Shortly before and after TAG's takeover of Heuer in the mid-1980s, it produced a line of legendary divers, first in Monin, France, with automatic movements, and subsequently in Switzerland with Swiss quartz movements - the example here is one of those latter divers, a stunning dark blue 1981 TAG Heuer 1000 Professional Ref. 980.013B dive watch, on its original Heuer-signed stainless-steel bracelet.
 
Make no mistake - this is the quintessential no-nonsense Heuer tool watch was produced between , made from 1979 - 1984, that saved Heuer from bankruptcy during the 1980s.  Per Hodinkee in "Why The Heuer Diver Professional Deserves A Lot More Credit Than It Gets" - "Its stunning success was unexpected and came at the best possible time for the company." 
 
"In Jack Heuer’s own words: 'We could not imagine that this model would be the very watch that was to help the company recover.'  Surprisingly, this glorious hero was not a chronograph – hell, most of the time it's powered by a quartz movement.  So let's settle this injustice and look at a relatively obscure diving watch, despite it being a bestseller from 1979 to this very day.  This is the Heuer Diver Professional."
 
The Heuer diver would go on to become one of the company’s bestselling models ever, even lasting into the early '90s under the new TAG Heuer banner.  After a year of outsourcing to Monnin, Heuer took over the manufacturing of the ref. 844, re-named the 980.XXX, and sold in a myriad of versions, with different case sizes in gold or steel (even two-tone), a PVD version (both black and camo green), and orange, black, and full-lume dials, all with bracelet or rubber strap.  And yes, even a full lume dial variant.
 
But did Heuer’s overall efforts help the company?
 
As Hodinkee tells it, “When it comes to vintage Heuer, it's the historic chronographs that constantly grab the headlines.  I mean, who hasn't recently read a story about some uber-rare, record-breaking Autavia, Carrera, or Monaco?  Yet, there's one watch that played a critical role in Heuer’s history that remains almost entirely overlooked." 
 
The Heuer diver “…immediately sold very well for Heuer, and continued to do so even after Heuer became TAG Heuer in 1985.  After the merger, the line was kept as is, and quickly expanded… [and] eventually became the Aquaracer in 2004.  Looking at the history, the real impact of the Heuer Professional is striking: In some form or another, these dive watches have been a best-seller for (TAG) Heuer since 1979!"
 
This dark blue Heuer 980.613B diver comes on its original stainless-steel Heuer bracelet, and with nylon strap, rugged travel case, and springbar tool.