Hi,
I stumbled across this forum yesterday after I thought I'd 'Google' Heuer Autavia to see if I could find any information on a watch I have. I should say that whilst I appreciate the watch (for personal reasons) I'm no expert at all, and have just a passing interest in watches generally.

I thought the forum members here might be interested in my story though!

As a kid growing up in a family of motor racing enthusiasts I was brought up on the Grands Prix and Le Mans films and was probably the only child at school in the 80's familiar with the racing heros of the 60's and 70's. In amongst a box of toys I was sometimes allowed to play with (a box of my dads olds toys!) was a watch which I'd wear loosely around my wrist under strict instructions to be careful with it. It wasn't working and the glass was a little scratched and the strap was falling apart. It spent most of its life in this period wrapped in an old sock of mine and stashed away at the back of a drawer.

The watch was my dads of course and he had been involved in the filming of the Le Mans movie (and actually appears in it in the back ground!) at various points. He was friends with the drivers and as such got to know Steve McQueen during that period. Towards the end of filming Mr McQueen gave dad this watch as a momento, which is how it came to be wrapped up in my sock drawer.

Many, many years later dad by chance met someone from Heuer at function of some sort and relayed the story of the watch. Very generously Heuer offered to restore it which they did beautifully in the early 2000's and after my dad died in '05
It was left to me. It now resides back in my sock drawer (in a case of course) and is only brought out on special occasions!

From what I've read here it is a Siffert Autavia.

Hope this is of interest!

[photo added by Moderator]