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A vintage Heuer can be pinned down to one reference, and often to the catalogue that first listed it. Here is how: read the caseback, check the crown, read the dial, then match it against Heuer's own printed catalogues from 1959 to 1985, which FindWatch keeps with the specs and prices printed at the time.
Heuer's catalogues list every watch by its case reference: a number for the case, then letters for the version. In the 1964 Carrera and Autavia catalogue the Carrera 12 is 2447, the Autavia 12 is 2446 M or 2446 H. That reference is on the caseback; on some cases it is on the inside.
The letters matter as much as the number. The same 1964 catalogue sells the Carrera 12 as Standard (2447), Black (2447 N), Tachy (2447 T) and Decimal (2447 D): one case, four dials. The 1968–1969 catalogue adds the Autavia GMT, 2446 GMT.
A crown on the left, with the pushers on the right, is the sign of Heuer's Chronomatic automatic chronographs, which began with the Chronomatic Calibre 11, presented on March 3, 1969, with a micro-rotor and a Dubois-Depraz chronograph module. Heuer launched it in the Monaco and in Chronomatic versions of the Autavia and Carrera.
Those watches have their own references. Heuer's 1970–1971 catalogue lists the Monaco as 1133 (1133 B among them), the Chronomatic Carrera as 1153 (1153 S) and the Chronomatic Autavia as 1163 (1163 MH), next to the 2447 Carrera and 2446 Autavia references that were still on sale.
FindWatch keeps Heuer's own catalogues and price lists from 1959 to 1985, every model typed out with the specs printed at the time and linked to its watch page; the TAG Heuer catalogues take over from 1985–1986. Search a catalogue page for the reference on your caseback: if a catalogue lists it, you have the model name Heuer used, the dial and case it was sold with, and the year it was offered.
Then compare the dial. A catalogue photo shows the hands, subdials and printing the watch left the factory with; a mismatch is worth asking the seller about.
Prices as printed in Heuer's US price lists. Every watch page on FindWatch shows the prices printed in the catalogues that list it, next to today's dealer asking prices.
| Model | Reference | Price new | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carrera 12 | 2447 | $89.50 | 1964 Carrera and Autavia |
| Autavia 12 M | 2446 M | $119.50 | 1964 Carrera and Autavia |
| Autavia GMT | 2446 GMT | $129.50 | 1968–1969 catalogue |
| Carrera (Chronomatic) | 1153 S | $185.00 | 1972 timers and chronographs |
| Autavia (Chronomatic) | 1163 MH | $200.00 | 1972 timers and chronographs |
On the caseback. Heuer catalogues list each watch by that case reference, a number followed by letters for the version, such as 2447 N for the black-dial Carrera 12. On some cases it is inside the caseback, so a watchmaker may need to open it.
They mark the version of the same case. Heuer's 1964 Carrera and Autavia catalogue lists the Carrera 12 as 2447 (Standard), 2447 N (Black), 2447 T (Tachy) and 2447 D (Decimal), all at the same price. Read the letters as part of the reference: they are what separates one dial from another.
A crown on the left is the sign of Heuer's Chronomatic automatic chronographs, which began with the Calibre 11, presented on March 3, 1969. Heuer launched it in the Monaco and in Chronomatic versions of the Autavia and Carrera, which carry their own references, such as Monaco 1133, Carrera 1153 and Autavia 1163.
Heuer's US price lists printed the prices: a Carrera 12 (2447) was $89.50 and an Autavia 12 (2446 M) $119.50 in the 1964 Carrera and Autavia catalogue; by 1972 a Chronomatic Carrera 1153 S was $185.00. Each FindWatch watch page shows the prices printed in the catalogues that list it.
Take a photo of the dial. FindWatch names the brand, model and reference, and links the watch page with its catalogue listings and today's prices.
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