Hi all,

The owner of a vintage watch shop just offered me this at $4,500. I'm out of my depth here, any thoughts on why so cheap? I couldn't get great photos

 

The Viceroy (1163). Pretty common example. Looks to be relatively nice.
$4500 is still not that cheap imho. Last check, I thought they brought $2.5 to $3K for a nice example.

 

Is this a Viceroy? Is the bracelet branded Heuer?

I wouldn't say it's cheap at $4,500 USD, pretty standard for the market prices even on Chrono. If you search the forums and are patient, you can probably find a decent example of the viceroy at 3,000 USD

Edit: Bezel and dial look a little beat up, maybe the dial is just the reflection of the light from the scratches on the glass.

 

Nice article about the Heuer Autavia Viceroy:
http://www.onthedash.com/docs/CompareViceroys.shtml
For the homework .

 

That's not particularly cheap IMO. $3k is about right for a good one without bracelet.

That doesn't look like the correct bracelet, but if it's authentic Heuer, it has some value

 

Heuer Autavia which is the least expensive cushion case Autavia. You can definately find them around pretty regularly. Pictures aren't very good but crown seems off as looks a little large but really hard to tell. Pushers should be fluted and I can't tell if they are in pictures. Case appears to have its original brushing. Bracelet is wrong as it would have had a GF single beads of rice. Can't even really judge the condition of the dial from the pictures.

Price is definately high on it - Autavia cushion case prices seem to be soft right now. Hodinkee listed one at 4K today (head only) as an example.

 

Thanks everyone! I'll pass. For some reason I thought these were more sought after

 

I think it’s very attractive, even with the bezel wear- but I would account for than in the value. I would do a little research on street values, and go back and give them an educated offer that’s in your favor- they don’t have to take it or can counter. They want to move inventory- you are the money standing in front of them.

 

Sought-after and price aren't exactly the same thing. They are nice watches, though a bit thick.

 

The crown and pushers are incorrect, and the bracelet is also not the original for this model.

Cheap? He's asking twice what it's worth!

 

The Heuer market is much softer now than it was 2-3 years ago. Those Viceroys are nice but a little too tall for my wrist. If you want one there have been quite a few on eBay recently...conditions and prices vary but all much cheaper than the one you’re looking at

 

It's worth mentioning that the Heuer market has actually been quite solid for the past two years for many of the desirable models. The Viceroys are the most plentiful chronographs that were produced by Heuer and due to that fact, their value has always been capped relative to the other cushion-cased 1970's Autavias. When I started buying Heuers 6-7 years ago, Viceroys were ~$1.5-2K. They've settled into ~$3K for decent examples and $4-4,500 for very nice examples.

Even in the swells of the "Great Heuer Crash of 2018" (note: I use that highly facetiously), I sold the original owner Viceroy below for $5K within hours of listing it (link: http://chronocentric.com/forums/chronotrader/index.cgi?md=read;id=98023;). I likely could have sold it for more, but I tend to live by the "fast nickels over dimes" mantra when selling on the forums to other collectors. As always, condition reigns supreme.

 

Cool, thanks! I'll take a closer look at this model, and maybe pick one up. I never consider it before I stumbled upon this one in the shop. That NOS example is superb

 

They are everywhere, at all price points and quality. Do lots of research on what the correct hands, bezel, crown and pushers look like before you buy!

 

Also, two versions of the case!

 

Yes, but even if swapped the Schmitz or Piquerez cases are about the same value-wise. I meant the incorrectly replaced parts on the example above - don't want those!

 

Agree, was just trying to say lots of variables to look for. Also think this one is probably a later 11063 but pictures suck.