Heuer Autavia 1163 Orange Boy

WRIST ICONS brings you another collector grade Heuer. If you are looking for the best of the best, look no further. This is without any doubt the ultimate Heuer Orange Boy available on the market in near perfect condition..

Rare orange bird

The Heuer Orange Boy is one of the most collectible Heuer Autavia models. This is a rare bird since we estimate that only 200-300 examples were made of which only 50/100 still exist (in contrary to the popular belief of many experts 20-30 pieces but we rather give a better estimation; nevertheless this Heuer makes the contemporary Double Red Sea-Dweller which was produced for 11 years quite common.

Please note that on the height of the Heuer market in December 2016, Christie’s auction house sold an “Orange Boy” Autavia for $50,000, bearing  case number 243034, from 1971, while our watch is even earlier with case number 2046xx and from the same year. Most recently, in May 2018 the Heuer Orange Boy served as the inspiration for re-edition called the TAG Heuer Autavia Caliber Heuer 02 for HODINKEE.

Why is this Autavia called the Orange Boy and why does it matter?

Most of the  early 60s Autavia models had black dials with white subcounters (reversed panda layout).  Then in 1969 there came some red accents with the pre-Viceroy models as worn by Derek bell and some blue accents with the Siffert color scheme.

The 1971 “Orange Boy” gained its moniker due to the orange accents on the dial and the Viceroy styled hands. These color scheme is very reminiscent of the early 70s with the combination of a reversed panda dial with colorful orange accents.

These accents on the dial included thin lines outside each of the hour markers, and three thick stripes on the chronograph minute recorder (sometimes called “racing stripes”).  The orange accents were carried over to the brushed hands, which have orange inserts and orange triangular tips.  The first Autavia to incorporate these elements was the Reference 1163, known among today’s collectors as the “Orange Boy”.  Many later Autavia’s would use orange accents; many later Heuer chronographs would use the racing stripes on the minute recorder, but both these elements originated with the “Orange Boy”.

In later models you can see similar orange accents but this models is the OG. This is the granddaddy of 1970s funky Autavia, therefore the Orange Boy is a highly coveted Heuer model for some even a grail.

Source: you can read more about the Orange Boy on the site from Jeff Stein, onthedash.

Some history

In 1969 Heuer, Breitling and Hamilton were the first to bring the automatic chronograph to the market. These were the Chronomatic watches with the Caliber 11. Because of the rush to be first to market with Heuer’s partners this groundbreaking movement needed some improvements shortly after release and in 1970 the caliber 11i was released fine tuning the movement.

The caliber 12 movement improved further on the 11i and was introduced during the 1133 Monacos and 1163 Autavia ‘s lifecycle in 1971. The main improvements were strengthening of some key parts and a faster beat rate from 19800 VPH to 21600 VPH.

Condition:

• This stunning example of the Heuer 1163 Autavia Orange Boy has just been completely serviced by our watchmaker.
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• Case: the case is in excellent condition. The case has never been polished with superficial scratches throughout. These cases are notoriously difficult to polish, with the aforementioned lines being the hardest. This example, has perfect lines going through. This 1163T has  its sunburst finish on the top, brushed sides and thick bevels throughout. When you examine the case you will see that the brush marks are still visible on the top side of the case (also some scratches), the straight-line lugs are sharp and  thick, and the side profile is as it should be, grained on the front and the sides. It has a slight shine/polish look to it from what I think is many years of wearing. The bevels on the lugs are polished, The unique reference number is also visible between the lugs and the case comes with the original Heuer signed crown.Overall, the exceptional finishing of the Heuer 1163 Autavia Orange Boy is noteworthy, both for its design and execution. It is an really honest and exceptionally original example of a Heuer 1163 Autavia Orange Boy.
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• Dial and hands: similarly to the case, the reversed panda dial is in almost new condition, the matte black base of the dial has a really nice warm patina with a kind of brown color which you can only see in the sunlight. But most important all the orange accents all remain their vibrant brightness! The large two-tone dial is silvered with applied polished steel markers (no ridges), no indexes at 3,6,9, two subsidiary engine-turned  white dials for the 12-hour and 30-minute registers which have also been very well preserved and a rimmed date at 6h. The hour recorder has numbers at each of the 12 hours.. The orange non re-painted chronograph hand corresponds with the orange 5-minute/5-second markers on the 1/5th second outer black division. The domed glass is acrylic. The luminous material of the dial and hands is all consistent when using an UV flash light.
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• Movement: the watch carries the above-mentioned self-winding Caliber 12. It has a gilt finish, blued steel screws, 17 jewels, a monometallic balance with flat self-compensating balance spring and Incabloc shock absorbers. The movement measures 13.75 ligne, with a diameter of 31mm and a height of 7.7mm. It has a bi-directional micro rotor, beating at 21,600 A/h, with a power reserve of 42-hours. The movement is clean, and during the time of testing the watch was fully functional. The movement has just been serviced by our watchmaker
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• Bracelet: this watch comes on perforated rally strap with a original Heuer buckle.

Overall, the exceptional finishing of the Heuer 1163 Autavia Orange Boy is noteworthy, both for its design and execution. This steel Heuer 1163 Autavia Orange Boy is remarkably well preserved.

As with all of our pre-owned watches this watch comes with a full 12 month WRIST ICONS warranty that will be invoked from the day of purchase. Please check our website to have a look at the high resolution pictures on a macro level. You will see every detail at its best. Viewings can be arranged at our office by appointment.