Heuer Diver

I am very publicly a huge fan of vintage ladies divers, and when they’re Heuer? Forgetaboutit. My vintage Heuer diver is the one I choose when I’m feeling sporty: whether I’m jumping into the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Cod or scanning the horizon on a hike in the Pacific Palisades, a Heuer diver is on my wrist. The watch pictured here is slightly different from the one I own, made out of stainless steel PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition… science! Read more about it in the “nitty gritty” below). It’s got some wear and tear that I actually find endearing in this case. I’m not saying it’s a beater watch, but it’s, frankly, a bit of a beater watch. It’s rugged and tough, built to withstand your adventures (even if the adventure is driving from Runyon Canyon to get a smoothie).  

THE BASICS

DATE OF BIRTH: Heuer 1000 “Black Coral”  Early ‘80s (pre-TAG)

MATERIAL: Stainless steel PVD

SIZE: 32mm

MOVEMENT: Quartz

CONDITION: Good, wear and tear throughout on bracelet, case and original sapphire crystal has one notable scratch

BOX/PAPERS: No/no

THE NITTY GRITTY

A stainless steel, black PVD coated automatic diving watch on the original jubilee style bracelet.  This is the second smallest model that Heuer made in their diving range. Measuring in at 32mm across, not including the crown, this model was introduced more for the ladies market at the time – a step up from the smallest 28mm, but much smaller than the full sized cases. However, being a thick case (thanks to the thick sapphire crystal and quite large uni-directional bezel) it wears larger than the size may suggest.

The design of this watch has all the trademarks one finds on a dive watch: the screw back case has the screw down crown located at the three o'clock position with a crown guard, the aforementioned size and bezel design. The dial has a larger Tritium-applied arrow marker at twelve o'clock and large round hour plots for the rest, “pencil” minute and “mercedes” hour hands set with a lollipop sweep and white printed text including depth rating. The bracelet has the flip locked extra level of safety and includes the folding out diver’s extension part. The screw back case features the iconic Heuer shield engraved design, which was not long after replaced with the larger version featuring the TAG text above. It appears to have its original case back sticker on it. This is one of the last Heuer-only watches to leave the factory.

This charming watch is full of character and appealing design detail. The majority of these watches were powered by quartz movements. (Quartz movements at this time were finding themselves in almost all watches produced in Switzerland as the “Quartz Crisis” gripped the industry.) The watch features a "quick set" date-changing function by pulling the crown out one step once unscrewed. The small date window is found to the left of the three o'clock marker.

This watch, in its larger size, joins the rare alumni watches worn by the world’s most cherished spy, James Bond. When Timothy Dalton reignited the famous franchise in 1987 for the “Living Daylights”, he wore this watch, albeit with the night diving dial. The black PVD case was quite revolutionary technology at the time and was a technique that very few watch brands were employing. Heuer, being the adventurous and forward thinking brand they were, began experimenting with these techniques with the Monaco around 1974. The now legendary “Dark Lord” Monaco paved the way for the regular production “Monza” sold with this PVD blackened coating.

PVD (physical vapor deposition) coating, also known as thin-film coating, is a process in which a solid material is vaporized in a vacuum and deposited onto the surface of a part. These coatings are not simply metal layers, though. Instead, compound materials are deposited atom by atom, forming a thin, bonded metal or metal-ceramic surface layer that greatly improves the appearance, durability, and and/or function of a part or product. 

PVD does wear over time, and this watch is no exception. There are signs of wear to the bracelet edging and some additional wear around elements of the case and bezel. However, there are no serious issues or deep scratches revealing the steel beneath. If anything, this wear now enhances the vintage feel of this now very vintage watch… It’s approaching its 40th birthday, mind you. The dial is in superb condition with all lume plots intact, clean and responding perfectly under UV light, as do the original black hands. This is a fantastic looking watch that will inspire jealousy amongst everyone who sees it!