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Affordable Men's Style

Steal the Style – Mougin & Piquard Chronograph

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Mougin & Piquard™ Chrono Black Dial | Silver Dial – $695.00

Boy that’s a good looking wa… SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS?!???!  Frank.  You wicked son of a gun you.  The Mougin & Piquard brand is sort of a collaboration.  J. Crew has Tourneau making these things, so they’re Swiss made, but they’re also quartz.  Which is to be expected since they’re chronographs, and automatic chronos live in the bitter territory known as Fourfiguresistan.

But plenty will think they look good.  Smooth, rounded out hour numbers towards the outside, classically placed chrono dials on the inside, and two really well done color combinations.  There just aren’t a ton of chronos out there that are this busy, but subtle at the same time.  But there are a few.  Affordable options below, plus your chance to say how much you’d pay for one of these things…
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Kenneth Cole New York White Dial – $112.50| Black Dial – $76.94 ($150)
Black dial will obviously need a new strap.

Prices seem to fluctuate on these, with the floor being in the low $70s.  List is $150, but they’re always on sale via Amazon or a few other outlets.  Both chronos, both at least fulfilled by Amazon for now, and both have those pushers that really stand out.  Easily the best looking watch KCNY makes.

 

Citizen Eco Drive CA033 White Dial – $225.00
Unlike J. Crew’s, this never needs a battery.

Obligatory.  Just did an in person review and while the black dial won’t play here since it’s a bit of a blackout, the white dial will do more than a fine job in replicating the style of the M&P from J. Crew.  Powered by the Eco-Drive powertrain, so light provides the juice for the ticking.

 

Boss Black Chronograph Bracelet – $263.90 ($395) | Black Leather Chrono – $295
Watch on the left is part of the Anniv. Sale.

Through the magic of a highly sophisticated image editing program known as MS Paint, one can actually get an idea as to how a watch with a stainless bracelet or black leather band would look with a brown leather band.  You could also skip the chrono all together, and get the watch the brown leather band was digitally borrowed from, for $235.

 

In Poker, this is called coming over the top: Christopher Ward C9 Harrison Auto – $1175
That’ll work.

MOTHER OF PEARL.  All right, so it costs more.  But it’s no quartz.  Also comes in a silver dial / black leather band, but those are out of stock.  Suppose if you were going to drop more than a grand on a watch, you could always just get the silver dial / brown band and switch it out.

To the poll.  How much would you pay for the M&P?  Also, a question for the comments:  how much did you think these were going to cost when you saw that they were from J. Crew?  Leave that answer in the comments section…

What would you pay? J. Crew's Mougin & Piquard Chrono

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Comments

  1. Well, You CAN get a Swiss made AUTOMATIC Chrono for three figures.

    Here’s one for just under 600:

    http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Khaki-Chrono-Automatic-H66316713/dp/B007A0TD2E/ref=sr_1_6?s=watches&ie=UTF8&qid=1343118813&sr=1-6&keywords=hamilton+khaki+chrono+auto

    And here’s one at 800 and looks swank while at it:
    http://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Officer-Chrono-Automatic-H71716533/dp/B000XUWEAG/ref=sr_1_5?s=watches&ie=UTF8&qid=1343118813&sr=1-5&keywords=hamilton+khaki+chrono+auto

    If you’re willing to be a bit more risky in your internet shopping escapades, you can find Sea-Gull movement based manual winding Chronos for about $340.

  2. I actually like the looks of the citizen eco-drive better anyway, I think it’s a really slick layout. I’ve always disliked the branding on most watches though, just adds unnecessary clutter to the face. I wish they’d just put it on the back.

  3. You can certainly get a high quality Japanese movement automatic chrono for $200-$300. The Seiko Monster is one of the best, but it is sport thickness instead of dress.

  5. Methinks you misunderstand what “chronograph” means. The Monster is no chronograph.

  6. I think a lot of people would seriously reconsider the desirability of a mechanical chronograph movement of they realized just how expensive it is to have them serviced. The cheapest rates start around $250 and can easily run you $500-1000. I’d take a $5 battery replacement any day.

  8. I agree with you here. As much as I like autos/mechanicals in general, I have 0 problem with a quartz chrono.That being said, the one above seems a bit steep for what it is. I’d rather the Citizen.

  10. Honestly, 3rd party retailer not even fulfilled by Amazon is already too risky for me. Sure they’re probably 99% legit if they’re coming from a well reviewed site, but… y’know, no thanks. At least for me. If I’m spending that kind of cash on a watch, I don’t want there to be any risk.

  13. Yes! That’s on my to-buy list once the year end bonus is in!

    From what I’ve seen, Hamilton Jazzmasters seem to have beter finish than the field khakis. Not sure about the situation over there Joe, but Brick ‘n Mortar Hamilton dealers over here offer on-the-spot discounts that bring the price pretty close to the Amazon ones.

  15. I’m actually a big fan of swatch for men’s watches… They have beautiful leather bands and are very reasonably priced. They also last. I own the “feature steel” and the “your turn” looks almost exactly like the featured watch. They’re often on sale but even at full price “feature steel” is around 100 bucks and “your turn” is under 200.

  16. two other great cheap alternatives: Fossil Flight CH2801 and Seiko SNN231 both on leather straps

  18. I don’t need new. I’m hounding on some Hamilton’s on ebay. I’ve also narrowed my search once i saw just how BIG (over 40mm) some watches look on my wrist. Can’t stand it. Ebay is helping me find those smaller styles. I also personally, want a Automatic Chrono with Day and Date. and in my size? yes. Ebay. And it looks like the bids aren’t going to go over $500…
    And about the servicing that someone mentioned…yes it’s that expensive if you send it to the dealer, check the independent watch makers, the small ones, they are MUCH cheaper. my guy told me $150 tops… But then again, i do live in the big city…Houston, TX.

  19. Completely tooting my own horn here, but my go-to timepiece is a swiss military watch that was a gift from the king of Jordan. I helped organize an event with him where I work, and a few days afterwards, someone from the embassy dropped off a package that had the watch and a matching one for my wife.

  20. The C. Ward is a nice approximation of an IWC, not a bad thing to have people think you’re wearing if they see it from several feet away.

  21. After checking Amazon, it definitely isn’t. I hadn’t looked in a while and forgot.

  23. I really don’t have the budget to be a watch snob, but nor can I see myself ever wearing a watch that isn’t from an actual watchmaker. That Citizen though, that’s GOLD, Jerry, GOLD!

  25. I am having the same trouble, having tiny wrists myself. I can’t get ebay to “find similar styles” like you mentioned. Any pointers?

  26. get thee to a store and actually try on different sizes. tell them you are looking at different sizes. Once you figure out what looks good, then you know what to look for. many times ebay listings the vendor will list the watch model number. and if they do you can do a search in google on that model number and get specs on it’s size. once you’ve settled on a brand, it makes it much easier to search. Also, vintage are going to be inheriently smaller than the current trend of big watches.

  27. The watch screams “I’m poor but I waste money anyway”. It looks expensive, but the details are a bit too bulky and confused to make the watch classic. There are some who can’t afford a good automatic; they should not compensate by overpaying for a quartz, chronograph or not. This watch occupies a twilight zone of poor value any way you approach it.

    I dig the band, though.

  28. Joe – must give you props, I flipped through the J. Crew catalog and thought exactly your premise for this post – “great looking chrono, now, if I could get something like that for $200 or so…” And you have done the work for us.

    You’re reading minds. Nicely done

  29. IWC Portuguese or go home… That J.Crew is pretty nice looking, I think the price is right for whom makes it, but I would rather get a Citizen for less or just save up for the real thing.

  30. Joe you spoiled me with those Orient 50% off coupons. Any chance they’re coming back anytime soon?

  31. Meanwhile, an automatic watch says “I waste money on overpriced, obsolete, and inaccurate technology just to show off the fact I can afford to waste money on overpriced, obsolete, and inaccurate technology.”

  32. An automatic watch is about craftsmanship and celebrating the past (as opposed to deriding it as obsolete). Why go see operas when Transformers 3 is cheaper? Why buy original paintings when you can get Van Gogh posters?

    Also, the difference in accuracy is meaningless. You’re not running a GPS satellite on your wrist; your watch is jewelery. Criticizing the accuracy of an automatic is like belittling the gas mileage of a supercar.

  33. Craftsmanship…? You realize that the vast majority of automatic watches, including Swiss watches, under the $8-10,000 price mark are mass-produced in factories, right? …that very little, if any, hand “craftsmanship” goes into the production of most automatic watches (including Rolex, Omega, etc)? Automatic movements are complicated, yes. Unnecessarily complicated considering the many available alternatives – any engineer or machinist can tell you the more complicated a machine is, the more it is prone to fail, which is certainly true of mechanical watches. Try dropping your mechanical watch from waist height to a tile floor and see what happens. Virtually any quartz watch will easily survive that kind of fall without losing any functionality.
    A mechanical watch is considered highly accurate if it gains or loses five seconds per day. That’s a half hour lost or gained over the course of a year – assuming you wear it every day and don’t have to constantly reset the thing every time you put it on. A more average mechanical watch will gain or lose 15-20 seconds per day, or nearly two hours over a year. A cheap quartz watch, on the other hand, will only gain or lose 2-3 minutes in a year. That difference is hardly what I’d call “meaningless,” especially if your occupation requires you to be on time, all the time.
    Then there is the cost of maintenance. A quartz watch needs a new battery every 2-10 years, which takes 10 minutes and about $5-10 from a shop or just the cost of the new battery if you do it yourself (which is easy to learn). A mechanical watch should be serviced every 5 years or so, a process which means you are separated from your watch for weeks or months and can cost anywhere from $60-800 depending on the movement.
    As a hornist and a classical music lover, I take offense at your comparison of mechanical movements to opera. There is nothing about an overpriced, mass-produced mechanical watch that is remotely similar to the artistry, skill, dedication, and passion involved in fine music – it’s only the success of the Swiss marketing machine that has convinced you there is. A mechanical watch is a tiny, soulless machine, just as a quartz watch is. Any “romance” or “soul” or “heart” you ascribe to the watch is a marketing fiction.
    I say this as someone who appreciates, owns, and wears automatic watches (got a Hammy Viewmatic on my wrist as I type). But the idea that there’s anything objectively superior about automatic watches is just marketing bunk. Mechanical watches are considered luxury goods today because that was the only marketing tactic that has kept them relevant and profitable in the face of cheaper, more advanced technologies. A practical man will choose an inexpensive quartz watch any day of the week. If you buy automatic watches, it is a pure act of conscpicuous consumption intended to signal (whether to yourself or others) your awareness of and access to “luxury” goods.
    The point being: I wouldn’t spend $700 on a quartz watch from J.Crew, but someone who does is not wasting their money any more than someone who spends $700+ on a mechanical watch. Both are are simply spending money on luxury accessories because they can. If that’s a waste of money for one, it’s a waste of money for both.

  34. Vintages are inherently smaller – good point, that’s why I haven’t had much luck with new watches. Will try that thanks!

  35. Paying over 100 for this watch would be tough because it is still j crew. Would you pay over 100 for a Nautica watch because it is made by Movado?

  36. Here is an alternative, how about a solar powered, atomic clock set analog chronograph, 5 motors, 29 time zones, 1/20 stop watch, alarm, titanium case and band, sapphire crystal, etc, etc, http://www.amazon.com/Oceanus-OCWP500TDA-1A-Cachalot-Titanium-Watch/dp/B001V9K9O6/ref=sr_1_2?s=watches&ie=UTF8&qid=1343496736&sr=1-2&keywords=oceanus+watches+men
    This series was made by Casio in an attempt to go up market and it has been discontinued. I picked up one without the tide and day functions for $300 a couple of years ago. It’s a great travel watch, accurate, and very functional.

  37. I own a J Crew Timex that the stem fell out of and I cannot wear now. I also have a vintage automatic watch that I love but it finicky, an old Movado quartz that broke (not durable at all), and a Citizen Eco Drive dive watch. I would much rather own the Citizen as it is not a “Fashion” brand like Boss and some others and will never need a battery. Nice compromise for the $.

  38. Junkers Spitzbergen F13 can be found for ~$345 at 40mm case diameter, same as M&P.
    Tissot Men’s T17152652 ~$285 also at 40mm

    And this Golana at ~$180 would be somewhat comparable to the Christopher Ward, but does not have great reviews on amazon.

    http://www.amazon.com/JUNKERS-Watches-Junkers-Spitzbergen-6186-2/dp/B004RNCF7C/ref=sr_1_2?s=watches&ie=UTF8&qid=1343773362&sr=1-2&keywords=Junkers+Spitzbergen
    http://www.amazon.com/Tissot-Mens-T17152652-PRC-Watch/dp/B000KKO894/ref=sr_1_5?s=watches&ie=UTF8&qid=1343759909&sr=1-5&keywords=mens+watches

    http://www.amazon.com/Golana-Swiss-AE200-3-Quartz-Chronograph/dp/B001LK8LRW/ref=sr_1_153?s=watches&ie=UTF8&qid=1343760395&sr=1-153&keywords=mens+watches