Are chronographs worth it for you?

[mseamaster]

After reading a lot and getting to know how difficult it is to service a chronograph.. it got me wondering. Is it really worth it? Right now, I have mostly vintage Seikos. But the only chronograph I have is a 6139-6001 and.. it's just not doing it for me with just a single register for the minutes. It doesn't click with me.

And I can't say if I am actually going to use the feature at all.

For reference I like day/date, but I don't like just date. It's like ruining the symmetry for nothing.
But when I have date/day, I will check it if I am out and need to figure some things. And I enjoy that I never have to set the day, just the date once a month.(provided I don't constantly swap Seikos anyway 😁)

In terms of timing, I would often use a timer or an alarm on my phone, but I never just start measuring time like a chronograph would.

It's more like I need to remind myself to do something in X minutes.

At this point I am thinking of getting a cheap quartz chronograph with an alarm to try both and figure out my usage pattern.

Has anyone ever felt that the chronograph feature is useless to themselves?

Wouldn't you rather remind yourself to rest after an hour of work instead of measuring how much something toke in time?

 

[Dsloan]

How are you managing through life without the ability to count up and down at the same time?



I use my watches to time stuff obsessively. Neurotically. All day.

 

[NGO1]

On the other side of @Dsloan i have never activated any of my chrono for over a decade.

Can’t even read some of them. Still want them on the wrist.

 

[Donn Chambers]

I just like the looks of chronos (especially the Speedmaster Pro) and I also having something to fiddle with if I am bored —why I’ve never bonded with any time-only watch but instead like divers (with a rotating bezel) and a chrono.

And I do use the chrono function regularly — to time my espresso shots in the morning and to time my steaks on the grill to know when to turn.

But one has to accept the extra cost to repair/service, which is why I am down to only one mechanical chrono now. And why I will likely only have one from now on.

 

[theluckyluke]

I never time stuff. I use my phone if I want to, but that’s limited to timing pasta cook time, and for this, I would rather need a big fat countdown alarm than a chrono!

Second reason is that I am too scared that the hand wouldn’t reset exactly on 0 🤣

But they look so good. Let’s be honest, how many times do you look at your watch during the day without reading the time anyway? Does this it not come down to the look and feel at the end?

 

[Scarecrow Boat]

I love chronographs. I time unimportant things frequently. Mostly because I love the tactile feel of engaging the chrono 👍







With chronographs, you get fun dial options like Panda’s 🐼

 

[BlackTalon]

I use them sometimes when cooking, to track time during my son's soccer games, to track time of watering some garden boxes and trees, etc. Useful at the track too, but I haven't been to one in about 4 years.

 

[Pastorbottle]

I use chrono functions all the time, in the kitchen for cook times, in the workplace to time how long it take to do various jobs and for time critical functions.
I realise there are other means of doing these tasks but it's handy having it just there on my wrist.

 

[mseamaster]

How do you all remember to look at the chronograph though? Without an alarm you would have to look constantly, say when you're baking or grilling.

Btw this might be weird, but I don't usually wear a watch at home. I just feel too relaxed and would bump/hit it constantly 😁. And also I wouldn't want to wash my hands with it. I am considering picking a sacrificial watch though and waterproofing it, so it can take hands washing. And cooking - I will surely slap the steak or something else on the watch and smear it sauce 😁 Not on purpose of course. Somehow it's bound to happen.

Also at home I have a big quartz wall clock, sweeping hands(I don't like hearing the ticks). It's butter smooth, probably similar to a Spring Drive. And various digital clocks too. Many appliances have them. So I am used to just look at the clocks.

Additionaly if I am using my phone or computer, the screen would also have the time.

But outside it's different - I don't have day/date on my phone toolbar, nor seconds. Plus I can check the time if I am doing something without having to stop which is also cool. So watches are super practical for me outside of home.

Not to mention it looks good too and I enjoy looking at my watches as the sun shines on them. So.. yeah chronographs look good to me too, but for now I don't get the appeal of just having minutes like with my Pogue.

Thinking about it, my Seiko Monster could probably be used and take the abuse.. but it's too bulky to use at home. If it's constantly on my wrist, I wouldn't want a heavy steel bracelet.

Edited: Aug 27, 2024

 

[Scarecrow Boat]

mseamaster

How do you all remember to look at the chronograph though?

Are you really asking a watch forum how we remember to look at our watches? 😵‍💫

🤨

 

[Dsloan]

mseamaster

Without an alarm you would have to look constantly, say when you're baking or grilling.
.

You're saying that like it's a ... bad thing?

 

[mseamaster]

Scarecrow Boat

Are you really asking a watch forum how we remember to look at our watches? 😵‍💫

🤨

So you focus all day looking at the watch on your wrist as opposed to checking out the different watches in your collection? Sounds like you're really monogamous in watch terms. I could never be a one watch guy. Even for the day

😁

 

[Pastorbottle]

Like a lot of things something is only useful if you are in the habit of using it and remember to use it.
It's a mind set thing.
Another example of this mind set is that I carry a Victorianox Swisstool pocket knife most of the time (Have done so for @ 25 - 30yrs) it has many functions including pliers.

I reach for it, when I need to do a task without really thinking about it. Indeed I feel naked without it because it's just there when and where I need it.
There are better dedicated tools for many jobs and I use them, and mostly they are my go to when doing the job properly, but it is so handy to have this with me for minor quick inconsequential tasks.

When I'm wearing one of my non chronograph watches, it's surprising how often I automatically go to use the chrono function that's not there!

 

[Dsloan]

😂 this thread sounds like "I love collecting watches, but they sure are a chore to use, amiright?"

FWIW, I'm starting to really love highly legible chronographs for timing anything under an hour.

For example:

 

[sheepdoll]

With about 30 or 40 chronos or bits and pieces I would say they are worth it.

Date and day date was something I never really warmed to. I got a 1345 day date omega quartz, and found I really like it. A lot of my old seamaster and such were date. Recently got a day/date quickset to rebuild. The quickset seems interesting.

In my initial servicing 30 some years ago. I found the date to cause all sorts of issues. Mostly I did not have the net and the setup guides. Those watches should now clean up nicely.

I chose to focus on chronos, as it was evident in the 1990s that two and three handers were probably going to remain flat in value.

Downside is I mostly got Landeron instead of Lemania, Venus and Valjoux. Like everything else you get what you pay for.

 

[Vinz Clortho]

For years, my daily driver was my Bond SMP. Started acquiring chrono along the way and found them more and more useful if I'm outside doing things and don't have my phone with me.

It's having the instant feedback on my wrist which over time (no put intended) find becomes more useful than having to pull out my phone.

If I'm doing water activities, will grab my diver. When traveling, I'm torn between my Great White GMT and Speedmaster because of the different functionality.

Try going a day six or eight hours without your phone and see how many times you will use the chrono function on your watch.

 

[Waltesefalcon]

I can't seem to get that excited about chronographs. About the only one I find interests me is the Longines 13zn.

 

[Larry S]

I LOVE chronographs and timing stuff. I have a Longines that is over 100 years old, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s … call me a glutten for punishment.

 

[dsio]

NGO1

On the other side of @Dsloan i have never activated any of my chrono for over a decade.

Can’t even read some of them. Still want them on the wrist.

That one definitely deserves some wrist time, one of my favourite watches of all time.

I think one of the main reason I love chronographs so much is I change up watches often and most chronographs, particularly Speedmasters and Daytonas have no date so they can be set quickly. The reason I only wore my Batman GMT twice before selling it was that it was a pain in the arse to set before wearing in the morning if you wanted to quickly switch to it.

But then there's the Zenith A386 which is one of my favourites, yet I don't actually wear it that often also because it has a date on it that takes too long to set.

 

[mseamaster]

Hm, setting the date isn't so annoying on KS/GS. The quickset is super easy and fast. That being said if you have an auto one(56/61), you could just leave it in a winder.

I wonder what's everyone's opinion on Quartz chronographs? How would you compare Seiko vs Omega? And would the watch being quartz eliminate the high complexity for servicing it despite being a chronograph?

Btw since we are on this topic, I don't like digital watches and therefore digital chronographs. Just don't seem serviceable to me, no dial, just a screen that can go bad at any time. If it's a a quartz analog, you can take parts from a similar movement. But there's just no feeling at all if it just an LCD.

And if it's digital, I might as well just get a smartwatch anyway.. why would I lose the beautiful dial and case for just two rows of digits.

I don't have any digital watches anyway, but if I had to pick it would be a G-Shock just for durability sake.