Well, let's start with the most important thing -- This is a great looking watch that I would be thrilled to own and wear.

Now, in terms of the pedigree and the question -- "Did it leave the Heuer factory (or the Heuer dealer) in this configuration, back in the early 1970s?" I see no issues with the watch. It is very difficult to confirm the authenticity of the engraving (model number and serial number) from these two photos, but let's move to another question -- What would anyone be trying to fake or make with this particular watch? It's not as thought someone has taken a Dugena and made it into a Heuer Autavia.

Turning to the technical analysis -- We do see the "two line" 1163 V marking, in the 247xxx, 266xxx, 272xxx batches, etc. In fact, I expect that any case in these ranges will have the two-line 1163 V marking. The spacing between the two lines (the "1163" on the top line and the "V" on the bottom line) looks a bit strange, with almost a full "line" of blank spacing between the two lines, but I have checked my files and see this same spacing on other samples. As a note -- 278xxx is a high serial number for a Viceroy Autavia; but we'll get to that in the next paragraph.

Of course, the papers show that this watch is from Switzerland, and not from Louisville, Kentucky (which was the address used for the Autavias delivered in the Viceroy promotion), so this may also explain the MH bezel, rather than the Tachymeter bezel. So Heuer used the Viceroy case, for a 1163 Autavia sold through the normal dealer network, but once again, we have seen and heard of this before. Best guess is that Heuer would have made this one with a case and parts left over from the Viceroy promotion, and sold it through the normal dealer channel.

To my eye, it's a beauty and I believe that it was made this way by Heuer. Enjoy the watch!!

Jeff

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

: Hi guys,

: When a guy at the Swedish watch community I'm a member of showed me
: the Viceroy he newly bought I did a post saying: "here is
: mine, sad that I did not know that you were looking for one, if
: I knew I would have offered you mine". I posted these
: pictures of it:
:
:
:
:

: The sticker in the lower left part of the second picture is from
: the caseback, I asked the seller to remove it so I would not
: destroy it when wearing the watch. Here is his picture of the
: caseback with the sticker on it:
:

: He answered that it looked like a nice 11630, I answered him again
: and said that it actually is a Viceroy and posted this picture:
:
:

: Another member then commented that the fonts used for the engraving
: do not look like the ones used by Heuer and that the watch has
: been polished and that engraving was done after the polishing. I
: told him that I had bought it NOS in the summer of 2016 from a
: very well known and respected Heuer collector and watchmaker. To
: make a long story short he think that the watch has been
: polished and that the fonts of the engraving should be like this
: (the picture is from OTD):
:
:

: I.e. with no "line" below 1 and with a flat
: "roof" for the 3. I have searched the net and have
: found quite a few pictures of engraved Heuers with the same or
: at least similar font as the one on mine watch, here are two of
: them:
:
:
:
:

: He asked me to do a post at "OTD" which I know have done.
: So, what do you think, was mine Viceroy NOS when I bought and
: are the fonts correct for a Heuer from the early part of 1972?
: Or has it been polished after it left the factory and the
: reference no on it was engraved after the polish took place?

: Cheers,
: Hans