Heuer Camaro Valjoux 72 - Tropical

Named after the Chevrolet Camaro and inspired by American muscle cars, the Heuer Camaro holds an interesting place among the brands heralded lines.  Selected by Jack Heuer to celebrate the burgeoning muscle car scene, the Camaro is a formerly obscure member of the Heuer family that has been gaining a lot of attention and collector interest in the last few years.

Heuer launched the Camaro in 1968, just one year before the introduction of the first automatic-winding chronograph movement, the Chronomatic, that found its way 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 time period, leading to their relative rarity today.

In a sense, the Camaro is a blend of the early manually wound Carreras and the later Monacos, featuring the square cushion case and straight lugs, evocative of a Monaco, and the same manual calibers and similar dials to Carreras. Larger than a Carrera but without the heft of a Monaco, the Camaro is as comfortable as it is stylish.

The 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, which makes the watch quite comfortable on the wrist. The watch features a variety of case 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.

We’re big fans of the Camaro line in general, but this Camaro's chocolate "tropical" dial makes it very special. Chocolate dials began their lives as black, but because of a combination of paint formulation and environmental factors, have faded to a range of brown colors, from dark chocolate to light mocha. This dial is a lovely rich shade of brown, and transforms the watch into something much more special than a typical Camaro. Chocolate dials are very rarely seen and their origin is somewhat mysterious, so it’s a special day when we are able to offer one in this condition.

And paired with a brown strap... just stunning.