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Here's the Small Crown enjoying a long midsummer eve.

Hello, TAG-Heuer Area! This is my first time starting a thread in this subforum, but it's not because I don't like the brand. In fact, my dream watches ten years ago -before I was even really into watches- were all TAGs. I remember lusting after the Monaco, the Monza, and the Targa Florio--in that order. However, I also remember thinking that spending more than a few hundred bucks on a watch seemed a bit silly. Oh, how things change! The hunt for this particular watch began almost a year ago. Other than the Monaco and the original Carrera, I wasn't very familiar with the 70s Heuer lineup. One night I was trawling eBay when I found a Carrera similar to this one being sold from Hong Kong. It was love at first sight as everything about the design (silver sunburst, blue/gray subdials and tachy ring, orange hand) struck all the right chords in me. But I'm a naturally cautious sort, so I resisted the strong urge to bid right there and then. As nice as the watch was, I figured it was just a common Carrera and another one would show up really soon. Better do some research first, right? "WRONG!" to quote Arnold in Commando. These 2nd-gen Carreras are much rarer than I expected, and it was even harder to find one with this particular color scheme. After months of regular searches, one finally showed up on one of the watch forums last December. Unfortunately, someone bought it within a day of the listing's posting, so... dammit. Fast forward six months and the closest I'd found was a white-on-blue dial example. Nice enough, but it wasn't the same. Chrono24 showed one seller in Germany with the exact model I wanted, but at a very European price. Very expensive, but I think I would have gone over the edge after a few more months of looking. Then this popped up a month ago. It was the exact same watch that I'd missed out on in December, but the seller had decided he wanted to move up to an Anniversary Edition Monaco. Good for him! And even better for me. I've had a portion of my funds earmarked for this watch since last year, so I bought it without hesitation. This, then, is a 1969 or 1970 Carrera ref. 1153S. It's either a Calibre 11 or a Cal. 11-I, as described in OnTheDash. I could find out for certain, if only I could get this blasted caseback off! Cal. 11 is remarkable for being one of the first three automatic chronograph movements ever made. To this day, there is still debate on whether the crown belongs to the Zenith El Primero, the Heuer/Breitling/Buren/Dubois-Depraz Chronomatic, or to Seiko for its immortal 6139. As with the Submariner vs. Fifty Fathoms debate, I'm inclined to just call it a three-way tie, due to overlapping announcements and production schedules. (I think it's Seiko, but.. Shh!) This particular example is in very good condition, as it was refurbished by TAG-Heuer Japan last year. (I believe there are still a few months left on its warranty.) Based on what I've read and the prices I've been quoted for parts, that service couldn't have been cheap. Also not cheap is the original Corfam strap on this Carrera. If you think vintage Tropic rubber straps have become extremely expensive in recent months, Corfam straps have been even more ridiculously priced for a much longer time. Not bad for a failed leather substitute by DuPont! The feel of the Corfam strap is much better than I'd been led to believe, though less comfortable than what we expect from straps these days. As for appearance, it's very vinyl-shiny and very 1970s. Sort of like the seats on a Stutz Blackhawk. If you're not familiar with vintage Heuers, you may be surprised by the absence of a running seconds subdial. The register at 3 counts minutes and the one at 6 counts hours, but if the chronograph isn't running, you'll have to wait a bit to see any action. Another surprise can be found in the hour counter. Rather than slowly sweeping one rotation every 12 hours (like every other chronograph in my collection), the hand jumps in 30 minute increments. Neat, but this feature caused some reliability problems (described in the OnTheDash article linked above), and led to the use of weaker springs in the Cal.11-I. I only meant to say a few words about this watch, but this is turning into a full-blown article! Better wrap things up... IN CONCLUSION, I finally found the watch that I'd been searching for since August 2010, and I'm pretty damn happy about it. Also, if you see something you like, go for it! Let that lesson apply to watches as it does in life. Onto the pictures! Thanks to alligoat for helping me out yet again.

Inspired by another post from a member looking for a thin watch, I went on a Google meander through lots of thin watches. Of course a lot of the uber-expensive watches came up, some featuring micro rotor auto winders, etc. And those movements were as thin as 2.4mm - very impressive considering one of them has 405 parts in it. Then I came across this movement. Made in 1850. 164 YEARS ago. 1mm thick. http://www.horology.ru/en/workshop/golay.htm And I can't find any modern movements that get anywhere near!

I've sort-of switched my philosophy from owning many reps, to reducing the quantity ... either by modding my favorites, or building frankens. Been teasing this one a bit, and she's finally done. The assembled 16014 DateJust project arrived while I was out of town (doesn't it always happen that way?) but it was the first piece of mail opened when I walked through my door! It's been a long journey to get this one done, with a couple of minor mis-steps along the way. Here's the build list: Gen 16014 case Gen 16000 caseback Gen White Gold Bezel Gen Crown Gen Tube Gen Plexi (as it turns out, maybe not, but more later) Gen Silver Roman Dial Gen Jubilee Bracelet Gen Clasp Gen 555 Endlinks Gen Tudor Hands Gen TC ETA 2824-2 w/high canon pinion Raffles-time #2 movement ring for 2824 Clark Springbars BK Datewheel Overlay Also included lots of TLC from PBdad ... Sorry for the bad camera phone pic, but I'm in the process of moving and the better cameras I own are packed. Along the way I purchased a Raffles-time clasp, an engine turned bezel, an additional gen case set (to get the white gold bezel), and a linen dial ... all of which I ended up not using on this project. Have decided to use the extra case set on my next project, a 1016 Explorer (thanks to LHOOQ's threads). PBdad threw into question whether or not the plexi was gen, as he had to do some sanding/polishing work on it to make it fit. The watch also required a second trip to him because one of the markers fell off the dial in transport back to me. He cleaned up some glue on the other markers, and reattached the offending XI. He also had to trim a section on the Raffles-time movement ring. I know the datewheel overlay is wrong for the period, and so is the dial, but I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. Thanks to all the members I collected the parts and advice from!

2006! That means you could be due for a service. I always figure a service when I buy a gen Rolex that's been used for however long. It would be a good idea to ask the seller if he knows anything about the service history. If it's running COSC, you may not have to get it serviced right away. But the watch looks good! Congrats!

Been there done that!!!!

Drunk? You were completely sh*tfaced man!

S5 cabrio, great choice! The v6 supercharged is a great engine too. The m3 is slightly used but a hardtop convertible

Thanks all. She has been bought, had a gen Pepsi insert fitted and I am a very happy camper.

The second is what I like to call a Mickey Mouse watch On a serious note -- My brother in law has very similar huge watches. He pulls them off well. They look good!

Yes gen but not mine, I borrowed it for a day to get a feel for it. It's too big for a smaller wrist like mine but I do love the dial layout and the way the case tapers well compared to the sub c

I took the bezel protector off.. Just for you.

Orange

Outdoors today Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Wearing the CV2017, I'll be picking up my CV2010 from the post office after work. If I can manage to stay the whole day. Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk

Had a gen dial and hands really cheap and swap that in my white one Didn't have a gen internal bezel so it's stays rep Look funny cream dial with white bezel What do you guys think?

Here you go just need the pvd coating......oh and the red dial...oops and the pearl. Guess I am way off. This one does have lug holes though:) Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Did someone say Drop Top Ah dam, I forgot I sold it 2 years ago. It was my daily driver to work from April to September. Dave...

As many of you know our very own Nikki6 was attempting to become the fastest blind and disabled biker, well yesterday at elvington airfield he broke the current record with a speed of 167.1 MPH. You can read more here - http://metro.co.uk/2013/08/18/a-biker-whos-blind-to-fear-sightless-daredevil-reaches-167mph-on-motorcycle-3928986/ I would have loved to have been there supporting Stuart, however a prior engagement meant I couldnt. Well done Sixx!

Big crown

Love it when you post pics Mart, always hurts my wallet though

I would have the whole movement serviced in case you really like the watch. All damaged parts are interchanged and the movement is ultrasonic cleaned and properly oiled and of course the date mechanism is fixed and realigned. Domi does this for 150Euro and in my eyes it's worth every penny. The watch will run solid afterwards and you don't have to bother about the date changing mechanism again.

That looks good and really nice creamy white. Didn´t pay that much attention to it. Rep for comparison white/white and under different lighting conditions

Now here is a genn looks same color but same watch different angle/light.

Now on the bentley looks sort of the same.

Well here's a gen.