BOOKREVIEW: Haslinger - Heuer Chronographs and Motor Sport

[Fortunat Mueller-Maerki]

Bookreview by Fortunat Mueller-Maerki

Heuer Chronographs – The Fascination of Timekeepers and Motor Sports in the 1960s and 1970s

By Arno Michael Haslinger



Heuer Chronographs – The Fascination of Timekeepers and Motor Sports in the 1960s and 1970s. By Arno Michael Haslinger. Published 2008 by Callwey Verlag, Munich; fully bilingual text Germn/English; Hardcover, Dustjacket, 280x220mm, 287 pages. Several hundred illustrations, mostly in color, many full paged. Chronology, bibliography. ISBN-13: 978-3-7667-1755-9. Available from the publisher (www.calley.de/shop/index search for ‘heuer’ ) for Euro 69 (ca. US$ 100) plus postage.

For decades Callwey Publishers in Munich had published many path-breaking horological titles, but during the last few years there was a break. Recently however there has been a restart, with several specialized books for passionate collectors of wristwatches. Their new book on Heuer chronographs from the 1960s and 1970s also falls into this category.

The author has deep professional roots in the automotive field, a love for motor sports, and an obvious passion for Heuer chronographs. He has created a book that will be deeply satisfying to both car racing aficionados and to dedicated collectors of vintage wrist watch chronographs. The book focuses on an era where Formula 1 racing produced icons such as Jacky Ickx, Nikki Lauda, Rigazzoni, Siffert, and when Steve McQueen in the motion picture “Le Mans” popularized motor sports and Heuer chronographs.

The book opens with an eight page interview with Jack W. Heuer, and ends with an essay by Peter Handke on what keeps Formula 1 racers going. But the bulk of the book is devoted to detailed descriptions of 81 different models of Heuer chronographs (spread over 14 model lines (Autavia, Carrera, Monaco, Skipper, Jacky Ickx, Calculator, Montreal, Silverstone, Monza, Daytona, Cortina, Solunar and Verona). Each of the 81 watches has its own double page spread with 4 photographs devoted to dial, movement and details. Interspersed are additional images of motor sport scenes. There also is a short chapter on accessories (Boxes and straps).

This book is well produced and printed, all texts are fully bilingual (German/English) in opposing columns. The pictures are large, bright and sharp. While of limited interest to the broader based horological collector this is a most useful addition to the horological library of serious wristwatch collectors, and attractive to any horologist interested in motor sports.

Fortunat Mueller-Maerki, May 5, 2008

[Ralph B]

For those interested here's an interesting Heuer site,

http://www.onthedash.com/

Ralph B