There were qualities about the new Autavia that aroused my interest from the very beginning and kept bringing me back to it – the unusual process that went into its development, the earnest approach to honoring a classic design and doing so thoughtfully, and the use of one of the great new affordable in-house chronograph calibers out there, to name just a small part.
As I set out wearing this Autavia, it occurred to me that I’d written about it—as well as its equally interesting genesis—three times already, for different publications and in different contexts. Generally speaking, I am really going to serially editorialize just the watches that I’d consider buying myself. That in mind, I can’t think of a better way to kick off my new role here than sharing my thoughts on the new Autavia after spending some serious quality time with it.
The release of the tribute replica watch we have here coincides with the 55th anniversary of the first Heuer Autavia wristwatch, released in 1962. The oh-so-popular and collectible fake watch was designed, as its name suggests, with both aviators and motorists in mind that the name is a contraction of “Auto” and “Avia.” The name Autavia appeared much earlier than 1962, however – but on dashboard clocks rather than wristwatches. These made their first appearances in 1933 and they could be fitted either into a plane’s cockpit or a car’s dash. 
Vintage Autavias are among the most sought-after the fake Heuers, with prices soaring in recent years. Generally speaking, they wear like modern watches because of their chunkier size. As a point of reference, the Tag Heuer Autavia Ref. 2446 Mark 3 was a 39 mm timepiece, just a hair smaller than a modern Rolex Daytona. And while the Monaco is the most stylishly avant garde, coming in a square case made iconic by Steve McQueen, and the Carrera is the prototypical round racing watch that is still the replica TAG Heuer’s number one bestseller, the Autavia precedes them both and is finally getting the recognition it has deserved all along.
Following last year’s successful revival of the Monza, TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver turned his sights to another watch that was ripe for revival. But he did so with an unexpected twist that was itself aimed at attracting the replica watch before its design had even been decided.
I have a friend who helped the replica TAG Heuer arrange the bracket in such a way that none of the heavyweight favorites would knock each other out in the early rounds, making for a more compelling competition the whole way through. The differences were all in the details, and the Autavia Cup itself helped motivate interest in the history of this important model. 
There are the Heuer Autavias selling at really cheap price. That is a staggering amount for a watch that was long overshadowed and, until this year, not even in the current production lineup. It’s really difficult to overstate just how meteoric the rise of the Autavia has been in the vintage market.