1970s Baylor "Camaro" Dato-Chronograph 'Landeron Cal. 187'

As an homage to nearby Baylor University, the Dallas-based jeweler Zales used the name Baylor as the in-house brand for many of their watches in the late 1960s and '70s.

If some of these Baylor watches look like Heuers, it's no coincidence. In fact, it's now a well-known article of Heuer's history that the brand contracted many of its cases and movements to other brands to be retailed under their own name, essentially white-labeling their own watches. This was done to boost revenue and profits for the Heuer brand, which struggled financially throughout the '60s and '70s because of its forward-thinking processes. As a result, numerous unique watches were created, which are mostly Heuer with dials influenced by the actual retailers.

Case in point, this beautiful Baylor "Camaro" chronograph, which employs a robust Landeron Cal. 187 movement within a familiarly shaped stainless steel case. When compared head-to-head with a Heuer Camaro ref. 7843, both watches possess the same cushion-style stainless steel 37mm case with a screw-down case back and pump pushers, the same chapter ring, and a "panda" dial with dual subsidiary registers, making it a fantastic "poor man's Heuer."