A model name and a serial number are not sufficient to guarantee the authenticity of a TAG Heuer timepiece. It is also necessary to examine several aspects of security and movement. To guarantee the authenticity of a TAG Heuer watch, we recommend that you always purchase your piece from an authorized dealer, an official boutique, or on TAGHeuer. The date and referenced serial numbers are not published or available online. Reports suggest that emailed requests were never responded to. There are two numbers on the caseback of your watch. One number is directly below the other.
Serial, case and movement numbers, if available, can assist in dating your timepiece and the authentication process when purchasing. Selected production date tables and serial number projects (where a site tries to aggregate serial numbers from visitors who submit watch information) are shown below. Please let me know if there are others we should include or there are resources with more accurate information.
Benrus
Have not been able to locate information. Please contact me if you know of one.
Breitling
Current Breitling reference model Numbers explained [The Unofficial Breitling Source]
Breitling Serial Numbers from 1944 [Brittons Watches]
Breitling serial numbers for chronograph and non-chronograph [WatchesToBuy]
Bulova
Determining the Date of a Bulova Watch [watchophilia]
Bulova serial numbers [The Watch Guy]
Girard-Perregaux
Have not been able to locate information. Please contact me if you know of a third-party source of production information.
Gruen
Gruen movement and case serial numbers [Gruen Wristwatches]
Hamilton
Hamilton Pocket Watch serial number table [Pocket Watch Site]
Hamilton both pre and post-1942 serial numbers [Vintage Watch Restoration]
Heuer
Heuer Chronograph Master Reference Table [OnTheDash]
IWC (International Watch Company)
IWC casing and movement numbers [Brittons Watches]
IWC Watch Serial Numbers [Elite Timepieces]
There are also IWC web apps that can help date a particular watch, see IWC Workbook Search and Date Your IWC
IWC serial numbers [Vintage Watch Restoration]
Jaeger-LeCoultre
No public production date table known. Worth a try is sending a request (with the engraved number at the back of the timepiece, a picture of the front and back as well as the reference of the movement) to client.relations.europe@jaeger-lecoultre.com (For Europe) and client.relations.us@jaeger-lecoultre.com (For the US).
You can receive production information by obtaining an extract.
Longines
Longines Serial Numbers, 1870-1968 [WatchesToBuy]
Longines Serials [Vintage Watch Restoration]
Mido
Have not been able to locate information. Mido Watches will reply (usually) to requests for information, though it is rather hit-or-miss in terms of detail provided. Please contact me if you know of a third-party source of production information.
Movado
The only source I have found is this Movado identification site. If you happen to know the source book used for these images, please contact me.
Omega
ilovemyspeedmaster (Moonwatch calibers 321, 861 and 1861 only)
Omega Speedmaster Evolution (Case, Calibre, and Serial Numbers) [Chronomaddox]
Omega Serial Numbers by Year [Chronomaddox]
Omega Vintage Watches [Omega]
Patek Philippe
Patek Philippe [Vintage Watch Restoration]
Rolex
Rolex production dates [Oysterworld via Vintage Rolex Forum]
Rolex Case Numbers and Case Number Project (button at top, via Vintage Rolex Forum). Case numbers by production date are shown at the bottom of the ‘Rolex Serial Number Project’ button. [Vintage Rolex Forum]
Rolex serial numbers with production dates [QualityTyme]
Serial, case and movement numbers, if available, can assist in dating your timepiece and the authentication process when purchasing. Selected production date tables and serial number projects (where a site tries to aggregate serial numbers from visitors who submit watch information) are shown below. Please let me know if there are others we should include or there are resources with more accurate information.
Benrus
Have not been able to locate information. Please contact me if you know of one.
Breitling
Current Breitling reference model Numbers explained [The Unofficial Breitling Source]
Breitling Serial Numbers from 1944 [Brittons Watches]
Breitling serial numbers for chronograph and non-chronograph [WatchesToBuy]
Bulova
Determining the Date of a Bulova Watch [watchophilia]
Bulova serial numbers [The Watch Guy]
Girard-Perregaux
Have not been able to locate information. Please contact me if you know of a third-party source of production information.
Gruen
Gruen movement and case serial numbers [Gruen Wristwatches]
Hamilton
Hamilton Pocket Watch serial number table [Pocket Watch Site]
Hamilton both pre and post-1942 serial numbers [Vintage Watch Restoration]
Heuer
Heuer Chronograph Master Reference Table [OnTheDash]
IWC (International Watch Company)
IWC casing and movement numbers [Brittons Watches]
IWC Watch Serial Numbers [Elite Timepieces]
There are also IWC web apps that can help date a particular watch, see IWC Workbook Search and Date Your IWC
IWC serial numbers [Vintage Watch Restoration]
Jaeger-LeCoultre
No public production date table known. Worth a try is sending a request (with the engraved number at the back of the timepiece, a picture of the front and back as well as the reference of the movement) to client.relations.europe@jaeger-lecoultre.com (For Europe) and client.relations.us@jaeger-lecoultre.com (For the US).
You can receive production information by obtaining an extract.
Longines
Longines Serial Numbers, 1870-1968 [WatchesToBuy]
Longines Serials [Vintage Watch Restoration]
Mido
Have not been able to locate information. Mido Watches will reply (usually) to requests for information, though it is rather hit-or-miss in terms of detail provided. Please contact me if you know of a third-party source of production information.
Movado
The only source I have found is this Movado identification site. If you happen to know the source book used for these images, please contact me.
Omega
ilovemyspeedmaster (Moonwatch calibers 321, 861 and 1861 only)
Omega Speedmaster Evolution (Case, Calibre, and Serial Numbers) [Chronomaddox]
Omega Serial Numbers by Year [Chronomaddox]
Omega Vintage Watches [Omega]
Patek Philippe
Patek Philippe [Vintage Watch Restoration]
Rolex
Rolex production dates [Oysterworld via Vintage Rolex Forum]
Rolex Case Numbers and Case Number Project (button at top, via Vintage Rolex Forum). Case numbers by production date are shown at the bottom of the ‘Rolex Serial Number Project’ button. [Vintage Rolex Forum]
Rolex serial numbers with production dates [QualityTyme]
And some bonus reading on bracelets:
The Fascinating (And Totally Geeky) Story Of The Rolex Oyster Bracelet [Hodinkee]
Rolex C&I Bracelets, USA Made Oyster and Jubilee Bracelets [Rolex Vintage Forum]
Tissot
Tissot Serial Numbers
Tudor
Tudor Serial Number Project (button at top, via Vintage Rolex Forum). This only includes the project information, held in Google docs format. [Vintage Rolex Forum]
Tudor serial numbers with production dates [QualityTyme]
Heuer Bundeswehr Serial Numbers Lookup
Universal Geneve
Universal Genève Information [Dre on omegaforums] through 2.57.
Universal Geneve, as with most other manufactures, does not provide information on serial number dates (we are left to figure this out via known extracts) nor production figures.
Vacheron Constantin
The below table is one commonly found on the internet. However, I am unable to match the dates in this table against known production dates (from Vacheron) against a set of watches from the 1940s. I have not reviewed this table more widely against other references across time.
Vacheron Serial Numbers [WatchesToBuy]
There is an alternative Vacheron serial number table that some use. I have however, found the top table from publised at WatchesToBuy to be more accurate. If you find otherwise, please give me a shout.
Zenith
No public production date table known. Please let us know if there is one we should include. You can receive production information by obtaining an extract.
There are military watches, and then there are military watches. The Heuer Bundeswehr Flyback Chronograph is the latter. Rolex Milsub, Omega SM300, they’re great and all, but smart money is on the German military issued wrist-tank with a legitimate complication. This pilot chronograph issued to the Luftwaffe in the late 1960s and 70s has become one of the most iconic military watches on the market.
Trying to identify and categorize legitimate Heuer Bunds is quite the difficult task. Long story short, there are well over two-dozen dial variations to account for. To the untrained eye, many of the dials seem to be the same, but as it goes with collecting vintage watches in general, the devil is in the details. The most recognizable variants to collectors feature an encircled “3H” stamped on the dial, which is an abbreviation for hydrogen-3, a luminous material many of us know as tritium. As you go down the line of dial variations, the majority of the differences come down to logo and marking sizes – all this adds up to is a tricky market for the less experienced collectors.
Powering the Heuer Bund is a hand-wound flyback chronograph; the Valjoux 22, 222, or 230 had all been used depending on the time period it was produced or serviced. This leads to a peculiarity of the Bund. The case construction is such that the movement loads in through the front, and the screwed-in caseback attaches the bezel, which simultaneously secures the crystal. It’s likely that this design makes exchanges of movements, bezels and crystals quick and easy for the military contracted watchmakers – an important capability for watches taking on the rough daily life as a military pilot’s accessory.
The look of the Heuer Bund is that of utility. A clean, easy-to-read dial and a clearly marked 60 minute bezel are the most obvious characteristics. Upon going in for a closer look, one will note the PVD coated bezel provides excellent grip with its thick ridges. Combine that with pushers featuring long stems, and operating the Bund wearing gloves poses no issue. Tying it all together is the Bund strap. It’s essentially a two-piece strap with an extra flap of leather that attaches to the backside of the watch. The additional leather protects the pilot’s bare skin from temperature changes conducted through the watch case. The Bund is an awesome watch, but not so awesome you’d want the caseback serial number burned into your arm.
Cutting through all the details, what is it that makes the Bund worthy of the W4L Hall of Fame? It’s the legacy it has left behind. If it weren’t for the Heuer Bund, we may not have the Sinn we know today, or Kobold Watches, or Bell & Ross. These three brands have a direct lineage tracing back to the Bund. Sinn took over post-production servicing of Heuer Bunds for the German military, which led to the Sinn 156, the Bund’s Lemania 5100-powered successor. From there, Kobold and Bell & Ross received jumpstarts through the tutelage of Helmut Sinn.
Free Serial Numbers
Successful bloodlines such as the Bund’s don’t happen without good reason. The Heuer Bundeswehr Flyback Chronograph holds the DNA of what a military watch should be: robust and reliable, legible and functional. And for us, this equates to possessing the DNA of a Wound For Life Hall of Fame timepiece.
Heuer Bundeswehr Serial Numbers Diagram
For a more detailed breakdown of the dial variations, check out this research project done by Walter Manning.
