Designer watches are in hot demand and a motor sports connection could see one vintage example race to £8,000.
This 1970 Heuer Autavia Chronograph watch was awarded to privateer rally driver Doug Harris for finishing the 16,000-mile London to Mexico World Cup Rally in 1970.
He won Class 1 of the race in his Ford Escort 1300GT, the car with the smallest engine in the event. The overall event was won by Hannu Mikkola and Gunnar Palm, also driving a Ford Escort.
The watch is engraved, ‘World Cup Rally 1970. Mr D Harris. Congratulations from Ford Britain’. It is set for auction in the inaugural Hansons Royal Tunbridge Wells Auction on May 23 with a guide price of £6,000-£8,000.
It comes to auction from the Harris family and provenance includes a photo of Doug Harris’s car, no 45, which was taken on a 12-month promotional tour of the UK by the Ford Motor Co.
The motor rally started at Wembley Stadium in London on 19 April 1970 and finished in Mexico City on 27 May 1970, covering approximately 16,000 miles (25,700 km) through Europe and South America.
Royal Tunbridge Wells Auction | Entries Invited
To enquire about consigning items into the May 23 Hansons Royal Tunbridge Wells Auction, or to book a free valuation, please email Robin Fletcher: [email protected]
