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Reproductions and Fakes
July 30, 2003
Since October 2002, approximately 20 oversized chronographs bearing the "Heuer" name have been offered or sold through ebay or other websites. These chronographs have been sold as vintage "Heuer" timepieces, with prices in the range between $2500 and $4800. They are typically listed as mint or New Old Stock (NOS) timepieces, and often described as having some connection with the Targa Florio road races of the 1950's, grand prix racing, in general, or automobile rallyes.
Over the past several months, there has been considerable controversy about whether these chronographs are genuine Heuer chronographs, made by Heuer in the 1950's, or "fakes", being produced currently in Eastern Europe and Germany. In May 2003, in an article we called The Great Debate, we presented the key arguments in this debate, which led us to conclude that these chronographs were probably modern-day reproductions, and not genuine Heuer timepieces. We have recently had further conversations with reliable sources, including representatives of TAG-Heuer itself, which have led us to conclude that all of these oversized chronographs are, in fact, "fakes".
In the course of our research regarding these fakes and reproductions, we have also learned a great deal about the watches that Heuer did actually produce -- both the "Fleiger" (pilots) chronographs of the 1930's and 40's and Targa Florio chronographs, re-issued by TAG-Heuer in 1996.
Following below are a series of questions and answers regarding these chronographs. We begin with a discussion of the fakes and reproductions, because that was the beginning of this inquiry, and then introduce information regarding the real ones, made by Heuer and TAG-Heuer.
We will update this article from time to time as we learn more about these chronographs, both the genuine ones and the reproductions.
Over the last few months, there have been
several oversized "Heuer" chronographs
offered for sale on the internet and at
watch fairs. What styles of oversize
"Heuer" chronographs are currently being
sold and which ones are genuine
Heuers? To
answer the second question first, none of
the oversized chronographs are genuine
Heuer timepieces. They are all
reproductions / fakes. These oversized
chronographs have been produced in the
last couple of years (so they are not
"vintage"), usually by craftsmen in
Eastern Europe and Germany (so they are
not "Heuers"). In terms
of the styles, most of the oversize
chronographs currently being offered are
one-button chronographs with two registers
-- continuous seconds at 9:00 (nine
o'clock) and a 30-minute recorder at 3:00
(three o'clock). The button in the crown
controls the stopwatch -- with start, stop
and reset to zero. There
are also some split-second chronographs
being sold (illustrated below). These are
two-button models, with a pusher at 2:00
(two o'clock) controlling the split-second
function. As on the standard chronograph,
the button in the crown controls the basic
start-stop-reset unctions.
So if they were not made by Heuer, where
are these fakes coming
from? These
oversize chronographs are being made in at
least three places -- in Prague (in the
Czech Republic),in Ustka
(a city in Poland), and in the Black
Forest region of Germany. Case-making is
something of a cottage industry, and in
all likelihood, pocket chronographs are
being re-cased and converted into
oversized wrist chronographs in several
additional locations. We are
most familiar with the operations being
conducted in Poland and the Czech
Republic, and will focus on case-makers
working in those markets. To the extent we
have reliable information, we will also
discuss the reproductions being made in
Germany.
Which ones are coming from Poland and
which ones come from the Czech Republic?
How you tell them apart? And what about
these German ones? Most of
the pieces sold on ebay over the last year
have come from a case-maker in Prague. The
distinctive feature of these chronographs
is the coin-edge bezel, with the black
stripe marker, Ýand the screw-back,
which also has a coin-edge. It takes
some expensive equipment and highly
skilled workers to produce the coin-edge
finishes and screw-backs on the Prague
pieces. Working in steel is far more
difficult than working in gold or silver,
and these cases actually represent an
extremely high level of case-making
skill. The ones
coming from Poland (illustrated below) do
not have a rotating bezel and are
snap-back models. The ones
from Prague come from a single craftsman,
who works alone. (We have not spoken with
him, so we do not have the details of what
he is doing.) The ones
from Poland come from a shop that employs
three craftsmen. We have spoken with the
owner of this shop, and can provide some
details about what he is doing. We have
less information about the German
operations, though we have received
detailed descriptions of the chronographs
being produced there. We
believe that there are additional shops
producing these oversized reproductions,
and would welcome any additional
information that our readers might be able
to provide. This is
somewhat complicated, but here are the
basic steps: For
the Heuers currently on the market, a
one-button model is the favored
"donor". If
the case-maker will be making a
split-second chronograph, then, of
course, the "donor" must be a split
second pocket chronograph. The Heuer
Reference 11.204 is the "industry
standard".
What does it actually cost to produce one
of these oversized
chronographs? The real
issue is the price of the new case that is
produced to house the chronograph. You can
find the pocket chronographs, that will be
the donors of the movements, in the $200
to $400 range, with the genuine Heuers
selling at the top of this range. The
dials can be refinished in the $50 to $100
range. Producing the new case is
time-consuming and the most expensive part
of the operation.
Are the guys who are producing these
chronographs open about what they are
doing? We have
not spoken with the case-makers in the
Czech Republic and Germany, so we cannot
comment on how they are operating. We have
heard that these shops are offering their
re-cased chronographs at watch fairs, in
Munich, and generally disclosing that they
are reproductions. We have
spoken with the case-maker working in
Ustka, Poland, and he is entirely open
about what he is doing. Whenever he sells
a re-cased timepiece on ebay, it appears
that he indicates clearly that the piece
has been re-cased, and he has a very good
feedback rating on ebay. He also
advertises that individuals can send their
old pocket watches to him to be re-cased.
He indicates that he will not add the name
"Heuer" to a case that he
produces. It would
appear that the problems do not really
arise as much with the gentlemen who are
producing these re-cased chronographs, as
with their customers who are re-selling
them as "vintage", "originals" or "New Old
Stock" timepieces.
Lately, most of these oversized
chronographs are being offered and sold in
the United States. How do they get from
Eastern Europe or Germany to the United
States? This is
where it gets interesting. The
central market for these oversized
chronographs, other than the internet, is
Munich, where large watch fairs are held
regularly. Munich is centrally located
within the region where the cases are
being produced, and these fairs are very
well attended. At a typical Munich watch
fair, there will be several dealers
offering these oversized chronographs,
with each seller having a selection of a
few pieces. Recently, it has become common
knowledge at these fairs that these
chronographs are reproductions, and they
are offered and sold as such. In fact,
they are thought of as something of a
novelty item, rather than as a serious,
collectible chronograph. Recently,
the main buyers of these oversized
chronographs have been dealers located in
the United States. While it may be
well-known at these fairs, and in the
European dealer network generally, that
these oversized chronographs are "fakes",
word is only beginning to spread in the
United States and certain other markets.
So when these dealers return to the United
States, they are able to offer them as NOS
pieces and create some history to
accompany the watches. In
addition to being offered at the European
watch fairs, these chronographs may also
be sold by the case-maker directly to
customers. These customers may be
individual collectors or dealers who then
resell the chronographs as vintage NOS
pieces.
So what is this "history" that the United
States dealers create for these
chronographs? The
typical story is that these chronographs
were produced by Heuer, in the 1950's, for
a grand prix or rally team and "put away"
for many years by a keen collector. The
story often includes references to the
chronograph having something to do with
the Targa Florio race or being produced
for Juan-Manuel Fangio and his team. Those
offering the watches proceed with the
story that a small "cache" of these
chronographs has been discovered recently
and is being released into the market
slowly. Sometimes, they are said to come
from the estate of the collector who put
them away, many years ago. Of
course, this history is a complete
fabrication -- the chronographs were not
produced by Heuer in the 1950's; they were
produced in Eastern Europe or Germany just
a few months ago. They are being released
slowly because there is a limit on how
many the case-makers can produce and there
is a limit on how many the market can view
and absorb, without the fraud becoming too
obvious.
Do these dealers know the real history
of these chronographs? Absolutely.
They are buying them directly from the
people who are making them, with full
knowledge that they are reproductions. I
am told that their status as
"reproductions" or "fakes" is common
knowledge in the circles where these
pieces are being offered (primarily the
Munich watch fairs). The dealers are being
told exactly what they are, and then
making up the "history" and representing
them to be vintage, New Old Stock pieces
in order to realize higher prices when
they resell them. (When they were first
introduced into the US market, typical
selling prices are around $3000 for the
standard (one-button) chronographs and
over $4500 for the split-second
(two-button) versions.) I have
presented the "facts" to two of the
dealers located here in the US, and they
continue with their stories about race
teams, special editions, collectors in
Germany, caches being found, estates, etc.
The story changes a little from time to
time, as they forget some of what they
have told me, but they continue offering
them as NOS / vintage / original
timepieces.
What are the names of the dealers that are
selling these fakes? We do
not see any real purpose in naming the
dealers who are selling these fake
chronographs. In addition, there are some
reputable dealers selling these
chronographs that seem to have absolutely
no idea what they are selling. Some of
them have accepted the pieces on
consignment. Rather
than guessing which dealers are in on the
scam and which are innocent bystanders,
all we need to know is that if you are
reading this page, then you will know at
least as much as any of the dealers and
can avoid buying one of these fakes
(unless you actually want to own one).
Most of
the oversized chronographs have been
offered by dealers based in Southern
California. They are being offered on
ebay, through internet watch dealers and
even in some reputable stores. As word is
getting out among the dealers, that these
are "fakes", ebay and the internet become
the only channels of distribution. Prices
appear to have declined in recent months
and many of these fakes remain
unsold.
So the Southern California connection
explains the stories about these
chronographs being worn by movie stars and
celebrities? Correct.
We know that Orlando Jones wore one during
the filming of Biker BoyZ. We have also
heard that Arnold Schwarznegger owned one,
though he made the mistake of jumping in a
swimming pool while wearing the
chronograph. These are not waterproof, but
the chronograph was successfully dried out
and repaired.
OK --
enough about the movie stars on
motorcycles. Is it true that Juan-Manuel
Fangio wore these oversize Heuer
chronographs when he drove in the Targa
Florio road races, in the early
1950's? Juan-Manuel
Fangio was one of the greatest racecar
drivers of all time, and had the
distinction of being the first five-time
Formula One champion. We know that he was
fond of chronographs, and we see
photographs of him wearing chronographs in
the pits, on the racetrack and even while
having a doctor fit him with a plaster
cast. Heuer
had a relationship with Fangio, and it
seems that Heuer chronographs were among
his favorites. TAG-Heuer indicates that
Fangio wore a Heuer chronograph when he
participated in the Targa Florio road
race, in the early 1950's, and the company
drew on this association in designing and
marketing its Targa Florio chronograph
(introduced in 1996, as part of its
Classic series). While
there is every reason to believe that
Fangio wore a Heuer, we have not been able
to find any evidence that he wore a
chronograph resembling the oversized
chronographs being produced today. We have
inspected dozens of photographs of
Juan-Manuel Fangio, looking for the "Targa
Florio" oversized chronograph. YES --
he wore a variety of chronographs, even
during races and practices, and he seems
to have liked the large ones. NO -- none
of them resemble the fakes that are being
offered and sold as "the original Targa
Florio" chronograph. In simplest terms,
this is another bit of "history" being
created by dealers attempting to sell
modern-day fakes.
These fakes are sometimes described as
vintage "Targa Florio" chronographs. Did
Heuer ever produce a "Targa Florio"
chronograph? What about the "Targa Florio"
chronographs being make by TAG-Heuer
today? The
first Heuer chronograph to be named the
"Targa Florio" was introduced in 1996, as
part of TAG-Heuer's Classic series of
re-issues; however, the real story of this
Targa Florio chronograph begins in 1935,
when Heuer introduced its "Flieger"
chronograph. The following image is from a
1935 magazine, where the chronograph is
described as a "novelty" item. Designed
for pilots, this chronograph featured a
rotating, coin-edge bezel, with a
triangular marker; an oversized crown that
made it easier to wind and set the watch;
and highly legible registers. The
following is a photograph of the
chronograph, provided to OnTheDash by
TAG-Heuer, from its archives. By 1942,
the one-button chronograph had been
modified to become a two-button
chronograph, and the chronograph was
assigned Reference No. 348. Note that the
chronograph retained its signature
features: the rotating coin-edge bezel;
the large crown; and the legibility that
defines a pilot's chronograph. The two
chronographs shown above, the one-button
model introduced in 1935 and the
two-button model appearing in the 1942
catalog, appear significant in two
respects: So it
was that when TAG-Heuer relaunched the
"Targa Florio" chronograph in 1996, as
part of its Classic series, the company
drew on its association with Juan-Manuel
Fangio and his choice of a Heuer as the
chronograph that he would wear during the
running of the Targa Florio. These "Targa
Florios" are the only chronographs ever
produced by Heuer under that name.
(Characteristic of all chronographs
produced during the 1930's and 1940's, the
chronographs shown above did not have
model names on the dials, only the name
"Heuer".)
So that explains the "real" Heuers -- the
Flieger chronographs of the 1940's and the
Targa Florios of the 1990's. How did we
get from those real ones to the modern-day
reproductions? It
appears that the individuals producing the
fakes took advantage of TAG-Heuer's
re-issue of the Targa Florios in several
respects. Here is the most likely
scenario. When
TAG-Heuer reintroduced the Targa Florio in
1996, its marketing materials used
numerous vintage photos of Fangio, Formula
One cars, etc. These materials reminded
modern-day enthusiats of Heuer's
connection with the glory days of racing
and its association with the greatest
racer of all -- Juan-Manuel Fangio.
However, Heuer did not use photographs of
the chronographs, produced in the 1940's,
that were the basis for the design of the
modern Targa Florio. (In fact, TAG-Heuer
did not publicly identify the actual
chrongraph that was the historic
predecessor of the Targa
Florio.) So along
came the people producing the "fakes", and
decided that they will hijack both the
history of these chronographs, as well as
their design. Thus, the reproductions take
their design cues from the new Targa
Florio -- the circular steel case, with
coin-edge rotating bezel; black dial with
paint round figures; fluted crown;
etc. This all
appears to be a twisted case of "reverse
engineering" -- with a piece produced in
2002, in Eastern Europe or Germany, posing
as the original which is said to have
inspired the re-issue in 1996. In this
sense, it appears that the re-issue
inspired the forgery of the "original".
This spy-versus-spy stuff does get
confusing!! Comparing
the real Heuers with the fakes, the
following differences are most
obvious:
So has Heuer ever actually produced
oversized chronographs or anything bearing
any real resemblance to these modern-day
reproductions? We do
not believe that Heuer has produced
anything near the size of the fakes that
are flooding the market today. These big
boys are coming in at 48 mm, across the
dial, and 60 mm, from lug-to-lug. This is
fairly typical of today's oversized
chronographs (for example, the Hanharts,
Glycines, Tutimas, etc.), but there is
nothing approaching this size in the old
Heuer catalogs (or in the memory of the
old Heuer watchmakers). Sure,
the earliest wrist chronographs (of the
1910's and 1920's) were approximately this
size, but these were really pocket watches
with lugs and a strap attached. It does
not appear that Heuer produced anything
like these oversized chronographs during
the relevant periods (1940's through
1960's). In fact,
there were very few watch companies making
oversized chronographs during the 1940's
and 1950's. Several companies produced
oversized pilots' watches during the
1930's and 1940's (Hanhart, Junghans,
Glasshutte and Tutima come to mind), but
relatively few produced them in the 1950's
(with Minerva and Longines being two of
the leaders in this area). In simplest
terms, there are no genuine oversized
Heuer chronographs -- whether from the
1940's, 1950's or 1960's; any oversized
chronograph bearing the "Heuer" name is a
fake. The
perspective on the split-second
chronographs is even simpler: Heuer never
produced a split-second wrist chronograph,
large or small. So if it a split-second
wrist chronograph marked "Heuer", it is a
fake. No need for any detailed forensic
work on this one! I can
count at least six or eight of these
"Heuer" chronographs that have been sold
and there are probably at least 10 or 12
more that are currently on the market (or
waiting in the wings). I believe that
there are also some that have been sold
privately, away from ebay or the
internet. Because
of ebay "shills" and sales outside ebay,
it is difficult to determine exactly how
many of those listed on ebay have actually
been sold. Also, some of these
chronographs may be on consignment with
more than one dealer, so it is difficult
to be certain about how many different
pieces are being offered. It is
interesting that the production and sale
of fake oversized "Heuers" comes as part
of a recent trend that has seen several
hundred reproductions of oversized
chronographs in the market. The trend
probably started three or four years ago,
with the Minervas, Omegas and Longines,
and Heuer was added to the collection of
fakes with the past two or three
years.
So if there are less than 20 of these
fakes, with only about half of them sold,
what's the big deal? Putting
aside the purely legal issues (which are
very complicated and best left to the
lawyers in the group) and the ethical
issues (which may be best addressed by the
ethicists in the group), from the
perspective of the collector, it is all
about honesty and deception. Let's walk
through a couple of examples. If a
collector owns a Reference 701 pocket
chronograph, or a Reference 11204
split-second pocket chronograph, and
decides to have it put into a
newly-manufactured wrist chronograph case
with a refinished dial, moist people would
say that this is the collector's own
business. Clearly, TAG-Heuer could take
issue with the "Heuer" name being used on
a re-done (rotated) dial, but to the
extent that our collector keeps the
re-cased chronograph for his own use and
pleasure, it is difficult to see how
anyone is harmed. At the
other end of the spectrum, let's consider
the dealer who obtains a Leonidas pocket
chronograph, from the 1940's, that has an
unmarked movement. The dealer sends it to
a craftsman in Eastern Europe, who
produces a new case and has the dial
rotated / refinished. For discussion
purposes, let's assume that, on the
instructions of the dealer, the craftsman
marks the case "Ed. Heuer & Co." and
also adds a few "Heuer" and "Valjoux"
marks to the previously unmarked movement.
Of course, as instructed, he also has the
dial changed from "Leonidas" to "Heuer".
Our friendly dealer then lists it for
$3000, and describes it as New Old Stock,
vintage, original, etc. A novice collector
makes the purchase, after telling the
dealer that he only wants to buy the
chronograph if it is a genuine, vintage
Heuer and receiving assurances to this
affect from the dealer. Would anyone not
agree that this is a "big deal".
That is
one of the ironies of this whole messy
situation. Some of the modern-day
reproductions are fantastic pieces. If the
dealers would sell them for what they are
(and get rid of the illegal "Heuer" logos
and marks), then maybe everyone would be
happy. The
version being produced in Prague is the
only one that I have seen "in the metal",
so I can only comment on that one. The
design of the case, dial and hands was
fantastic and the build quality of the
case was absolutely superb . . . first
rate by anyone's standards. The movement
was pristine, and it kept time incredibly
well -- within one minute per month. It
had a genuine Valjoux 76 movement and was
one of the best timekeepers of any Heuer
that I have checked. In some respects, it
is the superb quality of the construction
that allows the dealers to pass them off
as genuine pieces. As one of the dealers
wrote to me, they are absolutely "Heuer
quality". I have
not inspected any of those made in Poland
or Germany, but they certainly look nice
in the photographs. One of
the usual approaches to defining "market
value" begins with the phrase "what a
willing buyer would pay, assuming that he
is fully informed." For a beautiful
looking, well-built, hand-made
chronograph, with a genuine Valjoux
movement, I believe that there are plenty
of people who would pay more than $2000
for one of the Prague pieces, knowing
exactly what they are (and what they are
not). While some buyers might like the
Heuer logo, there are others who find
forgery offensive, and would pay even more
if the dial were left blank. This kind of
price would represent a fair mark-up above
the price being charged by the case-makers
assembling these pieces. Supporting
this approach, I have heard of serious
Heuer collectors being told that they are
fakes, and still wanting to buy one around
the $2500 price level. As one of them
asked me, "What other chronos at this
price level look this good and are built
this well?" Similarly, a leading auction
house recently sold an oversized
split-second chronograph, marked "Heuer",
for over $5000. The purchaser was advised
that it was likely a reproduction; he
still inspected the piece and decided that
it was a "buy" at that price. So if
the question is "What are they worth?",
then the answer must be "Whatever a buyer
is willing to pay". The key is that the
buyer has a right to know what he is
buying, rather than being sold fictitious
"history" and "originality". The
first indication that something was wrong
came when a Southern California dealer
offered me a split-second, two-button
version. Of course, it came with the usual
story of being from the early 1950's and
having been "put away" by a collector many
years ago, etc. The case was marked "Ed.
Heuer" and the chronograph had the same
case and dial as the other oversized
chronographs then being offered (the
Prague version). The
problem was that the movement in this
chronograph was marked "Heuer-Leonidas".
The Heuer / Leonidas merger only occurred
in 1964, so this chronograph must have
been "put together" some time after that
date. Also, the movement was a Valjoux 9,
which Heuer only began using in the
1960's. It hardly required a detective to
conclude that this was not a vintage piece
from the 1950's. Most of
the evidence was outlined in our "Great
Debate" table, which we published in May
2003 -- the oversized chronographs did not
appear in any old Heuer catalogs,
long-time Heuer watchmakers had never seen
or heard of them, the paint on the dials
looked too fresh, and some of the markings
on the movements were strange looking.
(For example, I examined one chronograph
with a "Swiss Made" mark on the
movement. I have
seen hundreds of Heuer movements, but I
had never seen one marked "Swiss Made". In
addition, this mark was in a strange place
on the movement and the "quality" of this
particular marking looked
weak.) Once you
conclude that one piece is a "fake", then
you start looking at the others more
critically. Pretty soon, you start to see
more problems and suddenly you realize
that they are all fakes. It's not as
though 10 could have been produced by
Heuer 50 years ago and 10 identical pieces
were produced a few months ago, in Eastern
Europe or Germany. In fact, it didn't take
long to realize that all 20 must be the
reproductions.
What makes you so certain now about these
being "fakes"? Previously, you had some
questions and referred to this as being a
"debate" or "controversy". It all
became clear during the past couple of
weeks, based on three conversations with
experts. Since we
launched OnTheDash.com, in February 2003,
the oversized chronograph that we have
shown has generated many questions. (It is
ironic that we have received more
inquiries asking about the history and
availability of this chronograph than any
other timepiece shown on the website, and
the others are all genuine. These
reproductions are great looking
chronographs!!) Similarly, these oversize
chronographs have been the subject of many
questions on our Discussion
Forum. People
considering spending $2500 to $5000 for
one of these chronographs should have the
real story, and not be paying for the
forged names and marks (added by the
case-makers) and the forged "history"
(being created by dealers trying to move
their inventory).
One final question -- Just what is the
difference between a "reproduction" and a
"fake"? You seem to use the terms
interchangeably. Though
there is no real legal distinction, I tend
to think of a well-intentioned case-maker
or dealer, who makes full disclosure to
the purchaser, as offering a
"reproduction"; when there is some intent
to deceive the purchaser, the very same
timepiece becomes a "fake".
2003.07.23 07.04.11&emdash;CM3
The Real Story of the "Targa Florio"
and the Oversized Reproductions
The
German style is entirely different,
being based on the conversion of pocket
chronographs into wrist chronographs,
without a new case being produced.
Instead, bows are added to the pocket
watch case, so that a strap can be
attached. The movements are not
re-cased; instead, the pocket watch
case is converted to accomodate a
wrist-strap. [We have photographs
of these German reproductions, but do
not publish them in this article
because we do not have permission from
the owner of the chronograph.]
All else being equal, the
Valjoux
76
and Valjoux
5
are the favored movements for the
one-button chronographs; the Valjoux
76R and Valjoux 9 are used for the
split-second chronographs. By using a
genuine Heuer pocket chronograph, with
the correct movement, the manufacturer
may save the step of adding bogus
"Heuer" marks to the movement (as
described in step 3). The dial is less
important, because it will be
refinished anyway.
/TR>
