TAG Heuer Autavia 73 663

Autavia 'Shauntavia', Reference 73663 | A stainless steel chronograph wristwatch made for the Kenyan Air Force | Circa 1974 Tag Heuer

Dial: black Calibre: cal. Valjoux 7736 manual winding, 17 jewels Case: stainless steel, screw-down case back with military number KAF-152 Case number: 201'644 Closure: Heuer calf leather strap and stainless steel buckle Size: 43 mm diameter Signed: case, dial and movement Box: no Papers: no Accessories: none Please note the leather strap derived from endangered species is for display purposes only and is not sold with the watch. The watch will be shipped with a Sotheby’s branded calf leather strap.Reference 73663 was introduced in the early 1970s, with a three-register dial layout as the originals from the 1960s. The dials were in 3 versions, a panda, reverse panda and all black. This particular 73663 Shauntavia has the reverse panda lay out. Interestingly, all Autavia with numerals instead of applied indexes have a military past. Two were adopted by the German army (73633 BUNDESWEHR). The two others by Kenya's Air Force (KAF), either under reference 741603, which is a two-register chronograph, with a date at 6 o'clock and red accents on the hands and dial, or the present reference 73663, a three register manual wound Autavia with the beloved orange accents reminiscent of the famous Orange Boy. These watches are nicknamed “ Shauntavia ” named after the collector Shaun Wainstein who first published an article about these watches on the Heuer forum called "onthedash".