
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Heuer Autavia 2446C, 1960s
- Maker / attribution
- Heuer (maker)
- Date
- 1960s
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- Product 6680964726871
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 6680964726871)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Heuer Autavia 2446C (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle (stock number Product 6680964726871), this is a wristwatch by Heuer, made in Switzerland, dated 1960s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — S.Song Watches
The Heuer Autavia really needs no introduction. What was once seen as a cheap sports chronograph has, in the last couple of years has become one of the hottest and respected vintage watch in the market. The Autavia was released in 1962 under the new management of Jack Heuer, where the name was an amalgamation of the words ‘Automotive’ and ‘Aviation’. This was the first line that Jack Heuer released, even before the famed Carrera line, placing significance on the Autavia as the model that marked a new chapter for Heuer. This example while still featuring a round case, is a later variant distinguished most easily but the switch from a screw back case in the earlier iterations to a compressor case. With thicker, blockier lugs, the Ref. 2446C has a more muscular presence as is reflective of the stylistic cues of the era. Featuring a classic 3 sub-dial layout and powered by the trusty Valjoux 72 movement, alongside the Rolex Daytona and Omega Speedmaster, this is one of the most iconic manually wound chronographs of the 60’s.
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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