SPOTLIGHT ON: Heuer 3000 Automatic (LWO 283) Chronograph

132.206

When I visited the TAG Heuer museum in La Chaux de Fonds back in September 2018, one of the watches which made the strongest impression on me was a two-tone Heuer 3000 chronograph. I instantly resolved to add a 3000 Series to my collection, but it proved harder than I expected and it took over a year to find a full sized one in the UK at a sensible price. That first one was a two-tone three hander, which I liked very much, but I still hankered after a steel chronograph.

A year later I managed to acquire a steel 3000 but it was another three hander, and boy did I have problems getting a couple of links to make the bracelet long enough for me to wear! Despite that, I absolutely fell in love with it and it remains one of my absolute favourite watches to this day... but of course the search for the elusive chronograph continued.

I have (very) occasionally seen 3000 Series chronographs for sale on eBay, but they are usually on leather straps (3000s were never officially sold on anything other than bracelets), almost always two-tone or gold and uniformly from Japan or the United States (and as such subject to import taxes). The watch you are looking at here is also situated in the United States, but crucially steel and on its original bracelet and that was more than enough to pique my interest.

Naturally, I would prefer a 'TAG Heuer' version of the watch (even though I know the 'Heuer' badge makes it at least 50% 'better'...) but given how difficult these are to find I would probably have made an exception in this case, and while I have recently discovered just how financially punitive importing from America can be (more on that to follow) to secure a watch such as this I think I would have been willing to take the hit. 

So what was the problem?

The problem, unfortunately, is that this watch was being sold for spares and repairs and furthermore the seller suspects that there may have been water ingress into the case. I must say it was very commendable for him to own up to that, as many an unscrupulous seller would have left that particular detail out of their description and hoped for the best.

Despite that, this watch sold for £540 (with bids from 13 different people) and with import duties and VAT it would have cost me at least £700 and that's before we even talk about getting it working again, which I'm guessing would have cost at the absolute minimum something like £350 and possibly quite a lot more depending on how messed up the watch is inside.

So, reluctantly I had to pass on this one, which grieves me quite a bit..but I really don't want to get involved in a watch that could prove difficult and expensive to own, repair and wear. It's such a shame though, because at 39mm this would have looked absolutely fantastic on my wrist. 

Admittedly I'm not 100% sure whether the packaging is original or not, given that this is a Heuer branded watch in a TAG Heuer branded box. But I could certainly believe that this box (which I've never come across before, incidentally) is from the correct period - the mid 1980, and given that both my 3000s have TAG Heuer on the dial but Heuer clasps I don't find it that hard to believe that TAG Heuer might have despatched an unsold Heuer in a TAG Heuer box.

While the 3000 Series is clearly still influencing the modern TAG Heuer Aquaracer, you might also see something of a similarity to another legendary watch and that similarity actually extends beyond the simple aesthetics. You see, according to this page from 'WatchLegend.com' the Heuer 132.206 uses the same Lemania/Dubois Depraz 2000 chronograph module that can be found in the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak! So if you look at it as a cheap alternative to Audemars Piguet's most celebrated model then at a thousand pounds it's a good option.

But for me, there comes a point where I have to take the view that £1000 could be better spent on something more modern, less trouble and which I know can be repaired if necessary. I mean, does TAG Heuer have spare hands, dials, etc available for a watch like this? Especially if the seller thinks there may have been water ingress...

And on top of all of that, the seller doesn't give the size of the bracelet, and I don't want to go through all tht again. So.... no regrets, keep looking; maybe one day a working piece will turn up with a full size bracelet and a reasonable price tag, maybe?