Vintage Heuer: Hands-On With The Iconic Watches You Should Know About

Recently I attended a small meetup of collectors and enthusiasts hosted by TAG Heuer at the Chateau Marmont here in Los Angeles. There were lots of new watches shown at lunch (and drinks, of course) but it was at the end when a tray of vintage Heuers came out that I immediately pulled out my camera.

It’s rare to get a chance to see and handle one of these pieces, let alone over half a dozen. So, let’s get started with the Monza, followed by a bunch of rare and important Carreras, with a duo of iconic Monacos as a palette cleanser.

Heuer Monza 150.501 

I want to start with what is likely the least hyped of the vintage Heuer family, the Monza. Seen here is the Ref. 150.501 which was released in 1976 a year after Niki Lauda won the Formula 1 Championship for Ferrari —the team's first in a decade. Heuer was Ferrari’s sponsor and the winning car had a Heuer logo on it so the brand was eager to celebrate, naming the watch after the Scuderia Ferrari track Monza. Of course, this is one of the three early, PVD-coated Heuers along with the Monaco and Autavia. The unusual brass case with PVD coating measures 39mm and was outfitted with the old Caliber 15, which was seen as the “economy” version of the Caliber 12 (a version of the Monza with the Caliber 12 was released shortly after this debut model).

While the Monza has always been the quirkiest sibling in the vintage Heuer family, there is undoubtedly something very cool about that case shape, with those bright red accents. It’s actually really refreshing to see an iconic vintage watch like the Heuer Monza Ref. 150.501 still remain accessible to collectors who don’t have five- or six-figure budgets, as these have auctioned for between ~$3,000 - $5,000. These results are in line with current asking prices I’m seeing, as well.

Heuer Carrera Dato 12 Ref. 3147N

This was the first iteration of the Carrera Dato 45 that was marketed by Heuer as a stopwatch, wristwatch, and calendar all-in-one when it debuted in 1966. This first iteration, with the date window a 12 o’clock, was only produced for one year when it was replaced by the Dato 45 with date window at 9 o’clock. While I love this design, one can see why it was replaced due to the chronograph hand blocking the date window.

Done in a 36mm case and outfitted with the manual-winding Lantern 189 movement, the Ref. 3147N is also characterized by those long lugs with angular inner faceting. And, of course, we see a tropical dial here, which is the warm brown color achieved after years of exposure to sunlight. In the past, some people would actually swap out dials showing signs of this discoloration but it is now one of the most desirable traits in a vintage watch.

Heuer Carrera ‘Panda’ Ref. 2447SN

One of the most celebrated chronographs among vintage-watch nerds has to be the Carrera Ref. 2447SN with the panda dial. Sharing an anniversary with the Rolex Daytona (both released in 1963), the Carrera is one of Jack Heuer’s most enduring accomplishments and remains a template for chronographs that like to keep things simple. This particular model isn’t from one of the first runs, as those had uniform dial colors.

While not the first, these iterations, with the Valjoux Caliber 72 and panda dials, are among the most desirable from a collector’s point of view. Back in early 2023, TAG Heuer celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Carrera 2447SN with a slightly bigger 39mm case (compared to the 36mm of the original) but with all the right design cues and a limited production of 600 pieces. Indeed, while the Omega Speedmaster and Rolex Daytona seem to gobble up the lion’s share of “historic chronograph lore” there is something special about the simplicity of the 2447SN.

Heuer Carrera Ref. 1158

Released in 1969, the Heuer Carrera Ref. 1158 was the watch Jack Heuer presented to the Ferrari F1 drivers in the early '70s (as well as one of the three vintage Heuer watches of choice worn by Ryan Gosling in Barbie). There were eight iterations of the 1158 produced, and this one looks to be the last model that was released in 1977, given the white date window and the champagne/black colorway.

Not just Jack Heuer’s favorite watch, the 1158 has the Caliber 12 movement, the follow-up to the historic Caliber 11, which has a strong case in claiming to be the first automatic chronograph ever produced. I love the tonneau-shaped case and find the 38mm-wide size to be damn near perfect.

Of course, we can’t forget the Gay Frères-designed “Maglia Milanese”-style bracelet assembled with hundreds of tiny gold links. Just a couple hundred of these gold Carrera’s were ever produced and even fewer of these original bracelets exist, making this example a real treat to handle.

The Original Monaco Ref. 1133B and the ‘Dark Lord' Ref. 74033N

Finally, two of the most iconic Monaco watches ever produced. First, is the original Ref. 1133B from 1969, touted as the first square-cased, water-resistant, automatic chronograph. Outfitted with the aforementioned historic Caliber 11 automatic chronograph movement, the Monaco is nearly synonymous with Steve McQueen, who wore one in the 1971 film Le Mans.

The Monaco had a hard time breaking through to a mainstream audience and was discontinued in 1975 until its eventual return in 1997. While the McQueen shine may not have given the Monaco the jolt it needed back in the day, time has been very kind to these vintage Heuer Monacos. In fact, back in 2020, Steve McQueen’s 1133B went for $2.2 million at auction.

Now we move from the McQueen to the one and only Dark Lord Ref. 74033N, one of the rarest and undoubtedly coolest vintage Heuers. This black PVD-coated Monaco was a last effort by Heuer to move some units at the end of the Monaco’s first generation and while figures are spotty, no more than 200 of these were produced, and none were distributed in the United States.

The black case and matching matte black dial with lumed markers is pure retro-cool, even if the watch never even made into a Heuer catalog. This rarity and ahead-of-its-time design has consistently fueled desire from a niche group of collectors, who regularly pay between $50,000 to $75,000 on the rare occasion one comes up at auction.