Heuer First Execution Big Subs Autavia Reference 2446 Unpolished

The Heuer Autavia is recognized by collectors as one of the great sports chronographs of the 1960s and arguably the greatest Autavia wristwatches ever made were the powerful first execution “Big Subs” models that defined the genre. They were introduced by Heuer in 1962 and continued with this design through 1963, before becoming slightly more refined and less brash examples with the second and third execution models that had smaller registers, and white gold hour markers more similar to the Heuer Carrera that was introduced in 1963 and the Rolex Daytona reference 6239 also introduced in 1963.

Along with many of its contemporaries of the era, it is powered by the Valjoux 72. This example is the first generation case of the Autavia with larger subdials. The dimensions are 38mm (48mm lug-to-lug). The cases are made Huguenin Freres.

The case appears to be unpolished. The watch features a 52,XXX serial, making it among the last run of Autavias made. The hour and minute hand are color matched, which is likely due to lume cracking and loss (and is common for these models). I believe these are the original second execution hands to the watch and they are certainly correct for the serial range.

The watch does not come with box and papers. We do not know the service history, but it is running well.

This is probably the most attractive early Autavia I have personally held. It took my breath away when I put it on my wrist. I have held examples that have traded for over $150,000 and over $200,000 with the earlier all-lume hands and I love those, but this one really stole my heart. In 2017, I feel like this would have been worth over $150,000 retail. This example is less than a third, but I do feel like the vintage Heuer market is showing new life as more new collectors get interested in watches from motorsport’s golden age and with the new fascination with Formula 1. LVMH is the parent company of TAG Heuer and the huge F1 partnership is giving new attention to TAG Heuer. This is a grail watch and this is a great opportunity for an astute collector to “buy the dip” - otherwise I would certainly be happy keeping this piece in my collection for many years to come!

PRICE: $49,000 (Item SBUXYT3858)