Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Heuer Autavia 'White Orange Boy', c. 1972
- Maker / attribution
- Heuer (maker)
- Date
- c. 1972
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 42 mm
- Stock no.
- 40990197
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40990197)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Heuer Autavia 'White Orange Boy' (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 40990197), this is a wristwatch by Heuer, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1972. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 42 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 wristwatches with color and a little flash, and Heuer was no slouch in their offerings — take the Autavia offered here! Featuring a Calibre 11 automatic chronograph movement and the finely finished 42mm stainless cushion case that came to define Heuer's third-execution Autavia line, this particular example features a traditional dial layout but with rarely seen fluorescent orange highlights on the dial and handset. Known to collectors as the 'White Orange Boy', these colorful chronographs have become one of the most sought-after models of the era, and this example is about as nice as they come. However, this is no ordinary ‘Orange Boy’ — featuring a white dial, it’s much rarer than its black-dial cousins. This particular example from circa 1972 features a panda dial with applied black-line indices, orange 5-minute markers and lines on the 30-minute sundial, a matching luminous handset with orange accents, a date window at 6 o’clock, a 12-hour counter at 9 o’clock, a signed crown at 9 o’clock, fluted pushers, a bidirectional timing bezel, and the Calibre 11 automatic chronograph movement. Don’t miss this opportunity to own an ultra-rare variant (of an already-rare variant) of one of the coolest racing watches ever made!
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
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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