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What
types of oversize "Heuer" chronographs are
currently being sold on the
internet? Most of the
oversize chronographs being offered are are
one-button
chronographs,
with 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. These are two-button models, with a
pusher at 2:00 (two o'clock) controlling the
split-second function. The button in the crown
controls the basic start-stop-reset
functions. ABSOLUTELY NOT --
most of the pieces being offered are not vintage
and they are not made by Heuer. These oversize
chronographs are being made in two places --
Prague, in the Czech Republic, and Ostka, in
Poland. They are being produced currently, using
old pocket chronographs. Which
ones are coming from Poland and which ones come
from the Czech Republic? How you tell them
apart? Most of the
pieces sold on ebay over the last year have come
from Prague. The distinctive feature of these is
the coin-edge
bezel,
with the black stripe marker, and the
screw-back,
which also has a coin-edge. The ones coming from
Poland do
not have a rotating
bezel and
are snap-back
models. It takes some expensive equipment and
skilled workers to produce the coin-edge finishes
on the Prague pieces. The ones from
Prague come from a single craftsman, who we will
call "Paul". The ones from Poland come from a shop
with three craftsmen. We will call the owner of
that operation "Charlie". This is somewhat
complicated, but here are the basic
steps: The real issue is
the price of the new case that is produced to house
the chronograph. You can find the pocket
chronographs 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. The cases
from Prague are in the $1200 range, so that the
finished chronograph is sold in the $1700 range
(including the movement). The cases from Poland are
in the $500 range, so that the finished chronograph
sells for around $1000. The split-second versions
of the pocket chronograph (Heuer Reference 11.204
and Heuer Reference 11.404) might cost $600 or
$800, so the re-cased split-second chronographs
will cost a few hundred dollars more than the
standard chronographs. Most
of these chronographs are being offered in the
United States. How do these chronographs typically
get from Prague or Ostka to the United
States? This is where it
gets interesting. The chronographs from Prague are
typically offered at the watch shows, held every
couple of months in Munich. It is common knowledge
at these shows that these chronographs are
reproductions, and they are offered and sold as
such, with the prices in the $1600 to $1800 range.
However, many of these reproduction chronographs
are being purchased by dealers in the United
States. When these dealers return to the United
States, they offer them as NOS pieces and create
some history to accompany the watches. 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 racing 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. Those offering the
watches proceed with the story that a small "cache"
of these chronographs has been discovered and is
being released into the market slowly. Of course
this history is a complete fabrication -- the
chronographs were not produced by Heuer in the
1950's; they were produced in the Czech Republic or
Poland just a few months ago. And of course, they
were not produced by Heuer at all. They are being
released slowly because there is a limit on how
many the gentlemen in Poland and the Czech Republic
can produce. Do
these dealers know the real history of these
chronographs? Absolutely. They
are buying them in Germany, with full knowledge
that they are reproductions, and making up the
history and representing them to be New Old Stock
in order to realize higher prices for these
chronographs. Typical selling prices are around
$3000 for the one-button chronographs and over
$4500 for the split-second (two-button) versions. I
have presented two dealers with the "facts" and
they continue with their stories about race teams,
limited editions, collectors in Germany, 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
pieces. Most of the
oversized chronographs seem to be offered by
dealers 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. So
the Southern California connection explains the
occasional 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 his.
These are not waterproof, so it had to be returned
to Europe for repairs. I can count at
least 15 [20] of the fakes that have been
offered within the past eight months, and I am sure
that some additional ones have been sold
privately. The Prague
version is the only one that I have seen "in the
metal", so I can only comment on that one. The
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 owned. In some
respects, it is the superb quality of the
construction that allows the dealers to pass them
off as real. As one of the dealers wrote to me,
they are "Heuer quality". I have not inspected any
of those made in Poland, but they certainly look
nice in the photographs. As a top-quality,
hand-made chronograph, I would have no trouble
recommending one of Prague pieces at the $2000
price level (even without the Heuer logo), and this
would represent a fair mark-up above the price
charged by the manufacturer. They are beautiful
pieces and very well made. The problem occurs when
the dealers decide to add some "logos" and some
"history", and sell them as $3000 pieces. Some
people may even be happy buying them at that price,
but not collectors seeking genuine Heuer
timepieces. The first
indication that something was rotten came when a
Southern California offered me a split-second,
two-button version. Of course, it came with the
usual story of being from the early 1950's, the
case was marked "Ed. Heuer", etc. The problem was
that the movement was marked
"Heuer-Leonidas",
and the Heuer / Leonidas merger only occurred in
1964. Also, the movement was a Valjoux 9, which
Heuer only began using in the 1960's. Most of the
evidence was outlined in our "Great Debate" table,
which we published in March 2003 -- the oversized
chronographs did not appear in any old Heuer
catalogs, long-time Heuer watchmakers had never
seen or heard of them, some of the markings on the
movements were strange looking and the paint on the
dials looked too fresh. I have spoken
with "Charlie", who operates the workshop in Poland
where some of the oversize chronographs are being
made. Charlie has been totally up-front about his
re-casing old pocket chronographs, and when he
sells re-cased pieces, he clearly describes them as
such. Charlie also told me that he is "100%
certain" that the coin-edge pieces are being made
currently. I have also spoken with an individual
who knows "Paul" (our Prague craftsman) and has
seen him offering the watches at several shows in
Munich over the last couple of years. He has
inspected several of these reproductions and
admires Paul's workmanship. The real irony
here is that the gentlemen producing these
chronographs are skilled craftsmen and they are
being totally up-front about what they are doing.
It is only when these chronographs get into the
hands of the dealers that the deception and
story-telling begins. |
