![]() ![]() This calibre was only used in the Monnin as the calibre was replaced by the ETA cal. A Swiss mid-level 17 jewel automatic with a beat rate of 21,000 bph. The calibre in this watch is the French Ebauche (FE) cal. With the caseback removed, some rust was evident but I was expecting it to be worse. On returning to the surface the owner immediately unscrewed the caseback by hand and rinsed the watch out with fresh water in an attempt to minimise the damage.įast forward to the current day and after hearing the story I was still expecting to see a significant amount of rust. The watch in this post received regular maintenance throughout its life, but due to the caseback not being fully screwed down after a movement service, the watch suffered an ingress of sea water during a dive several years ago. The owner says that this second hand has been fitted since new – he had the watch bought for him as an 18th birthday present by his father in the late 1970’s (from Harrods no less!).įor comparison, here is a picture of a later model with the Rolex Submariner style bezel insert, a ‘Mercedes’ hour hand and a dial with capitalised text and “Made in France” printed at the bottom. A ‘cathedral’ hour hand, the early style bezel insert and the ‘professionel’ text is in lower case letters on the dial.Ĭuriously, the subject of this post also has a second hand with a large lume ‘lollipop’ whereas most of the automatic Monnins have a much smaller one like in the picture above. Much of the confusion around the Monnin exists because the dial, hand and bezel insert designs were changed during the brief production cycle, resulting in a variety of combinations being used in the watches sold.Ĭomparing the watch in this post to the picture above it has all the hallmarks of an early model. The earliest printed record of the Monnin is this Heuer catalogue from 1979 which featured the watch on the cover. You know, Bo Derek wore one we have it now in the museum”. The company came out of trouble because of these watches. To quote Jack Heuer from a recent interview “…and would you believe it, these watches started selling like crazy. At a time when Heuer was struggling to stay afloat during the quartz revolution, the sales of the Monnin saved the company. To say the watch was a success is an understatement. Monnin agreed as they were already doing the same for other manufacturers (you’ll see almost identical watches from other brands such as Alfex, Bessa and Le Cheminant) which suited Heuer perfectly as it gave them an entry into the diver arena without the pre-production cost of tooling. Monnin to re-brand one their existing diver’s watches so they could test the market. What is known is that in the mid-late 1970’s Heuer were being approached regularly by diving enthusiasts asking why there was no Heuer diver? Recognising a potential gap in the market, Heuer approached the French manufacturer G. The Monnin is something of an enigma in the Heuer back catalogue, as the time-line of its production history hasn’t been fully determined. An iconic diver to kick off the New Year, a Heuer Monnin. ![]()
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