That is EXACTLY the point Shaun, wear and buy what you love! Why buy a watch you don't intend to wear?!

We may never know what happened as to late serial wity early features but don't discount the Heuer theory, I know of several instances where Heuer sent back cases with red stickers on the back and as for matching serials they likely wouldn't have known what serial belonged to which dial.

Enjoy it when she lands :)
R

: Actually, I ended up buying this one...

: At first it just looked like a possible bargain, a small auction
: house in Carmel, Indiana. Third page of the catalog with three
: pages of really low end modern watches. A $2000k estimate. I was
: just intending to put in a low bid and leave it at that.

: But the more I looked at the watch, the more I liked it. Beautiful
: condition bezel. Case looked pretty untouched. What looks like
: an authentic and original case back sticker. Incredible matching
: dial and hand lume, that was a the clincher for me. In the end I
: got sucked in and went for a very high bid, based on prices that
: the regular 2446C trade for these days. I do agree with Richard
: that the 2446C GMTs are somehow more common than the regular
: 2446Cs, but they are way, way more beautiful. I have always
: loved the 2446C and still do. I bought a regular 2446C once and
: just didn't love it, and ended up trading it for a Nivada
: Chronoking (bad trade I know, but those days no one cared about
: the 2446C regular model).

: The watch does have some weird features though, I admit. The
: perfectly matched lume dial and hands are clearly first
: execution, and the near NOS looking case, pushers and bezel are
: definitely late models (case SN 19xxxx).

: I see two possibilities:

: A) As Jeff Stein and Paul Gavin are at pains to point out in their
: definitive guide to the 2446C GMT models
: (http://thoughts.onthedash.com/thoughts/2446c-and-2446c-gmt/),
: Heuer were not super disciplined in their use of parts, so
: sometimes out of sequence dials or cases got used and mixed
: together, so it is possible that the watch came out the factory
: looking like this.

: B) The owner bought a standard first execution model, messed up the
: case and bezel, and then sent it to Heuer who replaced the case.
: This is certainly possible except that I strongly believe that
: it was unusual for Heuer to provide service parts with case back
: stickers on them. I've never seen that. I'd be interested in
: Han's view on that.

: I don't believe this is a knowingly put together watch or that the
: case back sticker is there to obscure a repolished 1st exec case
: back. The sticker wear just looks too authentic. And why would
: someone who has the deep Heuer knowledge and access to parts go
: to so much trouble to put together an amazing Heuer and then
: bury it deep in an auction in Carmel? We are talking Carmel IN
: here, not Carmel CA!! (no offence intended John C, just the
: whole Carmel Mission vintage car thing seemed relevant...).

: Anyway, as they say, we all believe what we want to believe. In the
: end it is irrelevant, I can't wait to get the watch and wear it
: and enjoy it. That's what matters to me...