Heuer Autavia 'White Orange Boy'

It's no secret that the team at Analog:Shift is partial to all things motorsports and racing, and there are few brands with as strong a motorsports connection as Heuer.

The 1960s and 1970s were boom times for sporty wristwatches with color and a little flash, and Heuer was no slouch in their offerings — take the Autavia offered here! Featuring a Calibre 11 automatic chronograph movement and the finely finished 42mm stainless cushion case that came to define Heuer's third-execution Autavia line, this particular example features a traditional dial layout but with rarely seen fluorescent orange highlights on the dial and handset. 

Known to collectors as the 'White Orange Boy', these colorful chronographs have become one of the most sought-after models of the era, and this example is about as nice as they come. However, this is no ordinary ‘Orange Boy’ — featuring a white dial, it’s much rarer than its black-dial cousins. 

This particular example from circa 1972 features a panda dial with applied black-line indices, orange 5-minute markers and lines on the 30-minute sundial, a matching luminous handset with orange accents, a date window at 6 o’clock, a 12-hour counter at 9 o’clock, a signed crown at 9 o’clock, fluted pushers, a bidirectional timing bezel, and the Calibre 11 automatic chronograph movement. 

Don’t miss this opportunity to own an ultra-rare variant (of an already-rare variant) of one of the coolest racing watches ever made!

In 1962, Jack Heuer inherited the company that his great-grandfather had founded in Saint-Imier nearly a century before.
He had already played a role in the design of some timepieces, starting with the Solunar in the late 1940s. But in 1962, the responsibility of running the company fell on his shoulders, and he found himself faced with the daunting task of safeguarding his ancestor’s legacy while at the same time forging his own. His chosen path? Moving into a line of technical instruments for use in sporting and transportation applications.
The Heuer name was not unknown in motor racing and aviation circles. Starting in 1911, when the sport of automobile racing was still in its infancy, the company produced dashboard clocks for cars, boats, and even airplanes. Jack Heuer, a longtime racing aficionado, saw an opportunity to revitalize — or at the very least, to reexamine — the company’s already-successful line of chronographs.
He had first tried his hand with the Autavia, which at the time of his succession was a stopwatch with a virtually illegible dial. In its place he launched the line of Autavia wrist chronographs, the first line of chronographs produced by Heuer to be named, rather than simply numbered. The Autavia was purpose-built for racers and pilots, and attracted the attention of Formula 1 racers and devotees such as Jochen Rindt and Steve McQueen.
In designing the Carrera in 1963, Jack Heuer created something that was entirely his, and is without question the chronograph that is most associated with the brand today. Heuer's obsession with legibility led to a dial design that was simpler to read than the Omega Speedmaster or the Rolex Daytona (released the same year as the Carrera). What resulted was a chronograph with plain baton markers that gave only the most necessary bits of information — clean, uncluttered, undeniably attractive.
The brand grew to become a powerhouse in chronographs in particular, and the list of famous designs from the 1960s and 1970s can’t be counted on two hands. However, one innovation from 1969 deserves particular mention: the famed Caliber 11. This caliber (and its successors) was the result of a multinational race to build the world’s first automatic chronograph movement. It would go on to power the famed Monaco — made famous by actor Steve McQueen — as well as automatic versions of the Autavia, Carrera and more.
Falling on hard times in the wake of the Quartz Crisis, Heuer was ultimately purchased by Technique Avant Garde (TAG), and subsequently by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey, who brought the brand into the modern age. Early TAG Heuer quartz divers from the 1980s have found newfound appreciation in collector’s circles, while the brand’s modern catalog is a mix of vintage-inspired reissues and unique collections, such as the Connected smartwatch line.

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Since our pieces are vintage or pre-owned, please expect wear & patina from usage and age. Please read each item description and examine all product images.

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We back each Analog:Shift vintage timepiece with a one-year mechanical warranty from the date of purchase.

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All of our watches include complementary insured shipping within the 50 states.

Most of our products are on hand and will ship directly from our headquarters in New York City. In some cases, watches will be shipped directly from one of our authorized partners.

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