Heuer Autavia GMT

Imagine a perfectly sized steel vintage men's sports watch...which has GMT functionality...and is also a chronograph.  That'd be something, eh?  We are happy to present for your consideration this striking Heuer Autavia Reference 11630 - the watch that checks all of the above boxes, and more. The name "Autavia" comes from a combination of two words: Automotive & Aviation.  Heuer originally applied the moniker to dashboard clocks instrumentation for use in automobiles and aircraft, but recycled in the 1960s and applied it to their line of professional racing chronographs for which the name is best known.  With a major redesign in 1969, the Autavia was an early adopter of the distinctively '70s cushion case, introduced with the latest in mechanical watchmaking: the automatic chronograph. Following a few years later, Heuer introduced a GMT model to the range, adding a third large hand displaying a second time zone and two-tone rotating bezel alongside a two-register chronograph with date function. As you are probably aware by now, values for early Heuer chronographs are on the rise, and unmolested, original examples are getting hard to come by.  This particular example is as honest as they come, showing patina we've never seen before on an Autavia GMT. Most notably, the original bezel has worn down to bare metal - the kind that makes vintage collectors go weak in the knees!  As sticklers for authenticity, we have decided to offer the watch with this bezel, but have sourced a genuine replacement bezel (currently installed) showing the classic red and blue 'Pepsi' coloration with a delightful fade of its own. Treated to a full mechanical overhaul by our friends at Central Watch, this distinctive chronograph is ready to keep doing what it has obviously been doing for decades - working. It would be hard to find a vintage timepiece - any vintage timepiece - that is more perfectly suitable for the international man of motorsports.  We've looked.