especially the dial looks like it could be at least from the 50's.
i imagine that young Jack Heuer might have had a tough time taking over the company and modernizing/evolving the houses traditions.
also the autavia was developed at the beginning of the 60's - the design of the 50's was rather playful compared to the much sleeker and cooler design of the 60's.
most of the cars of the early sixties still resemble stylistic references of the 50's - i imagine it was just not quite clear where the new decade was heading to, stylewise.

i also believe that the smaller register Autavia was introduced simultaniously with the Carrera in 1964 - it just makes sense from a marketing point of view to clean up the range when you introduce such a revolutionary concept such as the Carrera.

Nevertheless the big register Autavia still appears in 1965 catalogues (i think it's on Nic Greens catalogue section).
Maybe it's just a mistake - maybe they just wanted to get rid of old stock - or just another mystery.

anyway i like it - it is a little like the contrast 50's "james bond" submariner vs. 60's crownguard submariner.

Cheers

Tino

: Nice backdrop for some nice watches.

: I particularly like the 2446. I've said it before, but I'll say it
: again, those early Autavias look like they just as easily might
: have come from the 40s as from the 60s. If I didn't know that
: the Autavia wristwatches (I'm being specific there as I know the
: Autavia timers predate the watches by some 3 decades :) ) had
: been introduced in '62, I would guess at the 40s.

: An early 2447 looks very much a child of the 60s, but an early 2446
: really doesn't (at least not to me anyway). The Autavia table
: has large registers being sold alongside Carreras for 1964-5 but
: I wonder if it wouldn't have looked anachronistic alongside the
: Carrera (although that has a charm and appeal of its own, of
: course, latest and brightest doesn't necessarily mean best). The
: brochures section goes from '63 (is that one new by the way
: Jeff, I don't recall having seen it before) to '66, so I do
: wonder whether Autavias with small registers weren't introduced
: alongside the Carreras in '64. But I don't know, and I'm not an
: Autavia expert - anyone who is care to chip in, or does anyone
: have Heuer sales literature from 1964 or 1965 to see what the
: Autavia registers look like?

: But early 2446 Autavias definitely are amongst my favourites and
: that gives me an idea for a post!