A dress chronograph is a bit of a stylistic horological oxymoron. The more dressed-up the occasion, the less complicated your watch should look. And a chronograph, by it’s nature, is complicated. With the pushers on either side of the crown, the sub dials on the face, and extra hands to keep track of elapsed time, a chronograph is busy. But that’s precisely why some of us like them.
Whether you’re just attracted to a chronograph’s rule-of-thirds look, or sincerely appreciate the ability to track your flight time/how much you’ve got left on the parking meter/how long it takes for your boss to drone on in a meeting, a dress chronograph is a well appreciated piece for many. Here’s ten that’d fit right in when you’re at your most dressed up.
Kenneth Cole New York KC1568 – $88.04
Oddly good looking consindering KCNY & Reaction are still cranking out square toed shoes. Lots of class in a very affordable package. The font, seconds hand, and pushers all project a vintage feel. The band isn’t the best (not a smidgen of grain on the ultra-smooth thing) but for just under one hundred dollars it’d be easy to find a new one. Japanese quartz, mineral crystal.
Seiko SNDC3 Chronograph in Black
or Brown & Beige – $130 – $140
Looks and feels like it cost much more than $135. The black on black is sharp, and the cream/beige dial on the brown strap really sets off the retro looking font of the numbers. It’s a quartz of course, but the watch feels solid and well made. Hugely versatile style. Suit worthy, but post-work could easily be worn with jeans and a polo.
ESQ Movado Quest Chrono – $172.00 (Via HauteLook)
The Movado step-down brand “ESQ” has taken a bit of a goofy turn, stylistically as of late. This model is from their previous style regime (see the Filmore), and it’s about as sharp as it gets for under $200. 42mm case diameter, all silver everything, and a strap that sits flush up against the case all add up to making this one smooth watch. Closeout pricing. Looks like these aren’t coming back any time soon. Available through the Nordstrom owned flash-sale site HauteLook, which is honestly one of the better flash-sale sites out there.
Emporio Armani Chronograph – $213.00 (Via HauteLook)
Yes, it’s a “fashion” brand (manufactured by Fossil) but this brassy, rose-gold looking option is slicker than snot. Nicely curved case, 42.5mm in diameter, and that contrasting sub-dial at 6 is a nice touch. Wouldn’t have minded if the designers had decided to leave the date off the dial. Another one that’s available through the Nordstrom owned flash-sale site HauteLook.
Orient Monterey in Silver or Beige Dial – $213.40 w/ dappered30 ($305)
A quartz from Orient, but still certainly worth a mention. 42mm with razor sharp hands and a dial that balances busy w/ more dressed up. Onion style crown. Mineral crystal though, so if you’re expecting Sapphire at this price point, it ain’t there. Full review over here.
Citizen Eco Drive White Dial – $225.00
Take the Kenneth Cole’s styling, have a well respected brand throw it’s dependability behind it, throw a light-driven power source inside, and you’ve got one of Citizen’s best new additions in years. A welcome 10om water resistance means you won’t have to baby it. Mineral crystal on this one too.
Braun Ceramic Bezel Chrono – $256 w/ RETAILMENOT20 ($320)
Is there such a thing as retro-modern? Design pulled from the Dieter Rams era. Hat tip to IronRinn in the comments over here for the 20% off code. Good through today, 1/13.
Christopher Ward C3 Malvern MK II – $295
If you’re patient, you can sometimes get these for 15% off (Father’s Day, Black Friday, etc…). Swiss made, English Design, and one of the best looking Quartz Chronographs on the market. Extra points for that round date-window. Many a dial/strap combination to choose from.
Tissot Carson Automatic Chronograph – $550 – $700
Tough to find, but incredible in person (this pic on Overstock doesn’t do it justice, at all). Runs on the relatively new Swiss Made C01.211 movement. The multi layered stainless case has some art-deco influence to it, and the entire watch looks (and feels) like a vintage stopwatch. Exhibition case back & sapphire crystal. Full price over at Bloomingdale’s. Out of stock at Jomashop. On Amazon
The Investment: Hamilton Jazzmaster Maestro – $1100 and up
Runs off the dependable and snappy Valjoux 7750. A less fortunate (but still very fortunate) man’s IWC Portuguese. Sapphire Crystal, and exhibition caseback. Silver dial with a white outer minutes ring. A too-big-for-many-wrists 45mm case diameter but the body feels mighty solid. Couple of models fulfilled and available w/ prime on Amazon
The Freak (both in price, & movement) Christopher Ward Single Pusher – $3365.00
Instead of start/stop & reset pushers on either side of the crown, the crown is the start/stop & reset pushers. It’s a monopusher. Understated but razor sharp. Only 250 pieces made. More on this thing over here.
Any other Dress Chronographs come to mind? Are you a fan of chronographs in general, and can explain why? What’s appealing about having a stop-watch on your wrist anyway? Leave it all in the comments below…
Drool. Didn’t know I wanted one of these until I read this article this morning. My wallet does not thank you, Joe.
Joe, you’re missing this very nice Tissot chrono. I wouldn’t normally pay this much for a quartz but the looks on this one made it worth it.
http://www.jomashop.com/tissot-mens-watch-t0636171603700.html
I could never pull it off (a little big for me), but I always thought the Victorinox Swiss Army Ambassador line had excellent value for $:
http://forums.watchuseek.com/attachments/f29/388616d1297747727-fs-beautiful-swiss-army-ambassador-auto-chronograph-*big-reduction*-365860754.jpg
Also, I always thought the older, slightly smaller, though still huge jazzmaster chrono without numerals was better looking:
http://forums.watchuseek.com/attachments/f89/447013d1307080194-wtb-hamilton-jazzmaster-chrono-silver-face-ref-h32616553-hmm.jpg
Lastly, for Tissot, I always preferred the Le Locle line, though I admit the chronograph is a little busy (the non-chronos in that line are totally stunning):
http://i343.photobucket.com/albums/o480/SynMike/207d.jpg
Even at the affordable price, avoid the Kenneth Cole. It checks in at 42 mm but wears MUCH bigger due to the minimal crown, stark white face, and domed crystal. It made what I thought would be a classy, sophisticated watch garish and loud. Not the understated look I wanted. I rarely, if ever, wear mine unfortunately. In full disclosure, I prefer a smaller faced watch and think this one would look better if it were 38-40mm.
Yeah, personally I think even 42 is large for a ‘dress’ watch. Understand that bigger is better these days, but even with relatively large wrists I prefer to size down when I put on a suit.
I actually love my Kenneth Cole. It was the first watch I bought myself a few years ago. I swapped bands for a Crown and Buckle walnut strap to match my shoes. I know it’s cheap, but I like it and I get a lot of compliments on it. Meh.
The Poljot Strela Chronograph with the 3133 hand wind movement or the cheaper Seagull 1963 are probably the best dress chrono’s around. Both with a story behind them:
On Orient the code “winter2013” is back and you get 30% and a free watch, and free shipping.
It’s a knockoff but it’s still a great design – if you like a bauhaus/minimalist vibe you’d be hard pressed to beat the Junkers Chrono for $360
http://www.watchmann.com/prodimages/junkers60865m.jpg
The quality is at the bottom of the barrel, as well. I had one once and the second hand started swinging free within 3 weeks. I returned it and got a new one, the same thing happened 2 months later.
A quick poll – would you buy a $3400 watch from a company whose bread and butter was $300 quartz watches and $700 automatics?
Upvote for yes, downvote for no
And electric shavers. Can’t forget those.
I really like the dressier, understated style of these chronos. I know it’s a contradictory concept, but are there any good, smaller chronos out there? I don’t like the giant watch trend, which luckily, seems to be fading.
I had gotten both the PRC-200 and the Tissot I linked above. I ended up sending the PRC-200 back since in person the other one blew it away. Not sure why there is this cult following for the PRC-200. I just wasn’t impressed with it,
That Christopher Ward Single Pusher is beautiful… but I need another chrono like I need a hole in the head. Another item I have to retire in 2014, along with Navy Blazers and AE / Alden shoes. Great list here overall from high to low. There’s a lot of debate that goes on regarding how much to spend on a watch. When all is said and done, it comes down to what makes you happy. I started out on the low end (J.Crew Timex military for $150), and built my way up after buying and selling for about 2 years. It took me a while to figure out what I really wanted. This Tissot PRC 200 is one of the watches I had early on:
http://www.geartested.net/reviewed-tissot-prc-200-chronograph/
Those colors on the hands and number indicators are way too garish for me. But to each his own.
You forgot Daniel Wellington… Very classy and affordable watches… Check them out…
I handled a PRC200 in-person and felt the same way. Fit, finish, and build quality seemed thoroughly mediocre. Not worth the $300+ price tag or the hype, IMO.
I wish CW hadn’t changed the C3 chrono design. The stepped dial of the original model gave the watch a little more visual depth.
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/4486/c33x.jpg
I totally agree and mentioned Victorinox in a separate post. That one is a little large at 45mm. They have some other one’s at 42mm which I think is perfect, even for my small wrist.
Great list of watches.
I am a huge fan of Victorinox watches. They are a bit more in price then a lot of what is listed above, which is why I assume they were possibly not mentioned. I own three from the chrono classic line and am very happy with them.
I also own the Citizen eco drive listed above in white. That is pretty much my go-to watch. It doesn’t have the anti-reflective sapphire like my Victorinox’s, but otherwise it is a really solid watch. Love they style of it and have purchased a few different bands from crown&buckle to make it more universal with what I wear.
I really like the look of this VSA:
http://www.syohbido.co.jp/vic/241568/241568-600-9.jpg
I have the Victorinox Ambassador XL. It is a great chronograph and uses a slightly up sized version of the Valjoux 7750. As a dress chronograph it is bit large and thick enough that it doesn’t fit under many shirt cuffs. Also, the stock strap with the white stitching dresses it down a bit. I replaced mine with a black grained leather strap and deployment buckle but it uses an odd 23mm size. Setting that aside, it is a smart looking watch. For dress I think I prefer my Omega Speedmaster Pro on a black leather strap.
I’m right there with you. I cannot wrap my head around these, at all. I get that the movements might be nice, but I haven’t seen a watch that ugly in a while. As you said, though, to each his own (which is quite clear because as I typed this, the comment is sitting at 4 upvotes).
My understand is that this is standard fare when it comes to KC. Still, I appreciate that Joe at least included it as an option, and I appreciate the comments from you two on the in-person experiences with it. Good stuff all around guys. Thanks.
I have also noticed a lack of discussion of Victorinox watches (both here and at dedicated watch forums). My guess is that most folks who are into watches have decided that their price to quality ratio isn’t very good. Not sure if that’s accurate or not, but it would explain the lack of discussion.
Can’t believe a Braun watch is on this list. That’s a quick way to lose credibility on the subject.
I’m down with the Jazzmaster, but would also recommend Stowa’s 1938 Chrono in the Investment category.
I’ve had to see the Tissot Carson in person and boy was it nice. It’ll probably be the first auto-chrono that I purchase as soon as I can find one for a decent price (even though the MSRP is ridiculously low already!)
Looks nice, but dunno if I want a watch that says ‘junkers’ on it.
…
Could make sense, though my personal opinion has me disagreeing with them in terms of quality. Regardless I am very happy with them and love the design’s they have created.
Louis Erard are a great Swiss auto for £300 to £4000