From the 1950s until the 1970s Heuer produced a very interesting and innovative chronograph that featured a subsidiary tidal register used by sailors, fishermen and hunters. The theory behind the model was based on sailors’ and fishermen’s need to know low and high tides or hunters who wanted to know the favorable time of the day to hunt (major and minor feeding periods). Originally made for the outdoor gear retailer Abercombie & Fitch under the name Seafarer, Heuer also made a version under its own brand called the Mareographe (its name comes from the conjunction of Marée which means tide in French and Graph which means writing in Greek).

Orvis, a family-owned retail and mail-order business specializing in high-end fly fishing, hunting and sporting goods founded in the United States in 1856 also commissioned a similar tidal indication chronograph from Heuer under the name Solunagraph.

Housed in the immediately recognizable 40mm Autavia reference 2446 case, the Solunagraph houses a Valjoux caliber 72.

Presented today in attractive overall condition, the present lot, from the first series, features a superb metallic graphite grey dial, “ghost” bezel and is accompanied by its original instruction manual. An extremely rare timepiece it would be a wonderful addition the any collection of rare complicated chronographs.