First Generation Heuer Autavia Sells For Over $57,000 This Weekend, Somehow Disappoints Onlookers – Why?

If you're a Heuer fan or a serious chronograph collector, this weekend marked much more than just the second round of Wimbledon, Euro Cup quarterfinals, the NBA free-agency shuffle (Durant to the Warriors? Seriously? Someone described that this weekend to me as if "Rolex had signed the 2499 – it's just overkill"), the resignation of Chris Evans, and the Fourth of July – it was also the Watches of Knightsbridge summer sale! Right, now that's not such a big deal in and of itself, but one watch the boys in London had for sale sure garnered a lot of attention – a truly lovely first generation Heuer Autavia. You know, the one with the oversized registers and luminous dauphine hands. These bad boys are rare, and the first-generation, three-register guys are arguably the Heuers du jour – the consensus among many was that we could see a six figure Autavia this weekend.

And then we didn't. Actually, we barely got halfway there. After the bidding was done, this first-generation Autavia brought down approximately $57,800. Now a year ago, this would've been amazing! They were selling in the 30's then. This weekend, however, according to most, this was a bargain if you were a prospective buyer – or a disappointment, if you were a first series owner or, naturally, the seller.

Now I'm not exactly sure why this Autavia was expected to bring $100,000+ by so many – I am unaware of a first generation selling publicly for anywhere near this price. But what I will say is this watch has a lot going for it, just in terms of looks. The case is full and thick, the lume even and rich, and the bezel just lovely. This is a gorgeous Heuer, no doubt. Still, the Heuer collecting world (also known as the boys over at OnTheDash) described the $57,800 as a bit of a letdown.

In the discussion surrounding this mega-Autavia, the gang listed a few different reasons why the $57,800 selling price might have stayed just in the obscene levels and away from the offensive – Jeff Stein describes it as a "perfect storm" that dictated the weak result. Here are a few of the reasons why this watch may not have reached its full potential (or, did it?):

1. The WOK sale consisted of over 600 watches – most of them common, or what a seasoned auction goer would describe as "filler." Not the best for keeping one's attention.

2. WOK sales are something of a local auction – but with the UK in the state that it is post-Brexit, the locals simply didn't show.

3. It's July, and not only that, it was the Fourth of July holiday weekend in the U.S. – not exactly a period of time where you want to be stuck inside on the telephone, or on a laptop, while your friends and family are outside having fun.

Now the final thing to note is that the fluctuation in strength of the British pound also caused this watch to sell for a much friendlier price in the U.S. than it would've a few weeks ago. The sale took place in pounds, and the hammer price was £43,500. Today, that's around $58,000, but 10 days ago, an astute British collector points out, it would've been more than $65,000.

In all, this very special watch is going to a new home, and at what many are deeming to be a very friendly price. Hard to imagine, especially considering this example at the Haslinger sale brought barely $7,000, but these are the times in which we live. If you want to join the discussion about this amazing Heuer, check it out here, and if you want to see more beautiful pictures like the ones you've seen in this story, check out Bexsonn's article here.