Description

A remarkable vintage Heuer triple calendar chronograph with moonphase in a gold-tone case, presenting one of the most complication-rich dials in Heuer’s pre-TAG history. The salmon champagne dial carries the full suite: a date track running around the outer edge of the chapter ring, twin apertures for day and month displayed in German (“MIT” for Mittwoch; “OKT” for Oktober), three subsidiary registers for the chronograph function, and a moonphase indicator at 6 o’clock. Together, these complications sit in a beautifully balanced arrangement that makes the dial feel rich but never crowded, a testimony to the calibre of thinking that went into Heuer’s most ambitious dress chronographs. Presented on a tan leather strap, it wears with an elegance that the brand’s later motorsport models were never intended to achieve.

Heuer Before the Helmet – The Dress Chronograph Era

Today Heuer, now TAG Heuer, is primarily associated with motorsport: the Monaco, the Autavia, the Carrera. But this image was not always the whole story. In the decades before the 1960s racing chronographs defined the brand’s identity, Heuer produced a distinguished series of dress watches and complicated timepieces that competed directly with the grande maison of Swiss watchmaking. These triple calendar chronographs, produced from the 1940s through the 1960s and revived in limited form in the mid-1980s, represent Heuer at its most intellectually ambitious: watches built not for the racetrack but for the boardroom and the dinner table.

In 1984–86, Heuer released a collection of watches under the designation “Golden Hours for Collectors”, a deliberate return to this pre-motorsport tradition, reissuing the triple calendar chronograph with moonphase in solid gold cases and finely finished champagne dials. These pieces were produced in small numbers, positioned at the very top of Heuer’s range, and are today among the most sought-after of all vintage Heuer references among serious collectors, appreciated precisely because they represent a side of the brand that is so rarely seen.

The Valjoux 72C – A Movement of Consequence

The movement powering this watch is the Valjoux 72C: a 17-jewel manual-wind calibre with column-wheel chronograph control, regarded as one of the finest high-complication movements of the Swiss lever tradition. The 72C added the triple calendar function, day, date, and month, to the already accomplished base of the Valjoux 72, the same foundational calibre found in the most collectable vintage Rolex Daytona references of the 1960s. In its full form with moonphase (sometimes designated Valjoux 88 or 72C with moonphase module), this movement represents a technical achievement rarely encountered outside the catalogues of significantly more expensive houses.

The Dial

The watch features a salmon champagne brushed dial that shifts warmly in different lighting conditions, complemented by applied gold-tone hour markers and matching dauphine-style hands. The outer chapter ring carries a full date scale from 1 to 31, with a dedicated sweep hand tracking the date. The twin apertures below 12 o’clock display the day in German (full word, not abbreviation) and the month name in German, a configuration prepared specifically for the German-speaking market and today a distinct and appealing rarity. The moonphase disc at 6 o’clock adds a final touch of astronomical elegance.

Specifications

Brand: Heuer

Model: Triple Calendar Chronograph with Moonphase (Manual Wind)

Year: circa 1980s

Case material: Gold-tone (yellow gold)

Case diameter: approx. 36 mm

Bezel: Smooth polished gold-tone bezel

Dial: Salmon champagne dial, outer date track (1–31), day/month apertures in German, moonphase at 6

Strap: Tan brown leather strap with gold-tone buckle

Movement: Manual wind (Valjoux 72C, 17 jewels, column wheel)

Condition: Good vintage condition with light signs of wear consistent with age

Accessories: Watch only (no box or papers)

Warranty: 1 year warranty

Availability

This vintage day-date automatic watch is available through Vintage Times Amsterdam.

For further information or high-resolution images, please feel free to contact:

Vintage Times

Vintage Times Amsterdam is a small watch boutique who mainly deals online and with a select group of private collectors. We are constantly looking for rare vintage timepieces and try to present the best condition available. Please don’t hesitate to get in contact for more information about this watch or other timepieces from our collection. We ship worldwide and also welcome you for a visit at our office in Amsterdam.

Vintage Times

email: [email protected]

tel / app: +31 6 4 1111 044