HEUER, AUTAVIA, AUTOMATIC, REF. 1163 , « ORANGE BOY »

ICONEEK price: 12’500.- CHF

Iconeek is proud to introduce here a rare and attractive, water-resistant, stainless steel, automatic chronograph left-handed wristwatch with date by Heuer: The Autavia,  Automatic, Ref. 1163 aka « Orange Boy ». Sharing the same reference number, this example is in the same family as other sought-after Heuer Autavia models such as the "Jo Siffert" (see ICONEEK archives) with white dial and contrasting blue accents, and the "Viceroy" with a black dial with red accents (see ICONEEK archives), made famous through the cross-promotion with Viceroy cigarette. The  present rare model, Autavia, is featuring orange dial accents and hands painted with orange stripes, raison  why it has gained the nickname “Orange Boy” among collectors. This Heuer Autavia 1163 is an attractive sporty vintage watch that has been preserved in a great condition and has a fantastic vintage 1970s look on the  wrist.

The model has a three-body construction: a large, robust, polished and brushed, stainless steel, tonneau-shaped case with two round chronograph pushers, a bi-directionnal rotating bezel bearing a 60-minute division  as well  as 12-hour division,  a screwed case back. The inside back is engraved « Heuer-Leonidas SA, Swiss, Stainless Steel ». Under the plexiglass crystal, we find a  superb two tone, matte  black with applied  steel baton numerals with orange accents, two subsidiary silvered dials for the 12-hour register at 9 and the 30-minute register at 3, an aperture for the date at 6, an outer minute/second division, with 5-minute orange index, applied luminous steel Baton indexes, luminous orange-coated hands.  Inside is ticking a caliber 12, with gilt finish, blued steel screws, 17 jewels, monometallic balance with flat self-compensating balance spring, shock absorbers. Dial, case and movement are signed.  The present rare watch is furthermore accompanied by its  original stainless  steel Gay  Freres bracelet and  original endlinks, deployant clasp stamped 3-71, with an approx. overall length of 205 mm. The size between the  lugs  is 20 mm.

According to scholars, the “Orange Boy” is known in a small number of examples, perhaps less than 20 total, to the market. The orange on the dial and in the hands is reminiscent of the orange used by Gulf Oil in the 1970s and the watch also occasionally receives the nickname the “Gulf” as a result. The bright orange pops against the black dial background and makes it a watch highly-appreciated by collectors.  The present  Heuer “Orange Boy” Autavia is a collector’s dream for its rarity and  overall original condition.  It is interesting to notice that

in December 2016, Christie’s, auction  house, sold an “Orange Boy” Autavia for $50,000, bearing  case number 243034, from 1971, while our watch is very close with case number 243077 and  from the same year. Most recently, the  model served as the inspiration for the TAG Heuer Autavia Calibre Heuer 02 for HODINKEE.

A collectible Heuer, as well as a great looking  1970s chronograph !

Condition: 8.5/10, in very good overall condition for its age, unrestored condition, all original, with retaining its original steel bracelet.