What a great story and cool watch. One to be treasured forever.

: I'm in the U.S. and have been so accustomed to seeing a Heuer
: Monaco that it was only recently that I learned of it's
: popularity as a collector's item. But, I'll back up a bit.

: My grandfather was the kind of guy that I fished and played tennis
: with every year, up until I was 22, when he passed -- he also
: ran an ad agency in Boston. One of his steadfast (a rarity in
: advertising) clients was Bonne Bell cosmetics. Maybe you've seen
: the chapstick-like Lip Smackers... it was a very kitchy thing in
: the 70's. Well, Bonne Bell was a U.S. Ski Team sponsor -- in
: 1976, my grandfather, along with the owner Jess Bell went to
: Innsbruck to support the US Ski Team.

: When he came back, he had a couple(!) of Heuer Monacos, which he
: gifted to my father and my uncle (who, by the way, were both
: Son-in-laws to him, being my maternal grandfather) -- I'm not
: sure the exact way it happened, but the watches were given to my
: grandfather in some connection to the US team - either by the
: team or by the Olympic officials. (Having read that, at the
: time, Monaco as a model was on it's last gasps, perhaps these
: were gifted to all ski teams in an effort to invigorate interest
: in the Monaco; perhaps I'll never know.) At the time, I was
: eight, but I immediately saw this very cool watch of my dads.
: Dad loved that watch & took very good care of it (since I
: didn't realize at the time it's value, I thought he was going
: overboard - he saved the black wristband to avoid wear and
: bought a tan Heuer band).

: Well, sadly in 2009 my dad passed away. He had always let our
: family know that I was to inherit his watch. I rarely wear it,
: but I love it when I have that opportunity. I've corresponded
: with a member of this forum, a great guy named Paul Gavin, who
: has shared much of the Monaco info -- and, unsurprisingly, I'm
: hooked anyway. I love learning more and more about the Monacos
: (I followed the Haslinger auction of the PVD 73044 in amazement,
: though I do understand it is a unique situation). I've taken
: some decent pics, but unfortunately, they are on my home
: computer -- the ones seen in this post are from my smartphone,
: so, as you may understand, not that great.

: I'm sure I've been way too wordy, but it is what it is. Thanks for
: letting me share - cheers.

: Hmmm... it's not letting me post pics in the optional Image URL, so
: you can see watch here: http://monaco74033.posterous.com/