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Vintage Heuer Discussion Forum
The place for discussing 1930-1985 Heuer wristwatches, chronographs and dash-mounted timepieces. Online since May 2003. | |||||||
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There ARE some unusual combinations of details on my watch: the MH bezel combined with the red sweep second hand that seems to belong on a Carrera, the red flashes on the dial at each hour mark, the fluted stopwatch buttons. What I wanted to find, of course, was an image of an Autavia just like mine in all those details. After sifting through hundreds of images on several watch forums, and all over the net via Google Images, I have found what I sought, with one still unresolved difference: Wannabuyawatch says the Autavia (bottom picture, below) they sold is a screw-back, which would make it a 2nd Execution 2446, but that particular watch was not available with the MH bezel, only the M, H, or T (according to OTD's Heuer Chronograph Master Reference Table). The final -- I hope! -- niggling question left is the exact date this watch was produced. Through reference to many Heuer catalogs posted online, and my own personal history with this watch (I've owned it almost 40 years; I was the second owner), I know that my Autavia was built sometime between 1967 and 1971 (inclusive). If I can figure out how to safely remove the bracelet at the case end, so I can see if there's anything engraved between the lugs, I may know more. Here are my Autavia's specs, as best as I can determine:
Autavia, Three-Register, Manual Wind
2446 C series, choice of bezels (MH or T) (mine is a 2446 MH -- minute/hour) snap-back case; angled lugs; different bezels for 1st/2nd executions
Dial colors: Black/White
Movement: 72 Valjoux
Crystal: Plastic
Registers/date: three/12 hrs/no date
Catalog Dates: c68, 70/71
Again, my sincere thanks to the late Chuck Maddox for providing the correct mindset to be taken into account with ALL niggly searches for absolute mechanical truth:
""Heuer during this epoch [the '60s and early '70s] often produced watches with little rhyme or reason. Actually, that's a bit incorrect, Heuer during most epochs often produced watches with little rhyme or reason, and the 1960's were certainly no exception. It seems that if they could produce a certain model and thought they could sell it, they did produce it. So one sees some particularly weird Carreras floating around... For they were, well, odd times. So often it is difficult to tell for certain if a certain hand is proper or not."
Anyway, through research, my watchmaker, and my recollection of my own personal history with this watch, I have no doubt that my Autavia was originally produced in its present configuration.
My Autavia:
The Autavia sold at wannabuyawatch.com:
Hope anyone else can shine some light on my autavia's idiosyncracies .
Regards, and my apologies for the short spat with OSS177. Communication in a text only medium is difficult enough without a language barrier being tossed in for bad measure.
Regards
Bart
: I am travelling again, and have just glanced quickly at the
: photos and description . . . it looks great.
: My estimate, with the original bracelet and box: in the $1,800 to
: $2,000 range.
: Would like to study it further over the weekend, and think about
: making an offer.
: Jeff
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