For those out there who have being paying attention this will not be new to you but for the vast majority including myself this is and will be a first. What we have below are the details of a new and possibly the first 3rd execution 2446 (Rindt) dial.

I received two images of a Rindt Autavia from a collector who questioned its authenticity. In his message to me he highlighted the rounded numerals in the sub registers and the lower position of the badge (see below):

After close inspection and before comparing it to a known and authentic sample I new it was different. My first thought was a reprinted dial but there were too many details that seemed correct for this theory hold water. Detailed comparison with one of mine only added to the confusion because the differences were clearly obvious (those mentioned above plus the different hash mark arrangement on all three sub registers) but it still looked and felt correct.

Then, from somewhere deep within my memory I recalled something someone casually mentioned about those rounded numerals and so the hunt began.

That someone was Mich and here is the post: http://chronocentric.com/forums/heuer/index.cgi?md=read;id=80991

Finding a second example is always encouraging and further confirmation from Paolo that this dial is “perfectly legit and was a small production into the 3rd ex case” he reminded me of this post:
http://www.chronocentric.com/forums/heuer/index.cgi?md=read;id=70259

The final piece in the puzzle came once again from the memory bank. When Rich and I produced the Autavia book we were fortunate to find some original artwork and one piece was used in a period advert featuring the 3rd execution 2446 (see below):

All three of the dials now known have the same features and these are in fact almost identical to the example in the original artwork of the period. Coincidence? Well, you be the judge. Here is a comparison between the artwork, the new discovery and a standard Rindt dial:

So lets now talk serial numbers. The generally accepted range for a 2446 3rd execution Autavia is 85xxx to 97xxx. The earliest example I have recorded is 85128 but I cannot confirm which dial this watch has. What has been confirmed is that the example sent to me by the collector has a serial number of 851xx and is the next earliest I have recorded for a Rindt Autavia. Mich also confirmed that his example has an 85xxx serial number so this leads to the conclusion that this dial was early and one might assume the first used in the Rindt Autavia.

But and yes there is a big BUT and that is the Transitional Autavia. If you read my post on this case and dial combination you will note that they almost exclusively fall into a small batch with a rage of 828xx to 831xx. Plus all the 2446 examples I have recorded have the standard Rindt dial.

If you missed the post here it is:
http://chronocentric.com/forums/heuer/index.cgi?md=read;id=70047

This raises more questions than it answers such as:
• Is this the “new” dial the first Rindt dial?
• Is there a Transitional case 2446 with this early dial?
• Where does the Transition case fit within the sequence of screw back Autavia’s?

A lot of questions were answered about the Transitional Autavia after my post from the responses that followed so I am hoping this will do the same and we will see more examples of this early Rindt dial and maybe even some in a transitional case.

Happy Easter and best regards
Paul
www.heuerworld.com