Lot
14
Heuer Autavia ‘Exotic’
fine and rare stainless steel calendar chronograph wristwatch with orange accents on the dial, tachymeter bezel, box and papers.
THE WATCH COMES ALONG WITH ITS FIT TED BOX AND BOOKLET – CLOSE UP ON THE EXOTIC DIAL FEATURING COLOURFUL ACCENTS – BACK VIEW OF THE CASE SHOWING THE MOVEMENT.
MANUFACTURER
54 HEUER PARADE
Heuer
YEAR
Circa 1974
REFERENCE
1563T, case further engraved 1163V
CASE
270'948
MODEL NAME
Autavia ‘Exotic’
MATERIAL
Stainless steel
CALIBRE
Automatic, cal. 15, 17 jewels
BRACELET/STRAP
Original Heuer Corfam strap
CLASP/BUCKLE
Stainless steel Heuer ‘sun’ buckle
DIMENSIONS
42mm diameter
SIGNED
Case, dial, movement and buckle signed
ESTIMATE CHF 15,000-25,000 $15,000-25,000 €13,600-22,700 ACCESSORIES Together with original sale sticker to the reverse and numbered tag, fitted 'Automatic' red Heuer box and guarantee booklet with outer plastic sleeve. LITERATURE A similar example is illustrated in ‘Heuer Autavia Chronographs 1962–85’ (2nd edition) by Richard Crosthwaite & Paul Gavin, pages 150-153.
The “Exotic” Autavia, although driven by the Calibre 15, is housed in cases marked 1163V, thought to be leftovers from the Autavia promotion with Brown & Williamson and their “Viceroy” cigarette brand, which offered the 1163V (Viceroy) at a heavily reduced retail price, featuring a black dial with two white registers and red accents. Thousands of units were sold, with many surviving today. This is in stark contrast to the 30 “Exotic” Autavia examples known to be in collectors hands. The dial of the “Exotic” Autavia is a pure expression of the 1970; colourful, playful, avant-garde, in much the same way as the Rolex “Exotic” Paul Newman dials. It was believed that the unusual checkerboard dial hash marks (1/5th seconds for accurate timing) allied to the tachymeter bezel and the oversized lume plots, rendering the watch extremely legible, were conceived for race timing. Research suggests the correct configuration for this reference is with a Calibre 15 that does not have the letters “SX” visible on the bottom left hand side of the main plate (as is the case here). This is the first time a full set example in new old stock condition has been offered at auction and as a bonus it retains its original red sticker on the caseback. Having never been seen in an official brochure or publication, it is amongst the rarest and most coveted of the automatic Autavia chronograph models ever produced.