You may remember that when I visited the TAG Heuer Museum in September, one of the things I was excited to see was a collection of five Heuer 'Helmet' alarm clocks... I must admit I didn't know too much about them other than that they were very collectible and as a result quite expensive to buy.
So I was interested to see that no less than fourteen of these pieces were consigned into the Bonhams 'Heuer' Auction on the 12th of September, and every single one was sold. I actually thought that all the helmets made were based on the helmets of particular drivers but there were some 'branded' pieces (for Leyland, Champion, etc) and some which were left as a plain, generic racing helmets - obviously these are the less desirable models and that is reflected in the prices, with legendary drivers like Niki Lauda and Alain Prost drawing the biggest interest.
LOT 294: Jody Scheckter Helmet (circa 1975) - Sold for £250
LOT 295: Jacky Ickx Helmet (circa 1975) - Sold for £687
LOT 296: Niki Lauda Helmet (circa 1975) - Sold for £875
LOT 297: Johnny Cecotto Helmet (circa 1975) - Sold for £687
LOT 298: Clay Regazzoni Helmet (circa 1975) - Sold for £312
LOT 299: Silver Helmet (circa 1975) - Sold for £250
LOT 300: Clay Regazzoni Helmet (circa 1975) - Sold for £312
LOT 301: Alain Prost Helmet (circa 1980) - Sold for £750
LOT 302: Mario Andretti Helmet (circa 1975) - Sold for £750
LOT 303: Hugo Boss Helmet (circa 1975) - Sold for £250
LOT 304: Leyland Helmet (circa 1975) - Sold for £250
LOT 305: Champion Helmet (circa 1975) - Sold for £250
LOT 306: Formula 1 Red Helmet (circa 1980) - Sold for £125
LOT 307: Formula 1 Green Helmet (circa 1980) - Sold for £250
As you can see there's a huge range of prices depending on the particular design, I'm slightly perplexed by the price paid for Johnny Ceccoto's helmet as even though I am an avid F1 fan of over 35 years standing, I couldn't tell you a thing about him. I can only assume that there are perhaps less of these and so harder to get hold of?
I must admit I wouldn't mind one of these, but whether I'd be willing to pay £600 plus is debatable. I could buy another watch for that...
And, did you spot the deliberate mistake? Well, clearly the Formula 1 Green helmet couldn't be circa 1980 as TAG Heuer didn't even exist until 1985!
Johnny Cecotto was world champion in 350cc motorcycle racing in 1975 and therefor a helmet was made for him in this collection. At that time he wasn't a F1 driver (he was in 1983 and 1984). I still have this Heuer helmet of Cecotto ��
ReplyDeleteHi John
DeleteThanks for visiting my blog and for leaving a message, I did not know that JC was a motorbike champion - thanks for filling me in! Glad you still have your helmet clock, all very nice items.
Rob