Showing posts with label heuer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heuer. Show all posts

Friday, December 4, 2009

Tag Heuer Silverstone Reissue - A Very Faithful Reintroduction of the Stunning 1974 Chronograph

The original vintage 1970s Heuer silverstone

Two and a half years ago, I issued a "Reissue Wish" from Tag Heuer (as seen here), having no idea if I had any influence on them, the reintroduction of the Heuer Silverstone Calibre 11 Chronograph has just been announced. And here they are...

Although it appears that I was correct when stating that the original dial color (shown at very top) has not exactly been replicated. It kills me that I sold all my Silverstone collection years ago, the new models are going to cost around $6500 each.





From one of the original seventies Heuer catalogs

Thanks to the super cool watch blog Perpetuelle for taking note of my long lost post!
For more detailed information about this release, visit Calibre 11


Friday, May 15, 2009

Ratpack Watches of Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. up for Auction

Antiquorum’s summer sale of “ Important Collectors’ Wristwatches Pocket Watch & Clocks” on June 11th auction will include timepieces from twentieth century icons President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Steve McQueen in addition to an exceptional selection of wristwatches from every major brand. The auction will be held at Antiquorum’s US headquarters on Madison Avenue. Clients will have the opportunity to view these exquisite, and in some cases unique, timepieces all over the world including Tokyo, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and New York.

Amongst the items being auctioned are:


Of interest for the Frank Sinatra fan is the legendary crooner’s Gruen watch and gold chain necklace. This timepiece is a fine and very thin14K pink gold wristwatch with a pink gold-plated brick link bracelet and is accompanied by a 49 cm gold-plated necklace with 12 letter-links spelling “Frank Sinatra.”

The watch was sold by the estate of Al Silvani who received it as a gift from Frank Sinatra, his close personal friend. Silvani spent a lot of time with Sinatra's Rat Pack and appeared in a number of his movies.Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 15,000



Sammy Davis Jr.’s Cartier Pasha in the June sale. It was given to him by his best friend Frank Sinatra in the late 1980’s, and is inscribed, “Sammy I Luv Ya F.A.S.” The Cartier, "Pasha Quartz - Two-Time-Zone," Ref. 0321 will be offered along with a 1990 People magazine celebrating the life of Sammy Davis and featuring him on the cover wearing the watch and a scrap book of Sammy Davis related news clippings from 1970 to 1973. The timepiece is a fine and rare, two-time-zone, water-resistant, 18K yellow gold quartz wristwatch with moon phases, day and date, produced in 1987.
Estimate: $10,000 - $ 20,000

The 14K gold Movado watch retailed by Tiffany and Co. that was given to President Roosevelt on the occasion of his 63rd and last birthday by his son-in-law, Col. John Boettiger on January 30, 1945 will most certainly be of interest to FDR fans and Movado aficionados alike. This timepiece is a unique and historically important Movado Ref. 44776 with triple date calendar, produced in 1944 accompanied by correspondence authenticating FDR’s memorabilia.


President Roosevelt, known as FDR, was the celebrated 32nd President of the US and the only President in US history to serve four terms (1933-1945). Recognized as one of the greatest American Presidents of all time, his Presidency spanned the Depression of the 1930’s and World War II. The watch was worn by FDR during the last two months of his life, including perhaps to the Yalta Conference in February, 1945 and he may have been wearing this watch when he died on April 12, 1945 at Warm Springs, Georgia. In 2008, the Movado-Tiffany watch was part of a Presidential display for the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors timepiece collection. Antiquorum experts estimate this fine and historically important timepiece at $ 50,000 - $ 60,000.



Fans of the legendary actor, Steve McQueen and race car enthusiasts will also be very interested in the upcoming June sale as it will include the iconic Heuer “Monaco” wristwatch previously owned by Steve McQueen and worn by him during the filming of the 1971 movie “Le Mans”. Steve presented the watch to his financial advisor upon his return home from filming in appreciation for financially restructuring both himself personally and his company, Solar Productions Inc.

The Monaco watch was originally launched by Heuer in 1969 in honor of the Monaco Grand Prix. The watch is a fine and unusual, square convex, water-resistant, stainless steel self-winding wristwatch with chronograph and date. Antiquorum Experts have placed a pre-sale estimate of $ 10,000 - $ 20,000.

View the entire Antiquorum Catalog for this auction.

Related Famous Watch Posts at The Watchismo Times;


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Saturday, January 26, 2008

Living Vicariously Through Other Watch Collectors - 1977 Heuer Split Lap Unit

I can't have everything I want, and that's okay (for now). With fellow collectors detailing their acquisitions in such detail as Jeff Stein of OnTheDash and Chronocentric has done with his recent purchase of a very rare 1977 Heuer Split Lap Unit made for the Ford RS Motorsports Team, I can live vicariously through him. The images might even be sharp enough for me to print out a paper version and assemble it on my wrist.

Heuer Split Lap 77-->Link

The varied reactions Jeff received upon wearing it for the first time;
  • one bad ass watch
  • the ugliest watch I have ever seen [his wife's reaction]
  • a statement . . . a very loud statement
  • a cool-looking machine
  • one rock-solid watch
  • I thought you were getting into the Bubble-backs?
  • what in the world is it?
Original 1978 advertisement

Partial ad translation; "Built for those with the higest of expectations. With the ambitious standards of motorsport, - with obsession, with the love of perfection & measuring equipment. If you want to wear a timecomputer, that will remain a styling & technology rarity"


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Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Vintage Watching - LIP Sector Retrograde, Unusual Heuer, and a Sandoz Mystery Dial

Click to view LIP Retrograde auction

This week on Vintage Watching, I'm featuring one of my favorite watches, the 1973 LIP sector retrograde. They came in a few styles and rarely found for sale. The one above features double retrograde hands (they fly back to the left instantly when reaching the far right) showing hours on bottom and minutes on top.

Click to view the Heuer Auction

Just when I think I've seen every oddball Heuer chronograph of the sixties & seventies, I stumble upon another like the one above. Featuring a very unusual off center 60 minute register. (Update - This might be a fake according to vintage Heuer expert Jeff of OnTheDash.com) Oh well...


Click to view Sandoz Mystery Dial auction

I've seen a few interesting vintage mystery dials from Sandoz, but this unusual 70's "Duplex" above features double-sided hour and minute hands that alternate in length and color when rotating into the visible top portion of the dial. Paul Smith also created a contemporary watch with this style of display->link. Day and month are displayed vertically in the lower obscured hemisphere. Supercool!

Related Posts;
Retrograde Watches
Mystery Dials
Vintage Heuer



Enter The Watchismo Times 1st anniversary vintage chronograph giveway!-->LINK


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Monday, July 23, 2007

Black is Red Hot at the 2007 Tempus Temple of Time

The TEMPUS TIME TEMPLE All‐Black Commemorative Collection

I'm not sure what happened or when but it seems everyone and their mother wants an all black watch these days. Whether it's PVD coated, carbonized, ceramic or whatever, people want to be apart of the horological Blacksploitation of luxury timepieces. So...that brings me to the September 2007 Tempus "Temple of Time" watch festival in Singapore. Put together by The Hour Glass, it's the largest watch event in Asia and likely becoming one of the most influential. KokChoon of Horomundi.com has detailed the information for this All Black series here-->Link

He's also has taken some great photographs of the prototype black PVD RM016 by Richard Mille (shown above) and more here-->Link


The RM016, encased in special micro-sandblasted, titanium, features a skeletonized automatic winding movement with hours, minutes, date and adjustable rotor geometry. The design allows the wearer to optimize and personalize the movement's winding mechanism to suit both sporting and non-sporting environments. Edition of 25
PDF

JAEGER-LECOULTRE Gyrotourbillon All Black
Edition of Three

The limited edition Gyrotourbillon, 18k yellow gold covered in black, spherical tourbillon, equation of time, perpetual calendar, date/month/year retrograde indication and eight day power reserve.

AUDEMARS PIGUET Maserati MC12 All Black
Edition of One

On the heels of the Audemars Piguet’s, Maserati MC 12 roadcar inspired timepiece, the limited edition Black Millenary MC12 Tourbillon and chronograph. A reinterpretation of its predecessor’s engineering and aesthetics.

DE BETHUNE Big Power All Bl ack
Edition of Ten

Features the DB22 movement of the De Bethune “Power” series, with a patented new function which allows the speed’s regulation of the winding system through the crown in the middle position. Set it in standard position for a quiet motion or in sport position for an active response.

HUBLOT Bigger Bang All Black
Edition of Five

The Bigger Bang is the world’s first tourbillon column-heel chronograph with direct coupling on a flying tourbillon.

HUBLOT Big Bang All Black
Edition of 50

Carrera Calibre 360
Edition of Ten

The Carrera Calibre 360 PVD, the world’s first ever 1/100th mechanical wrist chronograph with a movement 10 times faster than the fastest movement in any watch.

SINN U1 Diver
Edition of 250

Made of German submarine steel, tested by Germanischer Lloyd, the global authority in pressure testing of submarines.

Related Posts;
Omega Seamaster "Darth Vader"
BRM PVD
Zenith Defy Xtreme Stealth
Audemars Piguet Millenary MC12
Mocha Horological Museum
Baselworld & SIHH

Find other watches


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Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Time On The Road - A Dash of Dashboard Clock History


"Travelers have benefited from any number of portable timepieces over the years. During the 19th century, as more and more people began to travel by carriage, they needed timepieces that could travel with them. One such timepiece was the carriage clock, whose remarkably shockproof movement was perfected by the French watchmaker Abraham Louis Brequet in the late 18th century. In other instances, pocket watches were placed in leather holders that fit over the front board of the carriage. As inventors and manufacturers like Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler, Charles and J. Frank Duryea, Henry Ford, and Ransom E. Olds furthered development of the automobile, a new breed of clock was introduced—the car clock.

By 1908, speedometer companies were producing and marketing clocks as after-market accessories. Over the next decade, the car clock grew in popularity and several companies began catering to the growing market, including the Phinney-Walker Keyless Clock Company, the Warner Instrument Company, the Seth Thomas Clock Company, the Stewart Speedometer Company, the Chelsea Clock Company, and the Boston Clock Company. In some cases, there was a clear crossover between marine clocks and automobile clocks. Waltham, a major supplier of car clocks, marketed identical timepieces for both automobiles and boats.

Manufactures gave customers many choices offering models that mounted on general interior surfaces, dashboards, steering wheels, gearshifts, and rear-view mirrors. The winding mechanisms also evolved from key-wind clocks to stem-wind clocks to rim-wind clocks. During the 1930s and 1940s, electric automobile clocks were in production, but mechanical clocks were still being offered. It was not until 1950s and 1960s that electric clocks truly dominated the market, at least up until the advent of quartz technology. Today's car clocks mostly have quartz movements, however new technologies like Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are available as both production and after-market accessories."

From the NAWCC Museum


1822 Carriage Clock by Breguet

1905 Leather Dashboard Clock Holder

In the early days of the "horseless carriage", automobiles were open vehicles with a dash or kick board in front of the driver's legs. The first car clocks were often large timepieces in heavy leather holders which were slung over the dashboard.

1911 Heuer "Time of Trip"

The "Time of Trip", the first dashboard chronograph patented by (TAG) Heuer in 1911, was designed for aircraft and automobiles. Its 11-cm diameter and its size are well suited for installation on all types of dashboards. The large hands at the centre of the dial indicate the time. The small pair of hands, at the 12 o'clock position, give the duration of the trip (not exceeding 12 hours). The same button is used to start, stop and reset the clock. A small window at the 3 o'clock position serves to monitor the proper operation of the device.

1912 Brown Clock-Speedometer

Speedometers were available as standard equipment in vehicles as early as 1908, though most drivers could not afford this luxury. Often speedometers were combined with odometers, trip meters and clocks.

1925 Phinney-Walker Rim-Wind Car Clock

The "Embassy" was one of the most popular car clocks produced by Phinney-Walker. The eight day clock was wound and set by rotating the outer rim.

1925 Limosine Clock

This car clock was made by Waltham for use in Cadillac limousines. The clock would have been mounted on the partition which separated the driver from the passenger compartment.


1929 Waltham 8 Day
Dial color matching car color

1932 Jaeger

Along with Sterling Electric, Jaeger was a major manufacturer of 1930s car clocks. Their clocks could be seen in Cadillacs, Packards and Lincolns in the thirties. This clock was made for the Packard Super 8.

1933 Heuer Autavia Dashboard Timer

In 1933, Heuer introduced the "Autavia", a dashboard timer used for Automobiles and Aviation (and thus the name "Autavia"). The companion "Hervue" was a clock that had an 8-day movement (meaning that it could run for eight days without being wound).

Heuer Collection at On The Dash

1941 Packard "Woody" 110 Station Sedan Dashboard Clock

"The Woody"

1950s Ford

1951 Ford

1952 Pontiac Chieftain Deluxe Station Wagon

One of the most spectacular car clocks I've seen. The clock is by far the largest feature in the entire dashboard.

Chieftain Station Wagon

1955 Ford

1956 Oldsmobile
clock above, car below


1960 Oldsmobile
clock above, car below


1965 Dodge Dart

1970s Cadillac

And of course, digital displays started to appear in the seventies. This one from a Cadillac featuring rolling drums of numbers like most alarm clocks of that era.

2006 Peugeot 908 RC concept car
by Bell & Ross

Watch brand, Bell & Ross was picked to appoint the dashboard clock in this concept car. Featuring a jumping digital hour and central minutes hand based upon their timepiece of similar design.

Watch brand, IWC with their clock
in a Mercedes S63 AMG

And if you have any unique dashboard clocks you'd like to share for a future follow-up to this posting, please email me.

Related Posts;
Radiator Grille Watches
Delorean Time DMC2 Wristwatch
Audemars Piguet Maserati Millenary MC12
Kienzle Life 2002 Jump Hour
Azimuth Chrono Gauge Mecha
Paul Smith Dashboard Watch
Heuer Silverstone
Heuer Ford Chronosplit
Tag Heuer Monaco V4 Belt Drive Watch
Formex Shock Absorber Watch
Gerald Genta Arena Chrono Quattro Retro
Parmigiani Bugatti Engine Block Watch
Manometro
Dunhill Petrolhead
Richard Arbib
B.R.M. Birotor
Driver Watches



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