Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Camy Sports Chronograph, 1970s
- Maker / attribution
- Camy (maker)
- Date
- 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 39 mm
- Stock no.
- Product 4333859209303
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 4333859209303)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Camy Sports Chronograph (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle (stock number Product 4333859209303), this is a wristwatch by Camy, dated 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 39 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — S.Song Watches
The ’70s was a golden age for exploration, diving, racing and outdoor activities in general, which explains why it was also a golden age for mechanical sports chronographs. With bring brands producing precision tool watches, there was a level below that of smaller brands that created sports watches for the average folk. This Camy you see here is exactly just that. Bearing resemblances to watches such as the Chronomaster Aviator Sea Diver and others, it a very typical sports watch from the era. With a large 39mm stainless steel case, rotatable aluminium bezel and a reverse panda dial with red accents, it is a fun, entry-level watch for those looking to get into vintage.
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Chronographs and split-seconds watches
A chronograph is a watch with an additional seconds hand that can be started, stopped and returned to zero independently of the timekeeping. Louis Moinet built an early example in 1816 and Nicolas Rieussec a recording 'chronographe' in 1821; Adolphe Nicole's heart-shaped reset cam (patented 1862) made the modern return-to-zero possible. Split-seconds (rattrapante) chronographs add a second hand that can be stopped for intermediate times; flyback chronographs restart instantly.
Chronographs were essential tools for doctors (pulsometer scales), artillery (telemeter), engineers and sport. In wristwatches, Valjoux, Venus, Lemania and later the automatic chronographs of 1969 (Zenith El Primero, the Chronomatic Calibre 11 group and Seiko 6139) are milestones.
What to look for
- Push-pieces on the case band or a single button in the crown (monopusher).
- Subsidiary registers for minutes and hours; tachymeter, telemeter or pulsometer scales.
- Column wheel versus cam control visible in the movement.
- Calibre markings of specialist makers (Valjoux, Lemania, Venus, Landeron).
Dating clues
- Pocket chronographs with heart cam reset: after 1862.
- Wrist chronographs: from c. 1910; two-button designs from the 1930s.
- Automatic chronographs: from 1969.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:Flyback chronographChronograph
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