I will need to study this thread further, when time permits, but Mark makes a very good point about some of the older photos that are included OnTheDash.

I believe that the photos of this watch were added a long time ago . . . probably over 10 years ago. At that time, the photos were not as good and our knowledge was not very well developed either. Over the last decade, we have learned a lot about the development of the different executions made by Heuer and we also do better at detecting the fake ones.

I will try to study this watch further and also read through all the postings. But we should not take inclusion of these photos OnTheDash as evidence of authenticity.

Jeff

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

: Prototype dials is a claim we see quite often when something is
: unusual or doesn't quite fit the norm. Unfortunately, it makes
: it much more difficult to prove anything.

: But let's work from what we do have.

: Prototype dials at the time, and often right through to the present
: day, came from the dial maker rather than the watch
: manufacturer. Sometimes at the maker's behest, sometimes more
: speculatively from the dial specialist. You might recall that,
: in similar fashion, the Monaco's case was offered to Heuer
: rather than being something they specified. The dial maker would
: put decent effort into it, after all they were trying to sell
: something to the watch brand, whether fulfilling an order or
: more speculatively.

: Now, I believe all the Monaco's dials were from Singer. Who
: obviously had cliché elements at the time of this dial that
: were already in use for Heuer. Those had (admittedly slight)
: serif elements on the Monaco text, which we don't see in this
: dial. They also had a very good to perfect (quality would
: marginally degrade over the lifetime of the cliché) rendition
: of the Heuer shield, whereas the one in this watch is a bit off.
: If this dial was from Singer, they would use existing printing
: elements to show it off to best effect and it wouldn't have come
: out looking like that. They are trying to sell the dial to Heuer
: after all.

: So, if not Singer, might it have come from another dial maker?
: Potentially, though we're in an area of greater uncertainty. I
: still feel their proposal would have shown greater accuracy in
: the areas mentioned above, a better rendition of the Heuer
: shield and serifs on the Monaco text. Those elements weren't
: copyrighted to Singer. Any dial maker puts out their best
: effort, else they don't make the sale. Do you feel the dial in
: question represents a best effort?

: As to why it's on the OTD site? There was a time, 10+ years ago,
: when digital photos were significantly lower quality than they
: are now and the audience were arguably more accepting of
: anything new and exciting and less analytical and sometimes
: critical than they are now. There's potentially stuff that
: wouldn't make the cut now and everyone should do their due
: diligence before buying, rather than simply relying on the
: presence or absence of a photo here.