different for my taste . I had a Tag and sold it on , it didn’t fit my style ( that week)
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Priller
Well-known member
A number of the new(er) reissues have dropped the TAG logo.
That 60th Anniversary Carrera is stunning, and I'm not normally a chronograph fan. The Monaco will always be an icon, but that ad breaks the first rule of cool: you can never acknowledge that you're trying to be cool or even give the appearance that being cool is the goal...
Considering I saved a packet on the vintage Hamilton as a dress watch (incidentally, Polywatch worked wonders on the crystal, looks like a different watch - has actually made me much less fearful of acrylic), I had some extra cash burning a hole in my pocket for a daily. I was looking at a bunch of options, including a Ball Trainmaster or Engineer, a Hamilton Spirit of Liberty (horrible name and strap but handsome case), and Tissot Ballade. I've always loved the previous-gen Longines Conquest as a sport watch with incredible water resistance that can be dressed up or down, so when I found a 41mm one on Chrono24 out of Japan for an incredible price (thanks to a soft Yen, I assume), I grabbed it. Having received it yesterday, I couldn't be happier. It's definitely 'inspired' by the Explorer, but I'm fine with that as I think that's the best looking Rolex...
Here's the obligatory hairy wrist pic:
As usual, the pic makes it look bigger on the wrist than it does in person. All that polished steel means it's going to be a scratch magnet, but as a daily, I'm fine with that...
They are smart enough at Tag Heuer to realize the cache is in looking cool and building on that . I was stunned ( to the point of selling mine ) when Omega went backwards and made the speedmaster an el cheapo . But it worked for Omega , they sold tens of thousands of planet whatever , me dumping my real speedy? Well they never called to ask why.
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The high polished bezel helps pull off the dressed up part.
Priller
Well-known member
For Tag Heuer, I was just referring to the pic that was posted with the ad tag line, "The History of Cool." Calling yourself cool is the opposite of cool, even if Steve did wear one...
As for Swatch, they're clearly not afraid to dilute their various brands if it means they will sell lots of watches! You can't deny the financial success, though, with their near monopoly. I had really wanted to avoid their brands, but in the $1-2k bracket I was looking at, there's more brands under Swatch than there are out of it (though I came close on a Ball Engineer Marvelight). Much as I don't have a lot of love for Rolex and their sales approach, I have to give them credit for not pushing Tudor downmarket to the sub-$2k bracket, or for buying some long-dead brand and resurrecting the name to sell there. They make what they make, and let the customers come to them.
You can get it / put it on a leather strap that definitely dresses it up a bit more, but it'll never be truly convincing as a dress watch with such chunky proportions and a crown that massive:
Rolex certainly didn’t push Tudor down market , all models jumped significantly last summer , way past any inflation pricing. And they played the Rolex card by making it hard to find certain black bay models without waiting . I like Tudor watches , I have a black bay / black face . I will buy a red bezel / wht face eventually.
My kids know Steve McQueen because I still watch old movies , and had breakfast with his widow Barbara in Vegas by accident. But they don’t consider him cool . He’s an old actor , that died . I not sure anyone under 40 remembers him as a the King of Cool .
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My kids know Steve McQueen because I still watch old movies , and had breakfast with his widow Barbara in Vegas by accident. But they don’t consider him cool . He’s an old actor , that died . I not sure anyone under 40 remembers him as a the King of Cool .
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Looks better on the bracelet. Always get the bracelet. Getting one later costs far more, and there are millions of straps out there to choose from.
Agree. I don't love it on the strap.
