The “John McClane”: a Rare Tag Heuer 3000 Chronograph
The Tag Heuer 3000 chronograph is a watch I never thought I’d own. Like many other millennial dudes, I’m a huge Die Hard fan, and Bruce Willis pays a yearly visit to my home on Christmas Eve. As watch nerds do, I needed to know what watch John McClane had on his wrist as he picked off bad guys one by one at Nakatomi Plaza. I was initially pleased to find out it was a quartz Tag Heuer from the ’80s. I thought “Wow, cool, an affordable piece of cinema history!” My excitement was quickly squashed, however, when I realized how rare and finicky these ’80s chronographs were to find and maintain, particularly in the all steel configuration featured in the movie.
I could find a few articles here and there about the watch, and some posts on Instagram tagged with the 202.236 reference number, but no current listings. So I did what we all do: set alerts on WatchPatrol and eBay hoping one would come up.
Sourcing the Tag Heuer 3000 Chronograph
After months of nothing (and picking up a couple 2000 series), my expectations changed to just a standard three-hander non-chrono Tag 3000, and I would browse through them from time to time on eBay. I was especially keen on a full gold case 3000 series. One day, I was fanning through the pages of mid and full size non-chronographs, when there it was! Mixed in with the listings was THE John McClane model, in all its glory, with a Heuer-stamped bracelet, just posted with dull, low-light photos. I messaged the seller asking if it was fully functional and what he realistically was looking for. “100%, $700” was his response. I jumped on it and hoped for the best.
Repairs on the Tag Heuer 3000 Chronograph
The watch came and I was immediately disappointed to find that the gears were having trouble catching when trying to set the time, and it was running extremely slow. I tried to get a partial refund from the seller but he was firm on sending the watch back for a full refund or nothing. I took the hit and started my research for how to fix this watch since I was only into it for a few hundred at this point and was ahead financially. I figured I had about $1k of wiggle room to make the purchase worth it.
The movements used in the chronograph 3000 are very interesting. Both the quartz and automatic chronographs use the Dubois Depraz 2000 chronograph module. The automatic movement, the LWO 283, mates the DD2000 chrono module to an ETA 2892 base, while the quartz movement, a Calibre 185, also uses the DD2000 chronograph module but mated with a 555.232 quartz engine.
I had a few resources who were versed in quartz vintage Heuers, but they all were adamant that they didn’t work on this movement, and that parts were extremely hard to find. After tracking someone down who was open to working on it, he took it apart, fixed the teething issue, but found that someone had replaced the circuit with one from another movement, a 955.112, causing the watch to tick slow. My next plan was to source a donor 2000 or 3000 chrono and swap the movements, until I got in touch with another vintage Heuer enthusiast who gave me some hope.
He let me know that the 955.112 circuit can in fact be used, but that you need to replace the stator (part 4211) from any 955.112 or 955.114 movement and fit it to the 555.232. The one that came originally on the 555.232 is teethed to tick twice per second, so if it’s not replaced, the watch will keep time, divided by 2, essentially slowing it down by half. I relayed this info to my watchmaker, who was receptive to trying this out. Replacing the stator solved the issue, and the watch was working perfectly!
Wearability
I received the watch back and finally had time to get to know it. I was expecting almost a cheap, flimsy ’80s wearing experience like my 2000s, but surprisingly the 3000 wears very sturdy on the wrist. The materials are better than I expected of the era, the watch feels heavy and planted, and the action on the bezel giving a satisfying click. Mine certainly has some wear especially on and around the bezel, but is in generally good shape, and has a nice, faint patina on its tritium lume. The monochromatic grey dial against the slight pumpkin of the tritium really is an attractive look. I have to say I get some AP Royal Oak Offshore vibes from the design, with its 12-sided dodecagon bezel, and its subdial layout inside. In another neat touch, the date window is magnified by a cyclops window inside of the sapphire.
The 3000 series launched in 1984, and was offered right at the time of the TAG Heuer merger, so you will find some watches with TAG Heuer branding, and some with only Heuer. As mentioned before, while offered with both automatic and quartz movements, for accuracy’s sake, the one featured in Die Hard was a TAG Heuer branded quartz model. That means mine is quite literally the exact model worn in the movie. Short of picking up the actual film watch at auction, this is the closest I’ll get!
It’s not a watch I wear often, but it’s a little piece of film and horological history that feels so cool to take for a spin every once in a while!
The Specs
Case material: Stainless steel
Case diameter: 38mm, 41mm with crown
Lug width: 20mm
Lug-to-lug: 43mm
Thickness: 13mm
Movement: DD2000 mated to 555.112 (Calibre 185)
