We were there when Heuer became ‘Vintage’

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We were there when Heuer became ‘Vintage’

November 4, 2022

In 2000 FHM magazine ran a series of articles about unusual collections and collectors. They contacted myself because for some time, while working in a retail jewellers, I decided to look for and collect Heuer watches. Nobody displayed the slightest bit of interest in what were then dismissed as “second hand Tags”; I thought it was crazy that a 2447S Carrera would only sell for £250 so I collected any that came my way. After the article I was contacted by Neil Duckworth, managing director of Tag Heuer, who had been with the brand before the Tag takeover and therefore had quite a collection of unsold Heuer watches in his arsenal. We decided to offer both collections for sale through Sotheby’s online which in those times was a very new format of selling. The interest and publicity and success of the sale indicated that there was a greater appreciation for these fabulous old timepieces than I had first anticipated; thus inspiring the creation of vintageheuer.com which I launched 3 years later. I could never have predicted the heights at which prices have sky-rocketed to today and have no doubt that they will continue to rise. What a long way we have come in such a short time.
Enclosed is a link to the press release for the original auction quoting average prices of $600 but Monacos were expected to reach $1500!
file:///C:/Users/Jonathan/Desktop/heuer%20auction%202000.pdf