Heuer Camaro

Last year, we would have said the Camaro is the most under-appreciated vintage model in the lineup of chronographs from Heuer. Once overshadowed by the Carrera, the Monaco and the Autavia in the minds of collectors, the Camaro has come into it’s own recently, earning top billing in the eyes of many new and old Heuer enthusiasts, and it’s easy to see why. The Camaro is every bit as functional, beautiful and wonderfully retro as the rest of the Heuer lineup, evoking the 60s and 70s Motorsports legacy brilliantly. Heuer launched the Camaro in 1968, just one year before the introduction of the first automatic-winding movement, the Chronomatic, was fitted into the Monaco, the Autavia and the Carrera lines the following year. Last seen in the 1972 catalog, the Camaro had one of the shortest production runs of all the models from the 60s and 70s, leading to their relative rarity today. In a sense, the Camaro is a blend of the early manually-wound Carreras and the later Monacos, with the combination of a square cushion case and straight lugs, evocative of a Monaco, the same manual calibers and dials similar to Carreras. Larger than a Carrera but without the heft of a Monaco, the Camaro is as comfortable as it is stylish. The Camaro case measures 37mm, but like all square watches, the Camaro wears larger than the numbers might suggest. The manual movement lends itself to a thin case, making the watch quite comfortable on the wrist. The case features a variety of finishes, notably the signature Heuer sunburst finish on the top of the case, beveling down into a polished outer perimeter and the polished finish continuing onto the sides of the case and lugs. This particular example, a Reference 73345T, features a gold plated case popular in the early 1970s, as well as a silver sunburst dial with gold markers and outer Tachymeter track.  With gold hands, fluted pushers, and a signed crown, this Camaro makes for a great wrist presence, combining a signature Heuer chronograph look with just a little bit of bling! Unlike other examples on the market, the original gold plating on this one hasn't degraded significantly, and has plenty of life ahead of it, and it pairs well with a variety of straps, either of the Rallye-style perforated variety, or a dressier option as pictured here. While it's "big brother" (the Monaco) might have stolen the spotlight in the collector market, in our opinion you'd be hard pressed to find a legitimate vintage Motorsports chronograph with more style and charisma. Add in an exceeding rare dial and you have a watch that deserves a top spot in the very best vintage watch collections.