Pair of stopwatches mounted on an original Heuer plate intended to be attached to the dashboard of a racing or rally car – €14,000 (£11,650) at Bonhams Paris.
They comprised a Monte Carlo chronometer, a three-button model, totalling up to 12 hours, and a Master time watch with central second hand. Both featured a rotating bezel.
The estimate in Paris on February 3 in the Les Grandes Marques du Monde à Paris auction – the automobilia section preceding cars – was €1800-2200 but they sold for €14,000 (£11,650).
Heuer introduced the Monte Carlo 12-hour dash-mounted stopwatch in 1958 to replace its Autavia model. The first Monte Carlos, such as these, had three buttons. By the end of the 1960s two-button versions were being made.
Founded in 1860 (and now TAG Heuer), the company’s connection with cars started early: Edouard Heuer’s dashboard-mounted Time of Trip chronograph, designed for use in cars (on dashboards) and biplanes, appeared way back in 1911.
