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Lot Essay
It is easy to overlook the fact that the majority of mechanical watches are a series of components that originated outside of the factory doors of the name on their dial, coming instead from specialist suppliers focusing in those particular areas dotted all over Switzerland. Although there are many famous names for movements and cases, when it comes to dials there is one name that many collectors know and hold in the high regard: Singer.
While many suppliers would be content to produce items to specification as required, Singer built up relationships with brands such as Rolex, Omega, and Universal Genève, that it would produces designs and samples for these great watchmakers to review and refine as they saw fit. This represents an incredible honor and showcases the level of trust that the manufacturers had for Singer, as there is no other component that is more of the “face” of the watch, than the dial itself.
A small number of these configurations made their way into mass production and have become familiar to all collectors, but it is these pre-production, prototype dials that provide a fascinating and rare insight to how new ideas were tested and evolved over time. In recent years, some of these test dials have surfaced in the finest collections around the world. Most of them were made for Rolex and a fine selection are shown in Ultimate Rolex Daytona by Pucci Papaleo, but it is exceptionally difficult to find one bearing another maker's name.
The watch offered here is one of these truly rare examples produced by Singer for Heuer in the early 1970s, exhibiting the same brushed silvered finish that appears on the dial of references 1563 and 11630 in 1972, but with a number of unique features not seen anywhere else. The most prominent is attractive multi-colored outer scales of charcoal grey, blue, and red, for both pulsations (graduated for 15 heartbeats) and units per hour, with delicate serifs to the text and numbers exhibiting the fine work of the dial marker. When the dial is examined with a loupe it is clear that no luminous material has even been applied to the hour markers leaving a vacant step at the tip, showing its pre-production nature.
Given the nature of this dial, featuring a pulsations track or "pulsometer", one may speculate that Heuer was examining whether the Autavia could be marketed to doctors. It seemingly did not gain their interest and the present watch and dial remains the only known Autavia with a pulsometer in the world.
It is when we look closer that we notice something additionally unusual: in place of the usual 30 minute counter we see it is calibrated to record for 45 minutes. With no movement configured for 45 minute and 12 hour recording it would seem that a dial printing pad destined for another maker was used.
Representing an exceptionally rare opportunity to own an important piece of history of Heuer and its Autavia, an iconic model from one of the most storied sports chronograph manufacturers, it will no doubt take pride of place with an exceptionally astute collector.
While many suppliers would be content to produce items to specification as required, Singer built up relationships with brands such as Rolex, Omega, and Universal Genève, that it would produces designs and samples for these great watchmakers to review and refine as they saw fit. This represents an incredible honor and showcases the level of trust that the manufacturers had for Singer, as there is no other component that is more of the “face” of the watch, than the dial itself.
A small number of these configurations made their way into mass production and have become familiar to all collectors, but it is these pre-production, prototype dials that provide a fascinating and rare insight to how new ideas were tested and evolved over time. In recent years, some of these test dials have surfaced in the finest collections around the world. Most of them were made for Rolex and a fine selection are shown in Ultimate Rolex Daytona by Pucci Papaleo, but it is exceptionally difficult to find one bearing another maker's name.
The watch offered here is one of these truly rare examples produced by Singer for Heuer in the early 1970s, exhibiting the same brushed silvered finish that appears on the dial of references 1563 and 11630 in 1972, but with a number of unique features not seen anywhere else. The most prominent is attractive multi-colored outer scales of charcoal grey, blue, and red, for both pulsations (graduated for 15 heartbeats) and units per hour, with delicate serifs to the text and numbers exhibiting the fine work of the dial marker. When the dial is examined with a loupe it is clear that no luminous material has even been applied to the hour markers leaving a vacant step at the tip, showing its pre-production nature.
Given the nature of this dial, featuring a pulsations track or "pulsometer", one may speculate that Heuer was examining whether the Autavia could be marketed to doctors. It seemingly did not gain their interest and the present watch and dial remains the only known Autavia with a pulsometer in the world.
It is when we look closer that we notice something additionally unusual: in place of the usual 30 minute counter we see it is calibrated to record for 45 minutes. With no movement configured for 45 minute and 12 hour recording it would seem that a dial printing pad destined for another maker was used.
Representing an exceptionally rare opportunity to own an important piece of history of Heuer and its Autavia, an iconic model from one of the most storied sports chronograph manufacturers, it will no doubt take pride of place with an exceptionally astute collector.