Community Stories

Are chronographs worth it for you?

Vinz Clortho
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Waltesefalcon Waltesefalcon
I can't seem to get that excited about chronographs. About the only one I find interests me is the Longines 13zn.
That Longines 13zn is definitely a nice vintage chrono. Reminds me of my Breitling Premier which has that vintage inspired dial.

For years because for most outdoor activities, would grab my Casio Rangeman. Thing is damn near bulletproof and has all the functionality needed and more (barometer, compass, temp, timer, altitude, chrono, auto-sync)

It wasn't until I got my Japanese Racing Dial Speedie when things changed for mechanical chronographs. Saw a picture of it when it was first released 20 years ago in Japan and said "that's one I would pay money for" and when I got the opportunity to actually own it, jumped at it.

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river rat
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These two were a pain
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Three watchmakers in the USA worked on it had problems after the work had to send it to a watchmaker in Germany who works on vintage Hanhart and has the parts to get it right 3-4 years before ir was working right.
Then this one the pinion was loose on the sweep hand
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So sent it to RGM since they do Sinn repairs and had them service it, got it back in a week the sweep hand was lose again think they glued it. -They wanted to replace it with a none- bund Sinn hand that would ruin it so sent it to Zaf classicwatch when he did watch repair they tighten the pinion never had a problem since. When the pinion was loose, and you reset it, it would never center at the 12 you can have a watchmaker center the hand reset it back to off center.
These below no problem after a service. But I lived in the bay area at the time good watchmakers around there.
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It is harder to find watchmakers now adays that work on these why I ship them now when I have to. But when you get them back and they work like they should there well worth it.
 
josiahg52
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I like the Speedmaster, but I'm over the 30 minute register. Lemania 5100, Sinn SZ01, or Damasko C51 for me.
 
Dsloan
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mseamaster mseamaster
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 submit to yiu my Rotocall. I think it's gorgeous and highly functional.

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Dan S
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It sounds like you know your own preferences, so why does it matter what other members prefer? Follow your own path.
 
Scarecrow Boat
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mseamaster mseamaster
Btw since we are on this topic, I don't like digital watches and therefore digital chronographs. […] 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.
You do you..

I’ll choose this 👍
IMG_1169.jpeg
 
mseamaster
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Dan S Dan S
It sounds like you know your own preferences, so why does it matter what other members prefer? Follow your own path.
I am still discovering the path. Trying things and changing my opinion as I go. I haven't tried a digital watch. So I am not entirely sure I won't like it if I do. But I just don't feel like buying any at the moment for the reasons below.
Scarecrow Boat Scarecrow Boat
You do you..

I’ll choose this 👍
IMG_1169.jpeg
Dsloan Dsloan
I submit to yiu my Rotocall. I think it's gorgeous and highly functional.

PXL_20240820_195250726.jpg
I will admit the cases on both of those are gorgeous. They are functional too. But how serviceable are they? Would it be possible to replace the display without buying a new watch?

Tbh I don't even know if an LCD would go bad by itself. I have some ancient LCD calculators which do fine and then some modern ones which suck. Googling online it says 70000 hours. No idea if that is true. Assuming it is - Can you turn the display off when not checking the time? If possible, it's practically immortal. But annoying since you can't check the time without pressing a button.

Otherwise if we count say 10 hours at a time, it's.. around 7000 days which is a lot. Like almost 20 years. But I think an analog quartz can easily last more without any servicing or anything going bad at all. So 70000 hours is still not enough if you want to have children and give them your collection one day.

But is this 70000 even true anyway? And could you just slap a generic display(like you could do with the glass)? Or does it has to be the same? And would people consider the watch genuine if the display has been replaced?
 
Pastorbottle
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Digital watches don't do it for me either!
I only have the one purely digital watch, Dad's old Seiko Sports 100, which I only wear one day a year...Dad's birthday!
I do have some ana-digi (anal-digi sounds most unpleasant to me) watches but that's a different thing.
As for setting the date on watches, I just don't bother and just ignore it!
 
pdxleaf
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Pastorbottle Pastorbottle
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!

Hah! I just did that. I normally wear a speedy but started wearing a new planet ocean as a daily. When I take the dog for a walk, I start the chrono to make sure he's getting a long enough walk. I went to push the start pusher on the planet ocean and was confused momentarily that it wasn't there.

I opened this thread thinking I'd see a lot of time only watches. Instead, it's a love fest for chronos with a lot of beautiful pictures.

How do you argue with beauty?


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pdxleaf
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Vinz Clortho 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.

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Is that Portage glacier outside Anchorage?
 
ghce
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mseamaster 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.
I have a few quartz analog chronographs from the usual suspects, Seiko ones are by far the most accurate of all brands I own.
Edited:
 
Pastorbottle
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pdxleaf pdxleaf
Hah! I just did that. I normally wear a speedy but started wearing a new planet ocean as a daily. When I take the dog for a walk, I start the chrono to make sure he's getting a long enough walk. I went to push the start pusher on the planet ocean and was confused momentarily that it wasn't there.

I opened this thread thinking I'd see a lot of time only watches. Instead, it's a love fest for chronos with a lot of beautiful pictures.

How do you argue with beauty?


1000016254.jpg 1496760-c511e62904e18e7dff615f244555d7f0.jpg 20240708_115921.jpg
Your dog approves of you wearing chronos too!
 
ErichPryde
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Dsloan Dsloan
I submit to yiu my Rotocall. I think it's gorgeous and highly functional.

PXL_20240820_195250726.jpg

Sally Ride wore one EVA--- so it is another one of those watches that has been in space, and also in space!
 
BAJJ
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6,982
I love a nice chrono , I have a few, sold one, probably going to buy another, I don’t need to use that often but when I do it is most satisfying to interact with these little mechanical marvels. And, they look great 😊
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STANDY
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Work a job where it’s worked out in 15 minute increments. Gate to gate (of a wharf) so it’s perfect to use a chronograph like a speedy. So many times I have been able to work out how long as I usually don’t reset the hands to when I’m billing. Four hours passed, it’s easy to forget when you started.
Chronographs still get used by some of us other than timing eggs 🥚
 
noless
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654
I also use one of my chronographs daily to time my espresso shots, i like the tactile feel so i know its started, vs capacitive buttons on my scales or my phone.

I also regularly find myself reaching for the chronograph pusher to time tasks even on days when I am not wearing a chronograph.

That said I am currently in watchmaking school so the servicing cost is not quite something i think about the same way.

but remember, these are mechanical watches, its perhaps better to choose with your heart instead of your head... because objectively the casio fw91 already does all the things and for maybe $15 or so, and yet its rarely the one we find ourselves lusting after (though im sure many of us own one anyway)
 
YY77
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I have 6 chrono's, but I only have to worry with 5 of them regarding cost of service as 1 has 50 years service free of charge.
 
hen
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I think I would not use a chronograph much, I dont really need one. (Yea-yea I know we dont really need watches at all with our mobile phones and all. 😉) But for the right (low) price I would pick up a digital Omega or a Mk40.....or a Omega Dynamic chronograph.......or an old Seamaster.
Damn it I guess I caught the bug too.
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Dsloan
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ErichPryde ErichPryde
Sally Ride wore one EVA--- so it is another one of those watches that has been in space, and also in space!
That alone is a cool enough reason for me to own one.

Sally-Ride.jpg astronaut-sally-ride-american-physicist-HRF7MD.jpg


Sigh, I guess I need to track down the blue bezel one now...

To the OP's point about servicing: my plan has just been to pick up enough of these to last me until I'm cold in the ground.

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