THE ESSENTIALS

MAKE: HEUER
MODEL: 1163MH
YEAR: 1972
BOX/PAPERS: NO/NO
CASE DIAMETER: 42.5mm
CASE MATERIAL: STAINLESS STEEL
BRACELET MATERIAL: LEATHER
MOVEMENT: AUTOMATIC

Heuer introduced the Autavia in 1962 with reference 2446 and, over the next two decades, released more than 90 different variants of their flagship sports chronograph. The earliest Autavias featured a screw-back round case with a three-register dial. Compressor cases followed shortly thereafter.

A major shift came in 1969, when Heuer—along with Breitling, Hamilton-Buren, and Dubois Dépraz—developed the Calibre 11, one of the world’s first automatic chronograph movements.

The present example, Ref. 1163, was released in 1971. Five iterations of this watch were produced, with this being the last. The MKV is easily identified by its polished baton markers; the other four MKs had ridged baton markers. The watch is in superb condition: all the tritium plots are intact, there is some light degradation on the outer edges of the white subdials, and the case remains super sharp, still showing the correct brushing.

The movement has just been serviced and is running beautifully at +4 s/d, 270 amplitude, with a 0.1 ms beat error. A fantastic example of a vintage Heuer classic—one that has received the attention it truly deserves.