: Hi Jeff and Mike,
My sincere thanks to you both for your magnificent responses to my query and for letting me know what a rarity my Autavia Chrono is, quite apart from its great sentimental value. Thus inspired, I shall certainly try to have it restored here in Germany where I have the address of the watchmaker recommended by Heuer for their older watches. When the snow has gone I'll drive down to him and see what he has to say.

In this context your comments on the replaced crown, pushers, and hands will be most useful.

Just for the record I can indeed confirm that the case and bezel are original, as is the dial. The chrono runs well and everything functions but a thorough service/restoration is certainly long overdue. What a shame my father didn't take it off when gardening, doing car repairs etc! He surely would have, had he known what a rare gem he had!

My renewed thanks to you both, and especially to you Jeff for posting my query in the first place. I'll keep you informed of any developments regarding the restoration when the time comes.

With very best wishes for continued success with your great forum. You've certainly awakened my interest in Heuer Chronos!

Douglas.
:

: Thanks to Mike for taking the lead on this
: series of questions. I agree with his
: answers, and have a few additional thoughts,
: as follows.

: 2. The crown is a replacement, and a bit large;
: the original crowns did not have the Heuer
: logo. I am not sure that I've seen many of
: these early Autavias with their original
: crowns. In any case, the crowns were fairly
: generic looking, and you should be able to
: find a nice one.

: 3. Pushers should be smaller and smooth.

: 5. The bezels are the parts that take the
: beating; most restorations look messy;
: replacements are almost impossible to find.
: Your bezel actually looks better than some
: that I have seen on the early Autavias.

: 6. This is among the rarest of all the Heuers.
: The first execution screw back cases, with
: the first execution dials (large registers),
: are very scarce. I would estimate that I
: have seen two or three per year on the
: market. Rarest of all might be this one --
: with the 30 minute register. I can recall
: seeing only one of these, and that is yours.
: The two-register Autavias used the Valjoux
: 92 until the late 1960's, but it was only
: the first version that had the 30-minute
: register. The later ones were 45-minute
: registers.

: MY BOTTOM LINE: You have a very rare watch,
: that is of considerable sentimental value.
: To me, the dial, case and bezel are the most
: critical elements, and these are all genuine
: / probably original. The chrono has been
: restored with some incorrect parts -- hands,
: crown and pushers. It may be difficult to
: find anyone who has all these parts, at the
: same time, but if you are patient, I expect
: that you would be able to find the parts,
: over time, and have this chrono properly
: restored.

: Perhaps most important is the history that came
: with this watch -- presented to your father
: in 1962, for 25 years of service, with the
: back so inscribed. How many of us have
: anything like that in our collections!!

: Good luck with it, and keep us informed of your
: progress.

: Jeff

:
: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

:
: ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

: 1. Shouldn't the hands be of the dauphine
: style?

: 2. Could the winder be a replacement as it
: seems too large compared with the pictures
: and catalogue images in your sit? It bears
: the Heuer logo on its end face, is 7 mm
: diameter and 4 mm high. Or is that correct
: for this model?

: 3. The outer diameter (4.4 mm) of the pushers
: is not cylindrical but has six small axial
: indentations. Are those the right ones for
: this model? I think they should be smaller
: and without the axial indentations.

: 4. The bracelet is an Omega one. Did this watch
: originally have a leather arm band or a
: metal bracelet? Is either still obtainable
: as an original or remake?

: 5. Can very worn bezels be refurbished or are
: they still available as replacement parts?

: 6. Is this watch one of the rarer versions? Do
: you consider a complete overhaul worthwhile?
: I fear it may be rather expensive!

: I would be truly grateful if you could answer
: these questions for me. I am considering
: having the watch reconditioned (subject to
: cost) and would like some technical info for
: that purpose. If the above questionable
: parts are indeed non-contemporary, as I
: suspect, would I be correct in
: thinking that an expensive overhaul would only
: be justified if the correct parts can be
: obtained, new or second-hand?