Phillips has established a great auction catalog, which is also accessible online, with stunning photos and detailed descriptions of these replica watches. Consider this story a companion to the Tag Heuer Parade catalog, placing the Crosthwaite & Gavin Collection, and each of the fake watches individually, into a broader context. While the auction catalog presents the watches according to themes – chronographs for racing, for pilots, for the water, etc. Therefore, we will take a chronological approach, explaining the different generations in which the replica Tag Heuer produced these chronographs.
Please note that we have not tested any of the replica watches in person or reviewed the condition reports provided by Phillips. Therefore, we offer the history of each of the fake watches included in the auction, but do not comment on the condition or authenticity of any unique watch.
For a general look at all the fake watches included in the sale, following the thematic presentation used by Phillips, containing photos of each watch and the auction estimates.
The Tag Heuer replica provided stopwatches, pocket chronographs, and wristwatches from 1860 into the mid-1930s, with a big stress on precision timing, for sports and industry. In the mid-1930s, Heuer broadened its line of chronographs, with the introduction of waterproof cases, and the 1940s saw the catalog expand to include three-register chronographs, as well as chronographs with triple calendars (day / date / month).
In the 1950s, Tag Heuer added some lines of simpler timepieces, three-hand watches that also provided a date display or a triple calendar feature (day / date / month). Tag Heuer used very few model names for its watches throughout these years, with the different models and variations being identified only by their reference numbers.
Heuer’s line-up of watches changed dramatically in 1969, as the Heuer became one of the first brands to offer automatic chronographs. The 1960s model line-up was expanded with the addition of the radical “circle-in-the-square” Monaco, and in order to accommodate the larger Caliber 11 automatic movement, the cases for the Autavia and Carrera shifted from the traditional round cases of the 1960s, to larger, C-shaped cases. Thus Heuer marched into the 1970s with its “Big Three”, the Autavia, Carrera and Monaco.
Our Tag Heuer replica offered manual-wind version for each of the Big Three models, with the Valjoux 77xx movements residing in cases similar to those used for the Calliber 12 automatics. Besides, Heuer further expanded its product line in the early 1970s, with the introduction of large colorful models.