Heuer Autavia "Jo Siffert" Automatic Chronograph, Ref. 1163 T. Made in 1969. Fine, tonneau-shaped, self-winding, water-resistant, stainless steel wristwatch with round button chronograph, registers, tachometer and date.
Case: Two-body, polished and brushed, screwed-down case back, black bezel with tachometer graduation to 400 UPH, winding crown at 9.
Dial: White dial and black subdials with applied luminous steel baton indexes and blue markers, outer 1/5th seconds track, subsidiary dials for the 30-minute and 12-hour registers, aperture for the date at 6. Luminous steel baton hands.
Movement: Caliber 12, rhodium-plated, 17 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring.
Dial, case and movement signed
Circa 1969
Diameter: 42X 47mm Thickness: 15mm
More about Heuer:
In 1962 Heuer launched the Autavia chronograph, designed for automotive and aviation events. Produced for more than twenty years, the model went through a number of versions, including transitioning from a manual-wind movement to an automatic movement in 1969. This wide range of styles is part of what makes Heuer so appealing to watch collectors – there is an Autavia for everyone.
Jo "Seppi" Siffert was a Swiss racing driver who was the last genuine privateer to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix when he won the 1968 British Grand Prix for Rob Walker Racing Team with a Lotus. That same year Siffert won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours at Sebring in a Porsche 907. After winning the 1971 Austrian Grand Prix, he was killed at the 1st World Championship Victory race, on the same track as his first Formula 1 victory at Brands hatch. Jo Siffert had developed a friendship with Heuer CEO and racing enthusiast Jack Heuer who fitted him with an early Heuer automatic Autavia with a white dial and blue accent. Heuer was also sponsoring Siffert on the track. The Autavia Chrono-matic date with these specific colors was the first to be introduced to the public in March 1969.
This specific example is the rare Mark 2 dial with serrated hour markers, a larger Heuer logo than the Mark 1 and a flat V in "Autavia". It is a very rare version in excellent condition.
