Hi everyone,

The post from Pamela about her Pasadena suggested me to write this post to share with you my stainless steel Pasadena (or Montreal? Who knows…).

Although this reference is probably the less sought after by Heuer collectors, it is a reference that is quite difficult to find (especially in the stainless steel version and in this condition), probably because it came out in 1979 when Heuer was next to the crisis that we all know and its price was quite expensive if compared to other ones…

It has the case and bracelet in stainless steel, rectangular case "concave" with a brushed circular effect, crown and bracelet original unmarked (corrected for this reference).

I found it as New Old Stock about two years ago at an old Italian Heuer official dealer, the case was quite scratched (years spent in a drawer without the dignity of references like Monacos or Autavias) and with some small dings around the glass but the rest (dial, hands, glass, bracelet) were in amazing conditions, moreover it had the plastic sticker, a blue box and the original paper sticker on the bracelet clasp (below the images made by the dealer at the moment of the sale):

In theory, according to an exhaustive research made some years ago from StewartM and posted here on OTD forum, this should have the reference 750.501-3 marked on the caseback (Pasadena SS version), but strangely as you can notice, mine had on the bracelet the original sticker saying “750503” (that is 750.503N, so should be a Montreal according to the catalogue from 1982 below) but caseback is clearly marked 750.501 (that is the PVD more common version). So I never understood if I own a no-name Pasadena or a later Montreal and why it had the caseback of the PVD version (I don’t think it had been de-PVD as the case finish was too perfect and had the sticker on the bracelet, more probably at some point the caseback has been swapped with a PVD one or Heuer mounted a PVD caseback because of lack of parts? Who knows…).

As the conditions of the dial + hands went out of tune with those of the case, the dealer proposed me to make it restore by a watchmaker of confidence (without any price addition), and in the meanwhile he proceeded to do a good service to the movement (which was quite gummed by the old lubricant).
I know that most of you are thinking that I should have leaved the case as original, but I asked to have a very light polish and leave small dings rather than remove big amount of material… I think the watchmaker did a good job (sorry for the poor quality of my images):

So who can help me to understand if this is a no-name Pasadena or a no-name Montreal?

Thanks you all.

Best.

Gianluca