Via Huckberry: Antoine Arnaud Spirit of St. Louis Chrono – $199.98 ($248)
Note: Huckberry is a flash-sale site that requires you to hand over an email address for access. More on them here. Meanwhile, you can find two other models of this watch in their watch shop.
Yes, for $200 there are plenty of good looking automatic watches out there. But for those of us who are suckers for a well executed Chronograph, this has to be one of the better looking options under $200.
And it’s a real stunner.
Miyota Quartz + Mineral Glass might not get a watch snob’s pulse racing (or even elevated), but the vintage hands & font, domed crystal, and sturdy feel means it shouldn’t be written off by those of us who aren’t obsessed with horology. For whatever reason, the big watch manufacturers just don’t make affordable watches that look like this.
The Antoine Arnaud brand was originally launched via indiegogo, but now appears to be in full scale production. Huckberry has been selling their Spirit of St. Louis chrono for just a touch under $200. That’s right around what they were going for during the indiegogo campaign at 149€. They now retail for 179€, or, $241, but getting your hands on one over on this side of the atlantic might be difficult (they’ll ship to you direct, but it’s an extra $20).
44mm case is larger but doesn’t wear enormous, thanks in part to a slimmer body. Lug width is 20mm instead of 22mm (which you’d expect on a 42+mm case) and that helps add to the dress-watch look. The suede on the strap has a shorter nap (almost nubuck) but it’s plenty flexible, right out of the box. The pushers for the chronograph also have a vintage look to them, and they even put an engraved, stylized “A” on top of the crown.
Does this watch lean heavily on it’s looks, instead of its guts, when it comes to pricing? Yeah. And in this case, many of us are gonna be more than fine with that.
Enter here to win this Antoine Arnaud Spirit of St. Louis Chronograph. One entry per person. Deadline for entry is 11:59 pm ET 7/24/14. Huge thanks to Huckberry for passing along one of these watches for a review + giveaway!
Update: Congrats to J. Anthony who won the drawing for this Antoine Arnaud Spirit of St. Louis Chronograph. Also, thanks again to Huckberry for providing the watch for review & giveaway…
Beautiful chronograph. Especially for only $200.
Nice. 44mm seems big, but face is very nice
Damn fine watch!
Some day I’m going to win one of these, dammit!
oh my thats beautiful.
I know! This has to be one of the best looking items ever given away.
Oh boy. That’s gawgeous.
I’m of the opinion that quartz > automatic and form > function (sound the blasphemy alarm!) I’ve read about watches plenty, I’ve seen what’s out there and I get why a typical watch enthusiast might want to have me drawn and quartered for saying what I just did.
To me, a watch serves 2 purposes:
1) Time keeping
2) Add to an outfit
When it comes to timekeeping, there’s really no argument that quartz is more accurate, all else equal. It also seems to require less attention (just change the battery after 2 to 5 years.)
Aesthetically, I don’t really mind that I can’t take the watch off and look at some window into the watch. I’m here for what it looks like while I’m wearing it. If a company released a brand new watch in both quartz and automatic flavors and then put them side by side, the only way you *might* be able to tell (if you’re a watch aficionado) is by watching the movement of the hands, and frankly that just doesn’t matter to me.
So, here’s my formal request: Can we have some more quartz recommendations. I know this particular article is different because it’s a giveaway, but it got me thinking. BTW, this watch is sexy as hell.
Hear hear. Quartz works better at a lower price. Capitalism says it wins.
http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/give_it_to_me_stephen_colbert.gif
That’s assuming that what you’re purchasing is just a watch that looks nice and works. Watches are luxury items; in the same way that one buys a Ferrari over a Toyota, there are arguments to be made for paying a premium…
Not to nitpick (well, kinda to nitpick), but a Ferrari vs Toyota isn’t even close to a fair comparison. The one looks infinitely more awesome aesthetically, even if you pull off the names and logos. Additionally, the Ferrari literally can outperform the Toyota functionally in almost every single way.
So, with cars you’re talking about a luxury item (the Ferrari) that’s not only aesthetically superior but also practically/functionally superior as well. With watches, the aesthetic differences are usually MUCH more subtle and one could easily argue that the quartz offerings perform better.
Great looking watch. Stumbled upon this Kickstarter campaign last night and the watches sure do look good considering they are only $70 for classic models and $90 for a chrono. Not sure about them being “luxury”, but for the price it’s hard to go wrong (even though they don’t ship until November) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/leonardandchurch/a-new-way-to-buy-a-luxury-watch?ref=home_popular
LOVE the font but I wish there was something like this without the extra internal dials
nice looking watch. wouldn’t mind winning it.
well, to be fair, that’s the argument a car enthusiast would make. to the person that’s just trying to get around, the toyota does everything better. it’s more reliable, costs (MUCH) less, has better gas mileage, can carry more people comfortably, is easier to maintain, is easier to find… you get the point. i’ve known people that see no discernible difference aesthetically between an MR2 and a 458 italia.
Divvy beat me to the performance point.
I will add that this is a blog about budget-conscious style, not about luxuries. And I’m not so sure I’d call an Orient Mako a luxury item just because its tick is trendy.
I have nothing against the idea of luxury watches. I get that people are willing to pay extra for the history, the art, the prestige. But on this particular blog, I would argue that quartz deserves more attention.
For more info on the movement, check out Citizen’s page: http://www.citizen.co.jp/miyota_mvt/download/pdf/spec_0S00.pdf
I live to serve:
http://www.longislandwatch.com/Graf_Zeppelin_7046_1_Watch_p/7046-1.htm
http://www.longislandwatch.com/Graf_Zeppelin_7644_5_Watch_p/7644-5.htm
(Not exactly the same, of course, but it gets you in the neighborhood.)
Agree with you completely on this!
Love the numerals and text
Excellent points. Still, I imagine a normal (non-car enthusiast) person would be able to easily tell the difference between the road feel, cornering, and acceleration of the MR2 and a 458 italia if they test-drove both. AFAIK, there aren’t really any qualities of a automatic watch that are functionally superior and readily noticeable. Thus, while the car analogy isn’t as off-base as I originally indicated, I still don’t think it’s a great one.
All about giving more attention to affordable quartz options. And will do my best to do so in the coming weeks months (working on a best watches under $200, regardless of movement piece right now)
That said, I’d love it if some of the mainstream brands (Citizen / Seiko) would come out with some designs that look more like this Spirit of St. Louis, than the trendy stuff they’ve been reachin’ for as of late!
This watch is such a rare combo…chronograph (with all 3 subdials)…with all numerals displayed…with day AND date complications (that don’t obscure any of the numerals)!!! (IF only it was automatic)
Nice watch and awesome review.
That’s a fair point; with the style community favoring autos, the design of quartzes can be lackluster.
Perhaps the better analogy is motor vs. sailboats. Fundamentally different technologies. One will get you there faster, has more space, and is by and large less expensive, but the other is still favored by many due to a fascination with the engineering, romance, nostalgia, etc.
Whatever floats your boat.
I’ve been eyeing the black/brown one on Huckberry with the yellow hands for a while. Maybe it’s the mineral crystal that’s been holding me back – at this price point for a Japanese quartz you’d think they’d be able to go sapphire.
But then I agree with diversification on all accounts. And the write-up hits on all points for me. Gahhh my wallet hates you all.
Beautiful watch, but not digging the strap. Would prefer a brown leather.
Serious question: what are the 3 subdials for?
Love it. Getting married this fall and this would go perfect with a navy suit I am planning on wearing.
@diversification:disqus I knew it was flawed when I posted it, and appreciate your points. I actually nearly deleted my post, but went ahead bc I felt that it made some reasonable points which @winstonheard:disqus laid out better than I did.
I think the main idea is that it depends on what the particular consumer wants out of the product. I know that sounds bland and a bit silly, but it’s a point that can get overlooked at times when people are debating what ‘the best [X]’ is, etc.
Wow
Sub at 6 is seconds (large “seconds” hand is actually the chrono seconds hand), sub at noon is minutes, sub at 9 is hours (up to 12) so, it’ll keep track of a specific elapsed time period for 12 hours.
Having had two watch batteries eat through my watches, I’ll stick to Mechanical/Autos.
And we cover those here, extensively. Jusssst trying to make everyone happy.
Beautiful design, one of the best out of Indiegogo.
Such a pretty watch!
Fair enough! But I’d be careful saying quartz are more reliable. More accurate yes, more reliable – not in my experience.
FWIW, I still own 2 quartz watches. 🙂 I know, I know, such hypocrisy..
A bit big, but certainly a nice watch.
That is a handsome watch.I feel like if it could speak it would say something like this. http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk142/mikejames925/handsome.gif
Nice looking watch!
Nice gin
Been needing a Chrono for the collection for quite some time 🙂 Thanks guys!!
This reminds me of what men used to wear in the 1930’s. Simply sophisticated and understated. Makes me wish men still wore suits and women wore flattering dresses as a “normal” daily thing. I’d take this watch in a heartbeat and pair it with my navy suit for my DoA job.
Yes, please. Automatics are on my blacklist, chemical powered watches only!
Smaller faces would be nice too.
A very handsome timepiece. I may have to pick one up.
FWIW, I think this conversation was 10% “Joe please talk about quartz watches more” and 90% “Everyone stop with the disdain for quartz already.”
very nice 🙂
Right, but in what way, functionally, is an automatic superior to quartz? The ONLY argument, I think, for automatic, is that it doesn’t need a new battery five or ten years down the line, and that’s a pretty shoddy argument, because you’d need to WEAR the watch all the damned time for that to be applicable, and, frankly, a lot of us aren’t going to wear the same watch often enough to keep it wound.
There are a lot of demonstrable ways in which a California outperforms a Camry. Now, these might not be things the average person cares about, but they’re there, and anyone who actually drives one — as diversification says — is going to notice several of them.
This is not to say that I begrudge anyone their purchase of expensive automatic watches, because there’s something alluring about them, I’ll admit, but it’s not enough to make me buy one, given that quartz does a better job in every tangible and observable way, and for less money than an automatic.
Okay, so quartz requires less maintenance, but you have to consider the future, here. When the zombie apocalypse strikes, you’ll regret your decision to purchase these silly battery-powered devices, and the value of automatics will skyrocket!
You’ll regret your choices, mark my words!
Spot on here, thanks for posting this. I kinda got fixated on the car metaphor for a while – this is one of the primary reasons I prefer quartz over automatics.
Teach me your ways, master.
That’s a nice deal for a watch like that. I’ve been looking for one that I like. I like the chronograph watches better than the digital ones.
Anita Mas | http://keepingtimewatches.com/mens-chronograph-watches