Tuesday 13 March 2018

SPOTLIGHT ON: TAG Heuer 1000 Series Diver 980.913N

980.913N

Way back when I started my gallery blog, I spent many an hour trawling through websites and catalogues trying to find as many TAGs as possible, and one which caught my eye at the time was this beautiful red bezel, red dial 1000 Series diver. 


Not that I've been seriously looking, but I've not come across one of these since, until a week or so ago when one came up on eBay. All these photographs are from the listing for that watch which eventually sold for a tidy £800. 


I contacted the owner (Terry) because there was no mention of size, and I was really hoping it would be at least 40mm... Terry kindly sent me a couple of pictures of the watch next to a rule, but these only confirmed my fears that the watch was a little on the small side for my 7.75" wrist. It looks to be about 36mm to me, much too small for me unfortunately. 38mm really is my absolute limit. I must admit I was a little bit gutted.


Overall the watch looks in great condition, but there are a couple of places where there is some wear, the most noticeable of these being just above the bezel on the top left lug. I think I could have got over that if the watch had been 40mm, but sadly it seems like this is one of those watches I will have to admire from afar.


Terry owned the watch from new, he bought it in August 1991 from Mappin & Webb in Selfridges, London. The watch was sold with the original boxes, booklets and the receipt. It also came with the full original bracelet (including spare links) and Terry says the watch has never been touched save for battery changes (done by TAG stockists, and while he worked in London, at Harrods).


The watch also came with a 95 page TAG Heuer catalogue from the period which showed the watch, which is always a nice thing to have. Terry said he had considered selling the catalogue separately, and I kind of wished he had because I would definitely have been interested in that, but in the end he decided to include it in the watch sale, which is fair enough I guess.


I never asked Terry how much he originally paid for the watch, I notice he photographed the receipt but framed it so the price wasn't visible. Thinking about it, it's entirely possible that he might have owned the watch for 26 years and then sold the watch for more than he paid for it, if so what a result!


But at the same time I think £800 is a result for the buyer too, as they are getting a rare and beautiful early TAG Heuer 200m diver for less than the price of a modern Formula One quartz. 

6 comments:

  1. Hi
    I am the lucky new owner of this beautiful watch. I am a Tag Heuer 1000 collector and I own many Tag Heuer 1000 in many different color and sizes. Please visit my instagram page batmandelsolar to enjoy more beautiful Tag Heuer 1000. The actual case size is 38mm by manual and 41mm by ruler counting guard and crown. Thanks for the post. This watch is really beautiful and in almost oerfect condition.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi
      Thanks for visiting my blog and taking the time to leave a comment, much appreciated. You are very lucky to have got that beautiful red 1000, I will make a quick post to let people know about your Instagram page.
      Rob

      Delete
    2. Hi Terry, I am selling a red / orange one in very good shape. Please email me to: rbarquero100@gmail.com if interested.

      Regards,
      Rafael

      Delete
  2. Bonjour, j'ai une montre TAG HEUER rouge 980.913 N à vendre. Elle est en parfait état car jamais porté. Je n'ai aucune idée de son prix actuel. Avez-vous une idée de son prix SVP ? Cordialement, Christine

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Christine, I don't speak French unfortunately... if the watch is genuine I would estimate around £1000. But there are a lot of fakes of this watch, so be careful. It should look like this above and not a dull orange-red. Hope this helps
    Regards, Rob

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello Terry I have the exact same watch for sale but mine is a 44mm if your interested. You can contact me on my email which is thomasohanlon3@gmail.com. I can send you pictures it comes in original box with spare links and tag card thanks.

    ReplyDelete