Στάλθηκε από: Greg
« στις: Ιούλιος 23, 2021, 23:36:17 μμ »
Στάλθηκε από: Gnl1977
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 22:14:57 μμ »Και το 62 mas ένα φθηνό ρολογακι ήταν όταν κυκλοφόρησε...αντε παρτο σήμερα
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Το 62mas , οταν κυκλοφόρησε κόστιζε 13000 γιεν, περίπου 160 δολλάρια της εποχής.
Αντίστοιχα, το submariner της εποχής κόστιζε περιπου 200 δολάρια........
Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 20:58:51 μμ »Ιστορία....
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Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 20:56:41 μμ »First links with Jo Siffert and the world of Formula One
During the final phase of Project 99, I became slightly nervous about how Heuer was going to finance the advertising for its new chronographs in all
the markets in which we were active. It had struck me that our advertising
budget was far too modest for us to make any real worldwide impact. The
solution came from a totally unexpected source. One day I was at my golf
club practising my putting together with an old friend of the family called
Claude Blancpain who ran the Cardinal brewery in Fribourg. Out of the blue
Claude suggested I should sponsor a young motor racing driver called Joseph (“Jo”) Siffert, who he admired and supported. Siffert, who was also
from Fribourg, had shot to fame by winning the Formula One British Grand
Prix in July 1968, beating drivers such as Chris Amon, Jacky Ickx and Jackie
Stewart, and Claude considered him one of the greatest talents in Formula
One racing at the time. Jo was also the factory driver for Porsche and drove
for them in long duration events such as the “24 Hours of Le Mans”.
This idea immediately appealed to me and a few days later I made an appointment to meet Jo in Fribourg. We got off to a very good start and quickly
agreed on the following: (1) During all races Jo would wear the Heuer logo
patch on his overalls and one of our chronographs, preferably the “Autavia”,
on his wrist; (2) He would put a red Heuer sticker on the front or the side of
all the cars he raced; (3) Heuer would allow him to buy its products at wholesale prices and he would be free to resell them privately to colleagues in
the pits and anyone else attending the races; (4) Heuer would pay him an
annual fee of CHF 25,000; and (5) the initial contract would be for 2 years.
Although I didn’t realise it at the time, this relatively simple sponsoring
contract with Siffert was probably one of the best marketing moves I ever
made, because it opened the door for us to the whole world of Formula One.When our meeting had finished and I was about to go home, Jo said to me,
“Jack, how can you drive around in an Alfa Cabriolet when you are my sponsor
and I am the official Porsche representative and dealer in Fribourg? You
must switch over to Porsche!” I hesitated for a moment, but loved the idea
of having this good excuse to buy a Porsche as a company car. I then went
on to drive Porsche 911s from 1968 until 1975 when I wrote one off by sliding
into a guard rail. In any case, 1975 was a crisis year for my company and
I decided it was no longer appropriate for a CEO to drive around in such a
flashy car and changed over to a Saab.
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
During the final phase of Project 99, I became slightly nervous about how Heuer was going to finance the advertising for its new chronographs in all
the markets in which we were active. It had struck me that our advertising
budget was far too modest for us to make any real worldwide impact. The
solution came from a totally unexpected source. One day I was at my golf
club practising my putting together with an old friend of the family called
Claude Blancpain who ran the Cardinal brewery in Fribourg. Out of the blue
Claude suggested I should sponsor a young motor racing driver called Joseph (“Jo”) Siffert, who he admired and supported. Siffert, who was also
from Fribourg, had shot to fame by winning the Formula One British Grand
Prix in July 1968, beating drivers such as Chris Amon, Jacky Ickx and Jackie
Stewart, and Claude considered him one of the greatest talents in Formula
One racing at the time. Jo was also the factory driver for Porsche and drove
for them in long duration events such as the “24 Hours of Le Mans”.
This idea immediately appealed to me and a few days later I made an appointment to meet Jo in Fribourg. We got off to a very good start and quickly
agreed on the following: (1) During all races Jo would wear the Heuer logo
patch on his overalls and one of our chronographs, preferably the “Autavia”,
on his wrist; (2) He would put a red Heuer sticker on the front or the side of
all the cars he raced; (3) Heuer would allow him to buy its products at wholesale prices and he would be free to resell them privately to colleagues in
the pits and anyone else attending the races; (4) Heuer would pay him an
annual fee of CHF 25,000; and (5) the initial contract would be for 2 years.
Although I didn’t realise it at the time, this relatively simple sponsoring
contract with Siffert was probably one of the best marketing moves I ever
made, because it opened the door for us to the whole world of Formula One.When our meeting had finished and I was about to go home, Jo said to me,
“Jack, how can you drive around in an Alfa Cabriolet when you are my sponsor
and I am the official Porsche representative and dealer in Fribourg? You
must switch over to Porsche!” I hesitated for a moment, but loved the idea
of having this good excuse to buy a Porsche as a company car. I then went
on to drive Porsche 911s from 1968 until 1975 when I wrote one off by sliding
into a guard rail. In any case, 1975 was a crisis year for my company and
I decided it was no longer appropriate for a CEO to drive around in such a
flashy car and changed over to a Saab.
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Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 20:53:32 μμ »Origins of the square “Monaco” case
One day, a representative of one of our most reliable watch case suppliers,
a company called Piquerez, located at Bassecourt in the Jura, came to us
on one of his regular visits to show us Piquerez’s latest samples of watch
cases in mock-up form. He drew our attention in particular to a new patented square case Piquerez had developed, emphasising the fact that it was
fully water-resistant. We immediately knew this was something special because until then square cases were used only for dress watches because it
was impossible to make a square case fully water-resistant. At Heuer a decision had been taken around 1941 to produce only water-resistant chronographs because any water penetrating a chronograph’s case and reaching
the movement causes serious damage that is very costly to repair. We immediately took a liking to the special square shape and were able to negotiate a deal with Piquerez that secured us exclusive use of the case design
for chronographs. This way we could be sure that Breitling would not produce a chronograph housed in a similar case when we all unveiled our new
products using the revolutionary Calibre 11 microrotor-based self-winding
mechanism that was at the heart of Project 99. The revolutionary square
case would be the perfect housing for our avant-garde “Monaco” wrist
chronograph. Although we were all cooperating in the development of the
self-winding chronograph movement, it must be remembered that we remained robust competitors in business!
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One day, a representative of one of our most reliable watch case suppliers,
a company called Piquerez, located at Bassecourt in the Jura, came to us
on one of his regular visits to show us Piquerez’s latest samples of watch
cases in mock-up form. He drew our attention in particular to a new patented square case Piquerez had developed, emphasising the fact that it was
fully water-resistant. We immediately knew this was something special because until then square cases were used only for dress watches because it
was impossible to make a square case fully water-resistant. At Heuer a decision had been taken around 1941 to produce only water-resistant chronographs because any water penetrating a chronograph’s case and reaching
the movement causes serious damage that is very costly to repair. We immediately took a liking to the special square shape and were able to negotiate a deal with Piquerez that secured us exclusive use of the case design
for chronographs. This way we could be sure that Breitling would not produce a chronograph housed in a similar case when we all unveiled our new
products using the revolutionary Calibre 11 microrotor-based self-winding
mechanism that was at the heart of Project 99. The revolutionary square
case would be the perfect housing for our avant-garde “Monaco” wrist
chronograph. Although we were all cooperating in the development of the
self-winding chronograph movement, it must be remembered that we remained robust competitors in business!
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Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 20:50:13 μμ »Origins of the “Carrera”
At this point motor racing makes another appearance in my story. In January 1962 I was invited by the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) to attend
the 12 Hours Race at Sebring in Florida. The old US Army Airforce base at
Sebring had become the home of US sports car endurance racing (the track
is now called the Sebring International Raceway). I
flew from New York down to Palm Beach and rented
a car to drive out to Sebring. I had lent the organisers of the race a dozen Heuer pocket chronographs
with split-second displays for the official timing of
the event, and I was warmly welcomed by the SCCA
folks as their guest. What impressed me most of
all at Sebring was the mix of professional road racing pilots, amateur gentlemen drivers and spectators. The professionals included people like the
German Jochen Rindt and the young Rodriguez brothers, Pedro and Ricardo, from Mexico for whom the Ferrari importer in New York had prepared a
racing car. But there were also some important amateur gentlemen drivers
including Augie Pabst from the Pabst brewery family and the actor Paul Newman from Hollywood. The spectators seemed to be rather well-to-do
members of the SCCA and other racing organisations. It dawned on me
there and then that this group of motor racing enthusiasts was a natural
target client group for Heuer, both for our wrist chronographs and for our
rally timers.
While at these races I spent quite a bit of time in the Ferrari pits talking with
the parents of the Rodriguez brothers. They told me that they were lucky
that their boys were so young - Pedro was then 21 and Ricardo 19 - because
if they had been born a few years earlier they would certainly have participated in the dangerous race across Mexico known as the Carrera Panamericana Mexico. At the time it was considered to be the most dangerous sports
car race in the world and over a period of five years had claimed over 30
victims. It was called off in 1955 because of safety concerns, a decision no
doubt reinforced by the disaster at Le Mans the same year. Tragically for the
family Ricardo was killed in November 1962 while practising for the Mexican
Grand Prix and Pedro was killed in an accident on the Norisring circuit in
Nuremberg in 1971.
It was at Sebring, however, that I first heard the Spanish word carrera. I loved
not only its sexy sound but also its multiple meanings, which include road,
race, course and career. All very much Heuer territory! So as soon as I got
back to Switzerland I rushed to register the name under “Heuer Carrera”.
As the company’s majority shareholder – and with the company’s future
effectively in my hands – I was committed to developing new products and
I decided that the next product I would create would be called the “Carrera“.
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
At this point motor racing makes another appearance in my story. In January 1962 I was invited by the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) to attend
the 12 Hours Race at Sebring in Florida. The old US Army Airforce base at
Sebring had become the home of US sports car endurance racing (the track
is now called the Sebring International Raceway). I
flew from New York down to Palm Beach and rented
a car to drive out to Sebring. I had lent the organisers of the race a dozen Heuer pocket chronographs
with split-second displays for the official timing of
the event, and I was warmly welcomed by the SCCA
folks as their guest. What impressed me most of
all at Sebring was the mix of professional road racing pilots, amateur gentlemen drivers and spectators. The professionals included people like the
German Jochen Rindt and the young Rodriguez brothers, Pedro and Ricardo, from Mexico for whom the Ferrari importer in New York had prepared a
racing car. But there were also some important amateur gentlemen drivers
including Augie Pabst from the Pabst brewery family and the actor Paul Newman from Hollywood. The spectators seemed to be rather well-to-do
members of the SCCA and other racing organisations. It dawned on me
there and then that this group of motor racing enthusiasts was a natural
target client group for Heuer, both for our wrist chronographs and for our
rally timers.
While at these races I spent quite a bit of time in the Ferrari pits talking with
the parents of the Rodriguez brothers. They told me that they were lucky
that their boys were so young - Pedro was then 21 and Ricardo 19 - because
if they had been born a few years earlier they would certainly have participated in the dangerous race across Mexico known as the Carrera Panamericana Mexico. At the time it was considered to be the most dangerous sports
car race in the world and over a period of five years had claimed over 30
victims. It was called off in 1955 because of safety concerns, a decision no
doubt reinforced by the disaster at Le Mans the same year. Tragically for the
family Ricardo was killed in November 1962 while practising for the Mexican
Grand Prix and Pedro was killed in an accident on the Norisring circuit in
Nuremberg in 1971.
It was at Sebring, however, that I first heard the Spanish word carrera. I loved
not only its sexy sound but also its multiple meanings, which include road,
race, course and career. All very much Heuer territory! So as soon as I got
back to Switzerland I rushed to register the name under “Heuer Carrera”.
As the company’s majority shareholder – and with the company’s future
effectively in my hands – I was committed to developing new products and
I decided that the next product I would create would be called the “Carrera“.
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 20:18:02 μμ »Και το 62 mas ένα φθηνό ρολογακι ήταν όταν κυκλοφόρησε...αντε παρτο σήμερα
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
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Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 20:15:45 μμ »Αυτή η μεγαλοκαρδια της σέικο πια...
Πέρασε στο ντούκου τον 1ο αυτόματο χρονογράφο
Πέρασε στο ντούκου το διάστημα
Το μόνο που δεν περνάει στο ντούκου είναι οι αυξήσεις....
Σύμπτωση επαναλαμβανομενη παύει να είναι σύμπτωση.
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Πέρασε στο ντούκου τον 1ο αυτόματο χρονογράφο
Πέρασε στο ντούκου το διάστημα
Το μόνο που δεν περνάει στο ντούκου είναι οι αυξήσεις....
Σύμπτωση επαναλαμβανομενη παύει να είναι σύμπτωση.
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Στάλθηκε από: Gnl1977
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 20:04:07 μμ »Και για να μην νομίζετε ότι λέω υπερβολές.
Ένα τέτοιο σεικο πογκ για να το πάρεις σήμερα θες 1000 ευρώ και θα γελάει μαζί σου η μισή ανθρωπότητα που έδωσες αυτά τα λεφτά για να το πάρεις.
Αυτή είναι η σημασία αυτού του ρολογιού...μηδαμινή (Κάντε κλικ εδώ να εμφανιστεί η φωτογραφία.)
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Μα και όταν κυκλοφόρησε το ρολόι δεν ήταν ιδιαίτερα ακριβό...
Η ίδια η εταιρεία δεν του έδωσε μεγάλη προβολή και το πέρασε "στο ντουκου", γιατί την ίδια στιγμή ετοίμαζε την επανάσταση!
Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 20:00:13 μμ »Και για να μην νομίζετε ότι λέω υπερβολές.
Ένα τέτοιο σεικο πογκ για να το πάρεις σήμερα θες 1000 ευρώ και θα γελάει μαζί σου η μισή ανθρωπότητα που έδωσες αυτά τα λεφτά για να το πάρεις.
Αυτή είναι η σημασία αυτού του ρολογιού...μηδαμινή
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Ένα τέτοιο σεικο πογκ για να το πάρεις σήμερα θες 1000 ευρώ και θα γελάει μαζί σου η μισή ανθρωπότητα που έδωσες αυτά τα λεφτά για να το πάρεις.
Αυτή είναι η σημασία αυτού του ρολογιού...μηδαμινή
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Στάλθηκε από: Gnl1977
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:59:54 μμ »Λόγια αέρα λες Γιώργο. Η ιστορία έχει γραφτεί και δεν αλλάζει. Heuer 1ος αυτόματος χρονογράφος και ολόκληρες εγκυκλοπαιδιες ιστορίας. Ότι και να γράψεις,ότι και να πεις, οτι και να σκεφτείς, και αύριο το πρωί η Seiko να βγάλει κάτι τσάμπα και να το χαρίζει στο κόσμο...
Η HEUER έχει κάτι που δεν αντιγράφεται, δεν αμφισβητειτε
ΙΣΤΟΡΊΑ
Τους πιο ιστορικούς χρονογραφους στην ιστορία
Τους πιο αναγνωρισιμους με διαφορά
Και εσύ μου πετάς ένα ασήμαντο ρολογακι, αντιγραφή σχέδιο κασας,κλασσική κίνηση Seiko, και μου λες ότι κάτι πήγε στο διάστημα, πάντα ανεπίσημα, επειδή ένας αστροναύτης έτσι το αποφάσισε.
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Δεν αμφισβητώ την ιστορικότητα της Heuer.
Την "πρωτιά" στον αυτόματο χρονογράφο εγώ προσωπικά (και πολλοί πολλοί άλλοι) την αμφισβητώ.
Αυτό δεν στερεί απο την εταιρεία την αξία της!
Το "ασήμαντο ρολογακι" το αφήνω ασχολιαστο.....
Στάλθηκε από: george_
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:55:35 μμ »Νομιδα ότι μιλάς για το moonwatch
Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:52:24 μμ »Λόγια αέρα λες Γιώργο. Η ιστορία έχει γραφτεί και δεν αλλάζει. Heuer 1ος αυτόματος χρονογράφος και ολόκληρες εγκυκλοπαιδιες ιστορίας. Ότι και να γράψεις,ότι και να πεις, οτι και να σκεφτείς, και αύριο το πρωί η Seiko να βγάλει κάτι τσάμπα και να το χαρίζει στο κόσμο...
Η HEUER έχει κάτι που δεν αντιγράφεται, δεν αμφισβητειτε
ΙΣΤΟΡΊΑ
Τους πιο ιστορικούς χρονογραφους στην ιστορία
Τους πιο αναγνωρισιμους με διαφορά
Και εσύ μου πετάς ένα ασήμαντο ρολογακι, αντιγραφή σχέδιο κασας,κλασσική κίνηση Seiko, και μου λες ότι κάτι πήγε στο διάστημα, πάντα ανεπίσημα, επειδή ένας αστροναύτης έτσι το αποφάσισε.
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Η HEUER έχει κάτι που δεν αντιγράφεται, δεν αμφισβητειτε
ΙΣΤΟΡΊΑ
Τους πιο ιστορικούς χρονογραφους στην ιστορία
Τους πιο αναγνωρισιμους με διαφορά
Και εσύ μου πετάς ένα ασήμαντο ρολογακι, αντιγραφή σχέδιο κασας,κλασσική κίνηση Seiko, και μου λες ότι κάτι πήγε στο διάστημα, πάντα ανεπίσημα, επειδή ένας αστροναύτης έτσι το αποφάσισε.
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Στάλθηκε από: Gnl1977
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:51:44 μμ »Τι θες να πεις?
Τα χω πει στο νήμα για τον πρώτο αυτόματο χρονογράφο....
Δώσανε λίγα κομμάτια στην έκθεση του '69 και τους τα γύρισαν πίσω πριν ακόμα κλείσει η έκθεση......
Άσε που ο μπάρμπα-Jack έχασε το γέλιο του όταν είδε στο περίπτερο της Seiko επίσης αυτόματο χρονογράφο...
Πήγε και τον τρολαρισε και ο πρόεδρος δίνοντας του συγχαρητήρια για την "πρωτιά", την ώρα που το μισό Τόκυο φορούσε ήδη χρονογράφο της SEIKO!!!!
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Στάλθηκε από: Gnl1977
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:46:30 μμ »Θα σε ακούσει κανένας ρολογόφιλος συλλέκτης να αποκαλείς "άγνωστο ρολογακι" το Pogue, και θα σε πυροβολήσει ρε!!!!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Στάλθηκε από: george_
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:45:47 μμ »Τι θες να πεις?
Στάλθηκε από: Gnl1977
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:43:41 μμ »Και το υλικό σε φώτο από μικροσκόπιο να βάλεις, ένα άγνωστο ρολογακι είναι που το ξέρουν μόνο τα fanboys της Seiko.
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Η διαφορά είναι πως αυτό το άγνωστο ρολογακι (ο πρώτος αυτόματος χρονογράφος που πήγε στο διάστημα ), δουλεύει ακόμα άψογα στα χέρια των κατόχων του....
Σε αντίθεση με κάποια άλλα "θρυλικά", που σταματούσαν να δουλεύουν έπειτα απο μολις λίγες χρήσεις......
Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:41:31 μμ »Ναι...μέχρι να.φτασει σε αυτά τα σχέδια είχε αντιγράψει τη μισή υφήλιο
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Στάλθηκε από: Gnl1977
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:40:08 μμ »
Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:39:18 μμ »Θες να βάλω φωτό και τον μηχανισμόΚαι το υλικό σε φώτο από μικροσκόπιο να βάλεις, ένα άγνωστο ρολογακι είναι που το ξέρουν μόνο τα fanboys της Seiko.?
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Στάλθηκε από: Gnl1977
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:37:39 μμ »Το μόνο πρωτότυπο που βλέπω σε αυτό το ρολόι είναι το όνομα
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Θες να βάλω φωτό και τον μηχανισμό
?Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:35:23 μμ »Το μόνο πρωτότυπο που βλέπω σε αυτό το ρολόι είναι το όνομα
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
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Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:26:13 μμ »Αυτό είναι κάτι όπου ο μεγαλύτερος αντιγραφεας όλων των εποχών στα ρολόγια, Seiko, το ξέρει πολύ καλά.
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Στάλθηκε από: Gnl1977
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:24:52 μμ »Έτσι δημιουργούνται οι θρύλοι...
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
Έτσι ακριβώς......... πάνω στην δουλειά άλλων.......
Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:01:00 μμ »Έτσι δημιουργούνται οι θρύλοι...
Στάλθηκε από το SM-N986B μου χρησιμοποιώντας Tapatalk
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Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 19:00:07 μμ »watch repairers and semi-qualified staff to work on our assembly lines. We had
received our first large order for stopwatches from China via our Hong Kong
agent Desco (de Schulthess & Co.) and also another big stopwatch order
from the US Government. However, this excellent order intake pointed directly to a forthcoming liquidity crisis and I realised we would have to increase our capital, especially since our sales budget for 1969 looked as if it
would exceed CHF 15 million. Our electronics department also continued to
grow, so we decided to hire Christian Nitschke, a qualified electronics engineer, to run it. Our liquidity position was to remain a fragile point because of
our fast-paced growth and this in turn meant we would sometimes have to
delay projects and borrow more money from the banks.
During the summer of 1968, both Breitling and Heuer-Leonidas received the
first prototypes of our new self-winding chronograph for so-called “torture
tests”. Several minor modifications had to be made, but there was nothing
seriously wrong with the concept or design. In 1968 Buren had been taken
over by the US firm Hamilton, which then asked to be part of our secret
Project 99 with access to the new movement. So between Breitling and
ourselves we agreed to allocate 10% at the most of our total common production to Buren-Hamilton.
In Bienne we worked hard on the casings and dials. We needed an automatic version of the “Autavia” chronograph because the “Autavia” was a must
for our car racing and aviation clients and, together with the “Carrera”, was
one of our best-selling chronographs. We went on to create the “Carrera
Automatic”, using design codes similar to those of the successful manual model. But we also wanted to create an outstandingly innovative and
eye-catching product, something bordering on the avant-garde.
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received our first large order for stopwatches from China via our Hong Kong
agent Desco (de Schulthess & Co.) and also another big stopwatch order
from the US Government. However, this excellent order intake pointed directly to a forthcoming liquidity crisis and I realised we would have to increase our capital, especially since our sales budget for 1969 looked as if it
would exceed CHF 15 million. Our electronics department also continued to
grow, so we decided to hire Christian Nitschke, a qualified electronics engineer, to run it. Our liquidity position was to remain a fragile point because of
our fast-paced growth and this in turn meant we would sometimes have to
delay projects and borrow more money from the banks.
During the summer of 1968, both Breitling and Heuer-Leonidas received the
first prototypes of our new self-winding chronograph for so-called “torture
tests”. Several minor modifications had to be made, but there was nothing
seriously wrong with the concept or design. In 1968 Buren had been taken
over by the US firm Hamilton, which then asked to be part of our secret
Project 99 with access to the new movement. So between Breitling and
ourselves we agreed to allocate 10% at the most of our total common production to Buren-Hamilton.
In Bienne we worked hard on the casings and dials. We needed an automatic version of the “Autavia” chronograph because the “Autavia” was a must
for our car racing and aviation clients and, together with the “Carrera”, was
one of our best-selling chronographs. We went on to create the “Carrera
Automatic”, using design codes similar to those of the successful manual model. But we also wanted to create an outstandingly innovative and
eye-catching product, something bordering on the avant-garde.
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Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 18:57:44 μμ »Breitling still uses the name today, while we dropped it after a year, believing that in the US the term “Automatic Chronograph” was easier
for the client to understand than the generic name “Chronomatic”.
One idiosyncratic detail with our new self-winding chronograph was that
the best place for the winding crown was on the left side of the case, while
clients were of course used to seeing a winding crown in its traditional position on the right side of a watch’s case. Initially we all thought a crown
on the left side did indeed look weird, but then we decided to turn it into an
exclusive and distinctive feature. By having the crown on the left we would
in effect be saying: “This chronograph does not need winding every day
because it is automatic. The crown is used only for setting the time of day
or for readjusting the time if it varies by a minute or so after a certain period,
and for this the wearer takes the watch off anyway.” This statement made a
lot of sense and we have used it in one form or another ever since.
In 1967 the Board of Directors decided to bring young blood into the company.
Hubert Heuer’s son-in-law, Thüring von Erlach, a lawyer from Bern, was elected to the Board together with Dominique de Charrière, the husband of my sister Irène. Dominique was a mechanical engineer trained at the Lausanne Polytechnicum (EPFL) who worked as sales manager in Geneva for the machine
tool manufacturer Tarex. Both took their seats on the Board on 1 January 1968.
We ended the year 1967 with sales of CHF 8.5 million, an increase of 19%
over the previous year. Our sales had increased markedly, but then again
so had our costs.
Around 1968 the overall market situation remained rather uncertain, but
fortunately our order books were still quite full. Our key problem was how
to increase production capacity. We were looking for watchmakers,
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for the client to understand than the generic name “Chronomatic”.
One idiosyncratic detail with our new self-winding chronograph was that
the best place for the winding crown was on the left side of the case, while
clients were of course used to seeing a winding crown in its traditional position on the right side of a watch’s case. Initially we all thought a crown
on the left side did indeed look weird, but then we decided to turn it into an
exclusive and distinctive feature. By having the crown on the left we would
in effect be saying: “This chronograph does not need winding every day
because it is automatic. The crown is used only for setting the time of day
or for readjusting the time if it varies by a minute or so after a certain period,
and for this the wearer takes the watch off anyway.” This statement made a
lot of sense and we have used it in one form or another ever since.
In 1967 the Board of Directors decided to bring young blood into the company.
Hubert Heuer’s son-in-law, Thüring von Erlach, a lawyer from Bern, was elected to the Board together with Dominique de Charrière, the husband of my sister Irène. Dominique was a mechanical engineer trained at the Lausanne Polytechnicum (EPFL) who worked as sales manager in Geneva for the machine
tool manufacturer Tarex. Both took their seats on the Board on 1 January 1968.
We ended the year 1967 with sales of CHF 8.5 million, an increase of 19%
over the previous year. Our sales had increased markedly, but then again
so had our costs.
Around 1968 the overall market situation remained rather uncertain, but
fortunately our order books were still quite full. Our key problem was how
to increase production capacity. We were looking for watchmakers,
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Στάλθηκε από: Alexandros00
« στις: Ιούλιος 22, 2021, 18:53:26 μμ »At Heuer we had been aware of the drop of interest in non-automatic
chronographs for some time. My father, Charles Heuer, had already started
looking around for a solution and had examined the potential of the very
first movement that came out with a microrotor, made by the Buren Watch
Company around 1963. However, when a chronograph mechanism was
added the whole movement became impossibly thick and the project was shelved. But the moment Buren unveiled its new, thinner and patented microrotor movement at the Basel Watch and Jewellery Fair in 1967 we joined
up with Dubois-Dépraz, one of our most reliable suppliers, and studied the
feasibility of using the new Buren microrotor movement combined with a
plate carrying the entire chronograph mechanism made by Dubois-Dépraz.
As Dubois-Dépraz had already developed the plate Heuer had needed to
create its successful “Monte Carlo” stopwatch with the 12-hour window, we
were confident they could handle this new challenge.
In 1967, however, Heuer was still a relatively small company and DuboisDépraz gave what for us then was an astronomically-high quote for this
project – I believe it was something in the order of CHF 500,000. We therefore decided to ask Willy Breitling to come on board and share the research
and development costs. So Buren, Dubois–Dépraz, Breitling and Heuer-Leonidas got together and established a development team to realise our
goal of creating a self-winding wrist chronograph. Everyone – both internal
staff and external suppliers – was sworn to secrecy and we gave the project
the codename “Project 99”.
I had personally been very keen to have Breilting on board, firstly because
Willy Breitling and I got along well together and, secondly, because our respective business strengths were very complementary. Breitling was strong
in aviation, while we were strong in rallying and automobile sports; Breitling
was strong in Italy and France – markets where Heuer was weak – whereas
we were strong in Germany, the UK and above all in the US. Since we also
agreed on a price range, our double market presence would make market
penetration easier. We also agreed to give the new product the generic name
“Chronomatic”.
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chronographs for some time. My father, Charles Heuer, had already started
looking around for a solution and had examined the potential of the very
first movement that came out with a microrotor, made by the Buren Watch
Company around 1963. However, when a chronograph mechanism was
added the whole movement became impossibly thick and the project was shelved. But the moment Buren unveiled its new, thinner and patented microrotor movement at the Basel Watch and Jewellery Fair in 1967 we joined
up with Dubois-Dépraz, one of our most reliable suppliers, and studied the
feasibility of using the new Buren microrotor movement combined with a
plate carrying the entire chronograph mechanism made by Dubois-Dépraz.
As Dubois-Dépraz had already developed the plate Heuer had needed to
create its successful “Monte Carlo” stopwatch with the 12-hour window, we
were confident they could handle this new challenge.
In 1967, however, Heuer was still a relatively small company and DuboisDépraz gave what for us then was an astronomically-high quote for this
project – I believe it was something in the order of CHF 500,000. We therefore decided to ask Willy Breitling to come on board and share the research
and development costs. So Buren, Dubois–Dépraz, Breitling and Heuer-Leonidas got together and established a development team to realise our
goal of creating a self-winding wrist chronograph. Everyone – both internal
staff and external suppliers – was sworn to secrecy and we gave the project
the codename “Project 99”.
I had personally been very keen to have Breilting on board, firstly because
Willy Breitling and I got along well together and, secondly, because our respective business strengths were very complementary. Breitling was strong
in aviation, while we were strong in rallying and automobile sports; Breitling
was strong in Italy and France – markets where Heuer was weak – whereas
we were strong in Germany, the UK and above all in the US. Since we also
agreed on a price range, our double market presence would make market
penetration easier. We also agreed to give the new product the generic name
“Chronomatic”.
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