I just got my Autavia GMT 1163 back from my watchmaker a couple of days ago, and wanted to share some pictures, and the story of the watch.

The watch was bought new by my father in January, 1972. He had some problems with the watch, so it was eventually replaced by Heuer after a couple of repair attempts in May 1972. This is the watch I have now. It is a transitional model between the "early" 1163 and "late" 1163. It has a cal. 14 movement, even numbered bezel and red subdial hands, but the early style face, hour, minute and GMT hands. He wore it, along with a 1971 Rolex Submariner 1680 for many years. When I was in High School, he let me wear the Heuer. One fateful day sometime around 1989, we were flyfishing when I slipped and fell in the river. Even though the watch was underwater for only a few seconds, it almost immediately stopped. TAG Heuer refused to repair it, with a one sentence report of "Too rusty, not worth repairing."

The watch sat in the box like that for over 15 years, until a few years ago, I decided to try to repair it. The first watchmaker I sent it to said it could probably be repaired, but refused to give a quote on a price. As a poor graduate student, I decided to have it sent back. About 6 months ago, I sent the Rolex (which my father gave to me when I graduated from high school) to another watchmaker, James Sadilek, for a service, and decided to send the Heuer too. I hoped that he might be able to do more than the previous guy. Plus, now that I finished graduate school, I have a real job.

After overhauling the Rolex, James took a look at the Heuer. He was able to get the movement apart, clean everything, and get it running in a matter of a couple weeks, and with a reasonably firm price quote. No parts, with the exception of the case clamps and a couple screws, needed to be replaced. He did need to send the GMT hand and the chronograph sweep second hand to Kirk-Rich Dial company to be repainted, as they had some rust spots on them. They also relumed the hour and minute hands. The face and subdial hands were still perfect, and needed no work.

As James explained, the old Heuer o-ring compound had a nasty habit of turning to goo, which most likely caused the original failure. He was able to restore the crown and pushers with new o-rings, and replaced the case o-ring. The watch case was cleaned, but not polished. The crystal is original to the watch, and was just polished. He also regulated the watch, and did a pressure test, which it passed. Since 1972, this is the only service the watch has ever had.

As you can see in the picture, my dad saved EVERYTHING from the watch. I have the original box, outer box sleeve, direction booklet with plastic case, GMT addendum to the directions and the model number tag. He also saved all the correspondence with Heuer from 1972 documenting the original problems he had, and the replacement offer. He even has the original receipt. He bought the watch from a friend who worked in the auto racing business and got it for dealer cost: $130.

It's an amazing survival and resurrection, and I am proud to be able to wear the watch again. Hopefully I can give it to my child someday, and hopefully they will not fall in a river while wearing it!

As a note for people looking for a good watchmaker, I heartily recommend James Sadilek. He has done a fantasic job servicing both this Heuer and the Rolex Submariner, and for a very reasonable price. I have no interest in this recommendation other than being a very satisfied customer. You may contact him at:

James Sadilek, AWCI, BHI, NAWCC
230 Annapolis Avenue
Carson City, Nevada 89703 USA
Contact: ccwatchmaker@gmail.com