One quick point:

I believe that when the Viceroys first went into production (say, around 24xxxx), the cases were marked "1163", with no "V".

Later, say in the 26xxxx / 27xxxx serial number range, we began to see the Viceroys in the cases with the "V"s.

So there are lots of proper Viceroys in the "plain" 1163 cases.

Jeff

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

: I don't think there were T or MH marked cases either, the V was the
: exception. Marking a case T or MH would add complexity in both
: assembly and storage and reduce flexibility, to no benefit to
: Heuer. I am slightly surprised they differentiated the 773x
: manual cases though I suppose it's an additional way of tracking
: volumes of each movement.

: So why make the exception for the Viceroys then? I imagine it's
: because it was such a different sales channel they wanted to
: keep them permanently separate, both in their records and
: physically. Having a V permanently marked on the case allowed
: that more easily than keeping records of the dial differences
: between a black V and a black MH dial.

: There are simple explanations for mismatches ex-factory. If the
: demand is underestimated and insufficient V cases were ordered
: (which I have a vague recollection of having read here), there
: was probably a temptation to fulfil orders using plain (i.e. not
: marked with a V) 1163 cases. The opposite would leave excess V
: cases. I would have thought they would have had a better handle
: on it by the time of the 11063 and 11603, but who knows?!

: The upshot is, if they ever mixed and matched ex-factory back in
: the day, it would be very difficult today to distinguish between
: that and a watch put together from several today. So it's
: perhaps best to deal in expectations - we expect a Viceroy dial
: to be in a V case and an MH to be in an 1163 case, then apply
: the usual caveats re checking details and buying the seller.