Skip to content

Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Roamer Stingray Chronograph, c. 1967

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Roamer (maker)
Date
c. 1967
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Wristwatch
Stock no.
Product 1046805633
Credit line
Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (product 1046805633)
Catalogue title (original)
Roamer Stingray Chronograph (English)

View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number Product 1046805633), this is a wristwatch by Roamer, dated c. 1967. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. 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 — Analog/Shift

A large and dramatic vintage chronograph by Roamer! Powered by the ever-trustworthy Valjoux 7734 manual winding movement, this over-sized chronograph dates to around 1967, but doesn't show it! Featuring a 30 minute counter, subsidiary seconds register, and date function at 6:00, this piece also has a superb patina and coloration to the dial, hands, and markers, making it a killer statement piece. The case shape on this thing is similarly awesome - a very bold departure from the "run of the mill" chronographs and divers of the late 60s. If you're looking for something a little different with great vintage looks in a large, affordable package, this is your watch!

Historical context

Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)

Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.

The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking

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

Related records