The Autavia was the timepiece of choice for many famous Grand Prix drivers of the 1960s and 70s. Amongst them was Jo Siffert, the Swiss double Formula 1 Grand Prix champion who used to wear an Autavia 1163 with tachymeter scale, white dial with black registers, date and blue seconds chronograph hand and markers, explaining this lot’s nickname.

Whilst the 1st execution dials bore the “Chronomatic” script above Heuer, the 2nd execution dials dropped this and reverted back to the more explanatory, “Automatic Chronograph” and “Autavia” in place of “Chronomatic”. The grooved indexes remained the same, but this time the Heuer shield was made smaller and in some instances, the Autavia text included a “Flat V”, as illustrated in the present example. These 2nd execution dials remain much rarer than the later executions.

This amazing “Siffert” sat unsold in the store room of an Italian dealer until it closed for business several years ago. It retains the original red sticker, which signifies this watch was unworn; the crisp case exhibits sunburst finish and sharp edges. The date-stamped bracelet, along with the swing tag, guarantee red Heuer booklet and numbered outer card, make this a fantastic, possibly unique new old stock addition to any collection.