One thing for sure in the world of vintage Heuers -- anything is possible!! If John Bond called his friend Jack Heuer and said that he wanted a Carrera, but something special for his friend (your father), then Heuer could have switched out the dial for this special Autavia dial. Over 20 years into this hobby, and many mysteries remain, with surprises all along the way.

My advice to you in selling the watch -- see whether you can come close to the price of the normal, "pure" Carrera. It's a great looking watch (to my eye), and you only need one person / buyer who sees it the same way. The one owner history and automotive provenance are nice "extras", if you know what I mean. And the buyer who has the correct Autavia case may pay even more for it, as this is a rare execution of the Autavia.

Jeff

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: Thank you very much for the information you provided regarding this
: watch. Because of your interest and expertise in vintage Heuer
: chronographs, I thought I’d offer some additional context to
: this particular watch’s history.

: I inherited this Heuer chronograph in 1998 from my father, who was
: a former editor of Road & Track magazine. My father received
: the watch as a gift around 1967 from Road & Track magazine
: owner-and-founder John R. Bond, who was a personal acquaintance
: of Jack Heuer.

: This Heuer watch was routinely worn and utilized by my father
: during his myriad technical road tests of various foreign and
: domestic automobiles for Road & Track and Motor Trend
: magazines as well as at the numerous motorsport races, car
: rallies, and automotive land-speed timing events that he
: attended and participated in throughout the late ‘60’s and
: early ‘70’s including: Le Mans, Daytona, Pikes Peak, Torrey
: Pines, Bonneville Speedway, Riverside International Raceway,
: etc. However, due to his deteriorating eyesight, he discontinued
: wearing the watch in the mid ‘70’s, and it has been
: carefully stored and maintained since that time.

: Even though I was an early teenager when my father acquired this
: watch as a gift, it appears today in its general makeup as I
: remember it when he first received it. Consequently, when I
: discovered that the watch was an Autavia-Carrera hybrid, I was
: initially of the opinion that Heuer must have produced it for
: John Bond as a special-order purchase with a custom
: configuration.
: Although my father was certainly the original and sole owner of the
: watch -- and I do not recall any circumstances or impetuses that
: would have prompted him to combine an Autavia dial/movement with
: a Carrera case -- now that several acknowledged vintage Heuer
: experts like yourself have expressed the opinion that this watch
: is almost certainly not a Heuer factory-produced variant, I’ve
: come to accept that that it is indeed an aftermarket conversion.

: In any event, although the watch has sentimental value to me, due
: to its apparent rarity/value and the extreme nature of my
: profession and general lifestyle, I would not wear it or
: otherwise make use of it. Therefore, I am considering selling
: it.

: I suppose the watch could be separated into its respective
: Autavia/Carrera elements and subsequently recombined with more
: customary vintage parts to produce one or more typically
: configured ‘60’s Era Heuer timepieces, but I don’t think I
: have the inclination or wherewithal to do this. Consequently, I
: would like to sell the watch “as is” to someone who would
: adorn it and/or preserve it in their personal collection. With
: this in mind, do you have any advice on how to best appraise the
: value of this watch and to subsequently advertise and sell it?
: Thank you in advance for any additional information you might
: provide.