Lot 421

Heuer

Orvis Solunagraph

An extremely rare, very well preserved vintage wrist chronograph with tide indication and compressor case - reference 2446 second execution, produced for Orvis, an American company specialising in specialist outdoor equipment

The pusher on the left is for setting of the tide display, i.e. low and high tide can be tracked precisely, an important feature for fishing or hunting. Heuer had already been producing this complication since the 1950s with the Mareograph and for Abercrombie & Fitch under the name "Seafarer".
The present timepiece is the second version of the Solunagraph using the Autavia 2446C compressor case with wavy lines on the tide dial, controllable by the pusher at 9 o'clock.
Overall, the condition of this watch is excellent. The stainless steel case has a few signs of age-related wear, but is unpolished and is a very modern size, a condition that vintage watch collectors desire. The reference and serial numbers between the lugs are clearly legible and the original winding crown is correctly signed with the Heuer logo. The black bi-directional rotating tachy bezel with its scale from 41 to 120 units per hour is similarly beautiful preserved as the rest of the case. A real eye-catcher, however, is the perfect deep dark grey dial with its silver-coloured sub-dials and blue accents. The luminous material above the applied bar-shaped hour markers and the small dots at 3, 6 and 9 o'clock as well as the double dots at 12 are slightly darkened and fully intact. The luminous material in the white hands is slightly patinated and has taken on a refreshing pistachio colour.
All in all, we have here a charismatic sports chronograph from the early 1970s. As it was only rarely used for sporting events, production numbers were small, which explains why this timepiece hardly ever appears on the market.