An interview with Jeff Stein

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An interview with Jeff Stein - TAG Heuer
6 minutes read
Jeff Stein is a vintage watch and TAG Heuer expert. He also is the founder of the website OnTheDash, the leading online guide to Heuer chronographs and timepieces. WorldTempus had the chance to speak with him about his passion, his expertise and the Autavia Cup.

How did you become so passionate about watches and particularly vintage Heuer?
I was always a motorsports enthusiast, and first saw Heuer timepieces “in the metal” when I was attending vintage races in Monterey, California, in 1998.  The dashboard timers were amazing to me – beautiful designs, solidly built, and actually used in race and rally cars from the 1930s through the 1970s. I bought my first dashboard timer in November 1998, on eBay. It took me a couple of years to begin collecting Heuer chronographs, in addition to the dashboard timers. The attraction of the chronographs was based on similar factors – beautiful style, built of the best components, and actually used by the racers and their teams.

What makes collecting watches so special to you?
The most special thing about collecting vintage chronographs – and especially the Heuers – is the strength of our community. We have collectors all around the world, who pursue many different passions – photographers; historians; writers; database experts; and even a couple of watchmakers! Within the community there is an amazing spirit of collaboration and support. For me personally, the collecting addresses many of my interests – history, design, mechanical objects, etc. On thing I really believe in, if I try a watch and I’m not enjoying it, then I don’t stick with it, I would sell it or trade it and move on to the next ones.

OnTheDash is the most complete compilation of information about Heuer chronographs available from any published source. How did everything start?
 In 2002, I owned around 20 or 30 of the dashboard timers, and it seemed like a good idea to organize them into the different models and versions, get some additional photos from friends, and put them onto a website, so that we could share information and learn about these timepieces. We launched OnTheDash in early 2003, with fairly comprehensive coverage of the dashboard timers, but only a handful of chronographs.  I was sincerely hoping that if I did the website for the dashboard timers, maybe someone else would do a companion website for the chronographs. Ironically, 13 years later, OnTheDash is covering around 400 different models and executions of the vintage Heuer chronographs, with well over 15,000 images. We also have catalog scans, reference tables, a discussion forum, a blog, and the usual social media – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I have worked on OnTheDash just about every day for the last 13 years. It’s been one hell of a hobby, and I have met some fantastic friends along the way.

You are a leading Heuer expert. How long have you been collaborating with the brand?
Two weeks after the launch of OnTheDash, I received a nice note from the folks at TAG Heuer, congratulating me on the website and proposing some collaborations.  I have worked with a lot of TAG Heuer’s brand and heritage experts over the last 13 years, and the collaboration has always been excellent. Over this period, I have maintained a regular chain of email correspondence with Jack Heuer, the great grandson of the founder of Ed. Heuer & Co. To this day, it still amazes me that I can send him a crazy question one day, and usually receive an answer by an overnight email response. This has been a fantastic part of the Heuer hobby!

Can you tell me more about the projects you have been working on?
I have found some interesting watches that I have purchased for the TAG Heuer Museum. A couple of them were so special that I thought they belong with TAG Heuer, such as a Carrera with a Shelby Cobra on the dial or an 18 karat gold triple calendar chronograph. I have also helped the brand with displays and exhibitions, providing the history and background of certain watches and I have advised them with respect to purchases for the Museum, both purchases at auctions and in private transactions. Finally, I have provided information and various types of content to support TAG Heuer’s social media initiatives and written material for the TAG Heuer website and various blog postings and microsites.

Heuer 18 karat gold triple calendar chronograph

What do you like about TAG Heuer?
The unique aspect of Heuer, as a vintage brand, is the connection to motorsports, during the golden age of racing and rallying (the 1960s). Today, many watch brands seek the association with racing, through sponsorships, ambassadors, etc. But Heuer was making the racing chronographs and timers, back in the day, so it is fantastic to see TAG Heuer taking full advantage of its heritage. 

Carrera - Shelby Cobra

You are a key player in the Autavia Cup project. What was your role?
I met Jean-Claude Biver in November 2015, and he was familiar with the huge recent increase in interest in the 1960s Autavias. We actually looked through OnTheDash together, and he was very interested to understand which models are most sought after by today’s collectors. He wanted a round case from the 1960s, rather than a cushion or a C-shape case. I mustered some courage and told him that TAG Heuer needs to re-issue the Autavia, to address this amazing interest in the vintage models.  With a room full of TAG Heuer people listening, he said, “Tell me exactly which model you want, and we will re-issue it in 2017.” The team at TAG Heuer came up with the idea of a head-to-head, knock-out competition to select the model to be re-issued, and soon we were working on the “Autavia Cup” competition. Together with Paul Gavin, another vintage Heuer collector, we selected the historic models that are included in the competition. And then Paul created the four “Fantasy” models” using Photoshop. We thought that the “Fantasy” models made it more interesting and some people in re-issue prefer not a literal one but something inspired by the original.

It is interesting that TAG Heuer selected only Autavias from the 1960s for the Autavia Cup competition, rather than any of the later models.  How does this choice mesh with your own preferences?
There is a fundamental difference between the 1960s Autavias and the 1970s Autavias. The 1960s models are all manual-wind models, in round cases with traditional lugs. In 1969, when Heuer introduced the automatic chronographs, the cases were changed to a larger C-shape case, to accommodate the new movement.  Heuer made some beautiful Autavias in the 1970s, but my personal preference is for the 1960s models. The watch is thinner and lighter; the styling more pure; these earlier models feel perfect on my wrist and look perfect to my eye!  So at least for me, TAG Heuer made the right choice!

Group of early Autavias

The Autavia Cup is more than just a contest; it is a tribute to TAG Heuer’s heritage. Your thoughts?
From what I have heard, this is the first time that a major watch brand has turned to its enthusiasts, through social media, to select a model to be re-issued.  The Autavia is the perfect subject for this type of event, because back in the 1960s and 70s, the Autavia was the model that the racers wanted. Jack Heuer tells the stories of providing 18 karat gold Carreras to the Ferrari drivers, but he was also selling the Autavias, in the 1960s, at club events, local rallies, etc. If the Autavia was the “racers’ chronograph”, back then, it seems right to have enthusiasts select the next model of the Autavia, for 2017. 






 

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