AUCTION WATCH: TAG Heuer Watches Sold in the Latest Fellows Auction

Fellows latest watch auction took place on the 18th June 2019 and included in the sale were thirty TAG Heuer wristwatches in various states of repair. I didn't watch the auction this time and it looks like some items failed to sell or were withdrawn as they don't have realised prices, this included a Carrera Jack Heuer Bullhead in steel which was described as being in good order but with no box or papers. Here are some highlights from the sale... and remember the price shown does not include buyer's premium of 32.5%!

Aquaracer Calibre S Regatta

Condition: Good overall / No box or papers

Price realised: £765.60

Carrera Calibre 16 Fangio Limited Edition

Condition: Some marks, including to glass / No box or papers

Price realised: £1914.00

Aquaracer Quartz Chronograph

Condition: Some marks including to glass / Box and papers (box sticky*)

Price realised: £535.92

*My wife's original 2000 came in a 'rubber' box, I'm assuming this is what they are referring to here as that also went sticky. I think what ends up happening is that the oils in the plastic/rubber react with something and start to leech from the surface. Not much you can do with it either, we ended up throwing it away, but not before I'd removed the plastic TAG Heuer shield. 

Link Calibre S Chronograph

Condition: Case has noticeable scratches, marks and dints / No box or papers

Price realised: £510.40

Monaco Calibre 12 Automatic Chronograph

Condition: Good overall but not currently functioning and hand detached / No box and papers

Price realised: £1786.40

Carrera Calibre 16 Chronograph

Condition: Light scratches to case with minor dints to bezel / Poor service box, no papers

Price realised: £1224.96

Carrera Calibre 16 Chronograph

Condition: Glass has some scratches and marks / No papers, box marked and flaking

Price realised: £1531.20

Monaco Calibre 12 Gulf Edition

Condition: Glass and case have scratches and marks / Comes with box and papers

Price realised: £3317.60

Seems rather high when you consider that you have to add on over £1000 of buyer's premium!

AUCTION WATCH: Heuer 'Helmet' Alarm Clocks Sold at Bonhams on 12th Sept 2018

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!

AUCTION WATCH: Fellows Auction 27th November 2018

I'd somehow missed that there was another Fellows watch auction before Christmas, but thankfully they sent me an email to remind me. Not that I was looking to buy anything else you understand, but I like to keep abreast of what's going on and one lot in particular took my interest.

Because the auction is organised alphabetically for the major brands, the two Heuers were sold about an hour and a half before we got to the TAG Heuers, hence the disparity in lot numbers. And I'm using photos from the net because the images on Fellows website are 'active' and there's no easy way to save them other than using the snipping tool. All prices include 27.5% buyer's premium.

LOT 71: Heuer 2000 973.013 - £688.50*

LOT 72: Heuer Carrera 1153 - £3442.50*

LOT 238 - TAG Heuer Alter Ego WP1313-0 - £331.76

LOT 239: TAG Heuer Aquaracer WAF141A - £586.96

LOT 240: TAG Heuer Kirium WL1312-0 - £357.28

LOT 241: TAG Heuer 2000 Series WE1420R - £165.88

LOT 242: TAG Heuer Monaco WAW1316 - £1276.00

LOT 243: TAG Heuer Aquaracer WAF2112 - £408.32

LOT 244: TAG Heuer Golf WAE1112 - £408.32

LOT 245: TAG Heuer Formula 1 WAZ2114 - £1096.50*

LOT 246: TAG Heuer Carrera CV2015 - £1122.00*

LOT 247: TAG Heuer Aquaracer CAN1011 - £867.88

LOT 248: TAG Heuer S/EL CG1120-0 - £382.80

LOT 249: TAG Heuer Formula 1 WAH1110 - £331.76

LOT 250: TAG Heuer (Heuer) Carrera CS3111 - £1786.40

LOT 251: TAG Heuer Monaco CW2111 - £1403.60

LOT 252: TAG Heuer 6000 Series WH111-K1 - £242.44

LOT 253: TAG Heuer Carrera WV211A-3 - £765.60

*The two Heuers (lots 71 & 72) sold during the auction, but do not now appear in the auction results. Similarly lots 245 & 246 sold in the auction, but have also been removed.

Lot 248 was of particular interest to me of course, having just bought one of these myself. The condition report stated that the chronograph hours does not reset properly. I suspect that it may just need to be reset to 12 manually using the pushers, but that's the risk you take when buying at auction.

While Lot 251 seems like a good price, the condition report shows multiple scuffs and scratches to the glass and case and wear to the strap.

Pick of the bunch for me would have to be either the grand date Aquaracer with the blue bezel (£867) or the white dial 6000 Series (£242).

AUCTION WATCH: Heuer Watches Sold in the June 20th Auction at Bonhams

Over the past few years 'Heuer' watches have really taken off on the vintage market and on June the 20th a large selection were auctioned by Bonhams. Some of the rarer pieces are now reaching pretty eye-watering sums and have proved to be a fantastic investment for their owners. However, because of the name change in 1985 'Heuer' and 'TAG Heuer' seem to be viewed by some as very different entities (which is a nonsense when you consider the disjointed history of some other watch brands!) so it doesn't seem that TAG reap the benefits of a rising vintage market in quite the same way that some other brands seem to. It really is rather unfortunate that TAG chose to suffix their name in the 80s as it has provided a 'convenient' distinction despite the fact that the company carried over the Heuer model ranges for some time before gradually updating them, and it's not like TAG are the only brand who 'lost their way' (as some see it - I don't agree) in the 80s and 90s.

To be honest, I'm quite glad I don't hanker after the older pieces as I could never justify paying the price of a 'Dark Lord' (even though it is pretty cool), and it boggles my mind that someone would pay over £80,000 for that Skipper. No wonder the Hodinkee version sold out so quickly if that's the price of the genuine article! Pick of this bunch for me would probably be the Bundeswehr, which looks a damn fine watch for a very reasonable price and not at all dated actually!

Heuer Carrera 1158 Calibre 12 (1971) in 18k Gold - £43,750 

Heuer Skipper 'Skipperera' 7753/54 (1970) - £81,250

Heuer Kentucky 750.700 (1980) - £437

Heuer Monaco 'Dark Lord' 74033 (1974) - £53,750

Heuer Calculator 110.633 (1977) - £1625

Heuer Solunar (for Abercrombie & Fitch) 87304 (circa 1950) - £9750

Heuer Monaco 1133 (1970) - £11,875

Heuer Autavia 'Siffert' 1163 (circa 1970) - £6250

Heuer Mareograph 2447 (Circa 1977) - £20,000

Heuer Silverstone Red 110.313 (circa 1974) - £4375

Heuer Silverstone 510.403 (circa 1983) - £1250

Heuer 510.543 It A.M.I (Circa 1975) - £3500

Heuer Bundeswehr 155.0.sg (circa 1980) - £3500

Click HERE to view the full auction results page.