Why would this be? You might like to think that its to protect the value of the true, 100% original watches..but I doubt it. Watch companies in the 1970s and 1908s were more focused on surviving than worry about protecting the authenticity and scarcity of watches for future collectors.

I think that its because the idea of collectors actually seeking out and coveting the contemporary models of the day thirty years down the track would have been a surprise to Heuer. So the fact that the supplier down the road had a replacement that was almost right was probably enough for the company then - just as it probably is now.

David:

Your blog posting rasies a few interesting questions. One question is why Heuer was unable to obtain service hands that were closer matches to the originals. I suspect that if they had wanted to, then Heuer could have had their service hands made that would match the originals very closely. I suppose that it was simply not such a big deal; so they had service hands produced that were similar, but not identical, to the the originals . . . and people thought that this would be fine.

The more interesting question is why Heuer routinely replaced the original hands with the service hands. I believe that, until very recently -- when these became valuable collectibles -- the service department thought that it was doing the customer a favor when it replaced the original hands, which might have been going off color or showing some spots, with a fresh new pair of service hands. So Heuer proudly marked on the service ticket that it had replaced the hands. In 1989, this would have been considered an improvement in the watch and good service for the customer; we know that in 2009, this replacement of the original hands with service hands, in fact, diminishes the value for the collectors.

You raise some interesting questions; let me discuss all this with our favorite watchmaker, and see whether there are other details for our group.

Jeff

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: Hey DC

: I agree, the Monaco issue has a real impact on visuals and to some
: degree on values too, although i'm not sure everyone realises
: the importance. On the Monaco's the red second hand is
: significantly longer and it hangs too close to the
: "swiss" sign, at some angles covering it. I think
: that's the worst aspect, but obviously if the minute and hours
: hands are service then unless it's relumed to match the hour
: marker lume and hand lume won't match and besides that the
: service hands just don't look as good and sometimes look plain
: wrong. (A greenish lume on hands with an original yellowish lume
: on the hour markers looks terrible...

: As you say and as was pointed out to me again yesterday, it's the
: real original that should always command the premium. I'm not
: sure at the moment that is the case, but suspect the further
: into the future we get the more it will matter (the pricier
: objects get the pickier people tend to become and the fact that
: we all get more informed every day, will only add to this)

: R