I’ve serviced a few calibre 12 Heuers but have never posted about one yet (although I have posted about a Thermidor which used a calibre 12 Kelek movement), so when this one came in I made a mental note to do so.
Heuer
Heuer 980.032 full glow dial
This quartz Heuer came in recently for a movement service. I see quite a few variants of these across the bench but rarely with a full glow dial, and rarely one in such cracking condition as this example. The rotating bezels on these usually are a lot more worn than this one is and dials can so easily become damaged by dead battery cells that have burst inside the watch. This one really is a rare survivor in such great condition! The dial is actually phosphorescent as opposed to lume and the advertising of the time marketed them as “Night diver” watches. The dial will glow for 10 minutes after a 10 second “charge” under a strong light. This model also came in a black case (980.031) and a ladies sized black case (980.030). Powered by the ESA 536.121 quartz movement, it makes it a rock solid reliable performer.
Heuer 266.006-1 quartz with Dubios-Depraz 2000 chronograph module
This Heuer 2000 quartz chronograph came in recently for a service, the watch ran with the chronograph running but spluttered to a halt with it disengaged. This particular Heuer is a modular chronograph meaning the movement powers a separate chronograph module fixed on where the dial would usually sit. Modular chrono’s are usually easily identifiable by the crown being below the line of the pushers. This one is powered by a slightly modified ETA 555.282 quartz movement and the chronograph module is a Dubios-Depraz 2000, these find their way into quite a number of manufacturers chronograph models.
Heuer 980.023
An interesting refurbishment that came in near the end of last year was this Heuer 980.023 quartz powered 1,000m divers watch. The owner remembers buying it sometime in the early eighties and did many dives with it, he also said it holds a special place in his life story and as such he would like it running again. The watch has been used hard for its intended purpose and the owner didn’t want to take any of it’s history away by reluming or replacing the dial, he wanted it to be the watch he remembered wearing on his dives. Similarly we decided to replace the crystal but apart from a thorough clean of the case not to do anything further.
The Watch Bloke 