Vintage Heuer chronographs have long been popular among classic car owners, not least because they have remained relatively affordable – but the sale of Arno Haslinger’s collection of 81 examples in December could have made them even more desirable and upped values, too.

The auction at Bonhams, London, grossed £475,764 and only two watches 
(a 1970 Autavia and a 1968 Carrera ‘Indianapolis’) failed to find buyers. The highlight was a rare 1974 Monaco (above right) with a black PVD case that fetched a record £48,000. A 1969 Autavia from the first batch produced made £30,000, and a 1972 Carrera in 18 carat gold trebled its low estimate to realise £22,800.

Haslinger – a 46-year-old product development consultant for Jaguar who chose the Porsche 911 as the subject of his university thesis – trawled flea markets, auctions, jewellery shops and antiques fairs for more than a decade to build the collection, much of which comprised ‘new old stock’ watches with their original labels and packaging.

Despite the high overall total, many of the lots were relatively affordable with sub-£5000 prices. There were even some bargains – five helmet-shaped 1970s TAG Heuer Formula 1 alarm clocks in their original boxes sold for around £600 apiece, while the steal of the sale proved to be a Heuer pedometer that fetched just £24.

A unique new-generation red-dial Silverstone donated by TAG Heuer and signed by Jack Heuer (great-grandson of Heuer founder Edouard Heuer) raised £12,000 for Green Cross International.