Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Heuer Autavia GMT, c. 1968
- Maker / attribution
- Heuer (maker)
- Date
- c. 1968
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 40.5 mm
- Stock no.
- 40991037
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40991037)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Heuer Autavia GMT (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40991037), this is a wristwatch by Heuer, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1968. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 40.5 mm. 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 — Analog/Shift
It's no secret that the team at Analog:Shift is partial to all things motorsports and racing, and there are few brands with as strong a motorsports connection as Heuer. The 1960s and 1970s were boom times for sporty wrist watches with color and a little flash, and Heuer was no slouch in their offerings - take the Autavia for example. The Autavia GMT chronograph combines Heuer's mastery of the racing chronograph with a GMT function. The GMT models are particularly rare, featuring distinctive two-tone "Pepsi" bezels and a third large hand displaying a second time zone. This particular Autavia GMT, a Reference 2446C, dates to circa 1968-69 and features an excellent, perfectly sized 40.5mm case with an acrylic crystal, a signed crown, a bi-directional rotating bezel with a 24hr 'Pepsi' insert, and an excellent matte black Tritium 'MK4' dial with white sub-registers and a matching handset. Powered by the venerable Valjoux 72C GMT movement, this piece is paired to a black rallye-style leather strap to round off the package. With a sporty design that combines super-functional utility with a timeless sporty look, this special GMT chronograph ticks all the boxes a collector of vintage Heuer could want. The vintage Heuer wave may be in slack tide at the moment, but it won't last. Don't miss out on an incredible opportunity to snag this special piece before they begin climbing once again!
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
Military, pilot and travel watches
The wristwatch owes much of its adoption by men to warfare and aviation. Wristlets — small pocket watches soldered with lugs and worn on a strap — were used in colonial campaigns and became standard equipment in the First World War, with protective grilles over the crystal ('shrapnel guards'). Louis Cartier's Santos (1904), designed for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, is often cited as an early purpose-made pilot's watch.
In the Second World War governments specified watches in detail: the German B-Uhr observation watches, the American A-11, and the British 'W.W.W.' (the 'Dirty Dozen' set of 1945). After the war, jet travel brought GMT and world-time watches, which show two or more time zones at once — Louis Cottier's world-time mechanism and the Rolex GMT-Master (1955) are examples.
What to look for
- Military markings on the case back: broad arrow, issue numbers, 'W.W.W.', 'A.T.P.'
- High-legibility black dials with luminous Arabic numerals; oversized crowns for gloved hands.
- 24-hour hands and rotating 24-hour bezels or city rings on GMT/world-time watches.
- Wire lugs on early wristlets converted from pocket watches.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug wristlets: c. 1900–1925.
- Military specifications of the Second World War: 1939–1945.
- GMT and world-time wristwatches: mainly after 1950.
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.
Related records
Pocket Watches · c. 1960
Heuer Racing SET, c. 1960
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1980
Heuer Pasadena, ref. 750.501-3, c. 1980
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1970s
Heuer wristwatch, ref. 110.633, Calculator, circa 1970s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1975
Heuer wristwatch, ref. 13/1, circa 1975
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · 1945
Wristwatch by Eterna, 1945
Museum Rotterdam
Wristwatches · c. 1945
Breitling Premier, ref. 790, c. 1945
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1945
Universal Genève Uni-Compax, ref. 22492, c. 1945
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · c. 1950s
Baume & Mercier wristwatch, c. 1950s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva