OK . . . rather than reading the other responses, and responding to the responses, let me "take it from the top", giving you my recommendations on the questions you have posed . . . in bold below.

: Guys, I am really enjoying this forum. I wish I had more to offer than I do, but I am sure you don't mind my relative silence. I do read all the posts.

: So, I posted in Jeff's thread a few minutes ago that my watch is going to Oregon to spend some time in Craig's expert hands. He has an original crown so I will be 1 important step closer to original.

Can't go wrong here . . . having the proper crown will give it a better look.

: The two other non-original items I want to address are the polished case and the crystal. He has a good substitute crystal from Frei (which is probably what the watch already has in it) but the contours will be different.

Question #1 - is it possible to find an original crystal in very good condition or should I just go with the Frei? I am not certain that replacing the crystal will be a benefit - the face appears a little yellowed to me but my guess is the crystal.

The "geometry" of the original crystal is important in giving the Autavia the right look . . . While a clean, fresh crystal with the incorrect geometry may be better than a severely worn original crystal, I would stay on the lookout for the original version.

: The case has been polished. If you hold the watch in the light just right, you can still see some striations where the original brush marks were. Question #2 - is there an in-between level of brushing that would look like it had aged along with the rest of the watch? I don't think a factory fresh brushing will match the patina of the lume, hands, dial.

This is a tough question. When the case was polished, some years ago, it lost some of the original metal and it lost the original finish. So right now, your choice is to (a) leave it "as is" or (b) sacrifice more of the metal, to give the case a finish that will look like the original. This may be controversial for some collectors, but if it has been polished once (and lost the original finish), then I would consider polishing it again, to give it the right look. I'm not sure I see the benefit in preserving the polishing that was done some years ago . . . but I see the point that you may not want to lose any more of the precious original metal.

: Question #3 - in photos, most Sifferts seem to have a brilliant blue chrono second hand. Mine seems dull/dirty (I think you can see from the picture here) and doesn't really scream "I am blue", should I have the hands cleaned or leave them as is?

:

If they can be cleaned, without damaging the original paint / finish, then cleaning seems OK. But I would not do anything that could result in any damage to or loss of the original paint / finish. "Cleaning" sound harmless, but I would be very careful with anything other than a light dusting!!

: The watch is keeping excellent time - I have only worn it once a week so it is only running for a couple days then it gets 5-6 days still.

: Question #4 - what question(s) should I be asking that I have not?

Seems like you have covered all the bases. Good luck with the servicing and please keep us informed of your progress!!

Jeff

: Thanks for all the great information, advice and photos (you know who you are)!

: Mike