At long last, I have taken Paul Gavin's amazing discussion forum posting (from this past April), in which he shows us 10 differences between Reference 2446C GMT Autavias, and memorialized his information and photos in a blog posting, "Detailed Review: Autavia 2446C GMTs (and Standard 2446Cs)".

In creating this posting, I have added some information regarding the "standard" (non-GMT) 2446C Autavias, as well as some editorial views. The main editorial piece is a Preliminary Note that discusses one of the key differences between studying the history of the vintage watches and the vintage cars -- the cars generally have distinct models years (so that we can tell when styles and major components have changed), but the watches don't (which often makes it difficult to determine when one execution has ended and another has begun. Just for fun, I am copying that piece of the posting below.

I hope that you will enjoy this posting, and find it useful in your quest for the perfect Autavia 2446C GMT!! Thanks again to Paul for the amazing posting, and for helping me memorialize it as a blog posting.

Jeff

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A Preliminary Note on Changes in Executions — Cases, Dials, Hands, Pushers, Etc.

Watches are not like cars. In the world of automobiles, there are distinct “model years”, with cars being either entirely restyled or having minor modifications from one model year to the next. Ford restyled the Mustang for the 1971 model year, with significant changes in both the exterior and interior styling. While some systems and components may have carried over from one year to the next (for example, engines and transmissions), there is no mistaking the exterior panels and key interior elements (dashboard, console and seats, for example). And when components were changed during the model year (for example, the introduction of the 351 Cobra Jet engine late in the 1971 model year), these changes were well-documented so that today’s collector is able to use serial numbers and other available information to determine which elements are “correct” for a particular car.

It is different in the world of vintage watches. While we see different executions of models like the Autavia or Carrera over the years (for example, in the Autavia, the first execution screw-back case, the second execution screw-back case, and the first execution snap-back case), there were no distinct model years, and major elements of a model were not necessarily switched over all at the same time. In this posting, we refer to “earlier” and “later” executions of major components such as cases, dials, markers, hands and pushers, but watch manufacturers did not move from one execution of these elements to the next execution of these elements, all at the same time. For example, when Heuer switched to the second execution of its screw-back case (around 1965) or the second generation of its snap-back case (around 1970), in each instance dials and hands may have been carried over from the first generation.

So while we can trace the changes in each major component — case, dial, hands, pushers, etc. — and establish which elements were earlier and which were later, there may be multiple “transitional” models between a watch that is identified as a first generation model and a watch that is identified as a second generation model. It may be difficult (or impossible) to examine a particular watch and know which elements were in place when it left the factory. There were no bright lines between “model years” or between versions of the models, as the watch companies often seem to have used up their supplies of components before they began to use the newly designed elements. We know where a model such as the Autavia 2446C GMT started (early case, smaller registers, plain hands and smooth pushers) and we know where it ended up (later case, larger registers, red accents on hands and fluted pushers), but it is difficult to catalog the steps from one execution to the other.

Accordingly, as we discuss the Reference 2446C Autavias — both standard and GMT — we can identify which components are earlier and which are later, but it is difficult to be certain about the specifications for a particular execution or to determine the exact components that would have been found in a particular watch when it left the factory. We can divide different models into Mark 1, Mark 2, Mark 3, etc., but in most instances, for the vintage Heuers these demarcations are not definitive.