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Re: A Few Thoughts -- Autavia Dial in Carrera Case

Thank you very much for the information you provided regarding this watch. Because of your interest and expertise in vintage Heuer chronographs, I thought I’d offer some additional context to this particular watch’s history.

I inherited this Heuer chronograph in 1998 from my father, who was a former editor of Road & Track magazine. My father received the watch as a gift around 1967 from Road & Track magazine owner-and-founder John R. Bond, who was a personal acquaintance of Jack Heuer.

This Heuer watch was routinely worn and utilized by my father during his myriad technical road tests of various foreign and domestic automobiles for Road & Track and Motor Trend magazines as well as at the numerous motorsport races, car rallies, and automotive land-speed timing events that he attended and participated in throughout the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s including: Le Mans, Daytona, Pikes Peak, Torrey Pines, Bonneville Speedway, Riverside International Raceway, etc. However, due to his deteriorating eyesight, he discontinued wearing the watch in the mid ‘70’s, and it has been carefully stored and maintained since that time.

Even though I was an early teenager when my father acquired this watch as a gift, it appears today in its general makeup as I remember it when he first received it. Consequently, when I discovered that the watch was an Autavia-Carrera hybrid, I was initially of the opinion that Heuer must have produced it for John Bond as a special-order purchase with a custom configuration.
Although my father was certainly the original and sole owner of the watch -- and I do not recall any circumstances or impetuses that would have prompted him to combine an Autavia dial/movement with a Carrera case -- now that several acknowledged vintage Heuer experts like yourself have expressed the opinion that this watch is almost certainly not a Heuer factory-produced variant, I’ve come to accept that that it is indeed an aftermarket conversion.

In any event, although the watch has sentimental value to me, due to its apparent rarity/value and the extreme nature of my profession and general lifestyle, I would not wear it or otherwise make use of it. Therefore, I am considering selling it.

I suppose the watch could be separated into its respective Autavia/Carrera elements and subsequently recombined with more customary vintage parts to produce one or more typically configured ‘60’s Era Heuer timepieces, but I don’t think I have the inclination or wherewithal to do this. Consequently, I would like to sell the watch “as is” to someone who would adorn it and/or preserve it in their personal collection. With this in mind, do you have any advice on how to best appraise the value of this watch and to subsequently advertise and sell it?
Thank you in advance for any additional information you might provide.

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