Heuer autavia

Vintage treats go under the hammer at Fellows

Fellows sale of Vintage and Modern Wrist Watches this week saw a number of highly desirable rarities go under the hammer.

This rare Heuer Autavia ‘Great White’ was the first of the brand’s wrist chronographs to sport a model name and, in 1969, became an automatic chronograph with the announcement of the ‘Chronomatic’ collection.

Of the orange accented dials, the most common colour was the black, followed by the silver, with the rarest being the white dial version. Therefore, given the scarcity of white dialled examples, it is not surprising that this lot far surpassed its auction estimated of £1,000 – £1,500, to achieve a final hammer price of £3,000.

One of the most eye-catching lots in the sale was an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore ‘Bumblebee’ chronograph wrist watch. It featured a forged carbon case, a concept pioneered by Audemars Piguet and first featured in the Royal Oak Offshore Team Alinghi Edition.

The mottled pattern of the case is unique to each watch as the carbon deforms under heat and pressure in an unpredictable way. The result is a watch case that is very strong but significantly lighter than steel. This example achieved a hammer price of £10,800.

James Buttery

Editor of WatchPro, the WatchPro Hot 100 and The Luxury Report.

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