A pictoral review of the Heuer Bundeswehr chronograph

and it's many dial variations


Introduction

Lately there has been much discussion surrounding what constitutes an authentic Heuer Bundeswehr-spec chronograph. This is an effort to document the many dial variations and gather, in a single place, enough information to make an informed assessment of this highly regarded timepiece.

To start, I solicited members of the Military Watch Resource (MWR) to provide scans of their Heuer Bundeswehr chronographs. Then I ran a Google search for "heuer bundeswehr chron* " to locate any more examples on the web on personal homepages or dealer websites. All told, over 30 examples were found.

Please note that this project only addresses the dial variations at this time. There is yet another set of questions around the various markings found on the case and caseback.

Findings

There are 5 general configuations of Heuer-branded dials:

  • the "classic 3H/T" - a red 3H-symbol appears just below the dial center, and a tiny "T" appears just above "6".
  • the "3H-only" - a red 3H-symbol appears just below the center.
  • the "T-only" - a tiny "T" appears just above "6".
  • the "clean" - no markings beyond the "Heuer" logo.
  • the "sternzeit" - STERNZEIT REGULIERT markings just below the dial center.

There are 2 general configurations of Sinn-branded dials:

  • the "3H-only" - a red 3H-symbol appears just below the center.
  • the "clean" - no markings beyond the "Heuer" logo.

To add to the confusion...there are 4 variations of the "3H" symbol:

  • the "standard" 3H.
  • the "big-letter" 3H - circle is same size as standard, but the letters are larger and fill the circle more completely.
  • the "small-letter" 3H - circle is same size as standard, but the letters are smaller and there is a small dot in the center.
  • the "small-circle" 3H - the circle is noticeably smaller.

It doesn't stop there...there are 3 variations of the manufacturer logo:

  • the "standard" Heuer logo - fits inside :58 and :02.
  • the "big" Heuer logo - fits even with :58 and :02.
  • the Sinn logo.

Finally...there are 2 variations of the font used for the hour-markers:

  • the "standard" font - most noticeable because none of the numbers are cut-off.
  • the "cut-off" font - the 10:00, 8:00, and 2:00 are cut-off by the subdials.

Dial Comparison

Here are cropped images of each unique style, allowing you to easily scan the various styles to find one that interests you. In addition, each image has been (as much as feasible) given the same relative dimensions to make meaningful comparisons relatively easy. Click on a style that interests you to learn more specifics.

These examples have the "standard" Heuer logo.

 

These examples have the "big" Heuer or Sinn logo.

Assessment

First, let me say that I believe all of these Heuer/Sinn Bundeswehr chronographs to be authentic: all have the proper movment, all have the proper case, all have the proper bezel, all have the proper crystal...etc. They only have subtle differences in their dials, apparently based on when, and by whom, they were produced or assembled.

The questions for the enthusiast become:

  • do i want a watch that is likely to have been issued in the '60s or '70s? some folks consider these watches the only "authentic" Bundeswehr chronographs.
  • or am i happy to have the exact same watch that may have been updated with new, slightly different, parts in the 1990s? a "real" Bundeswehr chronograph, just updated with newer parts and possibly less accumulated wear & tear.

That said, it is arguable that the best indicators for whether a watch is from the '60s, and most true to the Bundeswehr specification, are:

  • the presence of the standard sized Heuer logo
  • either a standard 3H-symbol, or a T-symbol, or both
  • the presence of the standard sized font

However, a few have been seen with unusual variations in the style of the 3H-symbol. Perhaps Heuer changed the 3H printing screens at some point in production? Perhaps these 3H-symbols were added by the unscrupulous?

These features seem to be associated with the work Sinn did in providing Bundeswehr-spec watches.

  • the presence of the large Heuer logo, or a Sinn logo

There was no consistency in the style of 3H-symbol - 3 styles were found. Perhaps Sinn used a number of different 3H printing screens in production? Perhaps these 3H-symbols were added by the unscrupulous? In addition, the absence of the T-symbol was not distinct to these later watches, since several early examples were found without the T-symbol.

In summary, some dials feature markings that are the most true to the original Bundeswehr spec, while others may reflect changes to the spec over time and should still be considered authentic, yet others may reflect attempts by the unscrupulous to add additional markings to otherwise proper dials.

If anyone owns or knows of yet another dial variation, please forward me an in-focus, close-up scan of the dial. In addition, if anyone is in possession of any factual data around the timeline and evolution of the Bundeswehr specification and the watches produced to meet that specification, please foward that information to me for inclusion in this living document.

Disclaimer

These images have been borrowed without permission from the MWR and various sites that have been linked from posts on the MWR and discovered via web-searches. Since this effort is not for fiduciary gain, I'm comfortable using these images without permission. If you see a scan of your watch and would not like it to be part of this project, please contact me directly and I'll remove it. However, I encourage everyone to participate as this project is intended for the edification of the watch community as a whole.

This represents an example of the "classic" Heuer Bundeswehr chronograph:

  • standard Heuer logo
  • classic 3H-symbol
  • T-symbol
  • regular font
  • 8 examples found
Back to "Dial Comparison"

Yet another variation on the Heuer Bundeswehr chronograph:

  • standard Heuer logo
  • no 3H-symbol
  • T-Symbol
  • regular font
  • 6 examples found

This is the most rare of Heuer Bundeswehr chronograph - the STERNZEIT REGULIERT:

  • standard Heuer logo
  • no 3H-symbol
  • T-Symbol
  • regular font
  • special STERNZEIT REGULIERT markings
  • 1 example found

Back to "Dial Comparison"

This represents a slightly different example of the Heuer Bundeswehr chronograph:

  • standard Heuer logo
  • classic 3H-symbol
  • no T-symbol
  • regular font
  • 2 examples found
Back to "Dial Comparison"

Yet another variation on the Heuer Bundeswehr chronograph:

  • standard Heuer logo
  • big-letter 3H-symbol
  • T-Symbol
  • regular font
  • 3 examples found

Still another variation on the Heuer Bundeswehr chronograph:

  • standard Heuer logo
  • big-letter 3H-symbol crammed into a smaller circle
  • cut-off font
  • 2 examples found

This is a copy of an advertisement from the early 1990s offering overhauled/refurbished Heuer Bundeswehr chronographs - just contact Sinn! With this, we're introducing 2 key new dial variations:

  • big Heuer logo
  • clean (no 3H or T-symbols)
  • cut-off font

Here is an apparent example of a Sinn-refurbished Heuer Bundeswehr chrongraph:

  • big Heuer logo
  • clean (no 3H or T-symbols)
  • cut-off font
  • 3 examples found
Back to "Dial Comparison"

Another apparent example, though slightly different, of a Sinn-refurbished Heuer Bundeswehr chrongraph:

  • big Heuer logo
  • small circle 3H-symbol
  • no T-symbol
  • cut-off font
  • 1 example found
Back to "Dial Comparison"

Another apparent example, yet another variation, of a Sinn-refurbished Heuer Bundeswehr chrongraph:

  • big Heuer logo
  • small letter 3H-symbol
  • no T-symbol
  • cut-off font
  • 3 examples found
Back to "Dial Comparison"

Here we see our first example of a Sinn-branded Bundeswehr chronograph:

  • Sinn logo
  • big letter 3H-symbol
  • no T-symbol
  • cut-off font
  • 2 examples found
Back to "Dial Comparison"

Another example of a Sinn-branded Bundeswehr chronograph:

  • Sinn logo
  • clean (no 3H or T-symbols)
  • cut-off font
  • 1 example found
Back to "Dial Comparison"

Here's a scan of the original Bundeswehr specification:

In addition, here's a link to the servicing manual for the Heuer Bundeswehr chronograph (written in German, file is PDF format).

This is the spiritual successor of the Heuer Bundeswehr chronograph: the Sinn 156 Mil. This is a thoroughly modern interpretation, featuring: the robust Lemania 5100 automatic movement, the same bezel and crystal (they are interchangeable with the Heuer), the same style case construction with a 4-screw caseback. Unfortunately access to the Lemania 5100 has been dramatically curtailed, putting this fabulous piece into jeopardy. Sinn has already made some compromises, with current production featuring a common threaded caseback instead of the traditional 4-screw design. This watch was also marketed by Bell & Ross as the M1.

These 2 watches are examples of generally similar Heuer watches apparently produced for the Italian Air Force, albeit powered by a Valjoux 7750 movement. I cannot say for certain if they are legitimate, but they sure are interesting pieces: