Feature: The BEST bargain chronographs
Between you and me, despite what the legends say, there’s no one out there boiling an egg that needs a chronograph watch. Nevertheless, chronograph watches look incredibly good, with perhaps the most famous and recognisable watch in the world, the Rolex Daytona, slotting nicely into that category. But what if you don’t have silly money and you want a good chronograph for a bargain price? Well, that’s exactly why we’re here.
Studio Underd0g Watermel0n
They say the devil makes work for idle thumbs, and in the case of watch designer Richard Benc, the devil was feeling particularly productive that day when Richard found himself at home during COVID with nothing to do, because he set to work making one of the biggest watch success stories of the last decade.
Have you ever noticed that watches are all basically black and white? And that going for a “wild” colour like blue that’s so dark it’s almost black or green that’s so dark it’s almost black is the watch equivalent of ditching a promising career in your father’s steel business to pursue a dream of joining a travelling circus?
Yes, the Swiss watch industry is more conservative than a table wearing trousers, and so when Richard released a series of watches under the name Studio Underd0g that took inspiration from flavours of boiled sweet he found stuck in the door bin of his new-to-him car, people took notice. I mean, how can you not, when the flagship piece is modelled after a slice of radioactive watermelon.
Each of the four themes is housed within a sapphire crystal and sensible 38.5mm case that takes inspiration from the classic chronographs of the 1930s, whilst the Chinese Seagull movement in the back—which is actually a pretty decent movement—has been checked over to make sure it won’t give you any trouble.
At £500, it’s an incredibly popular piece that lets us have our watermelon and eat it too, so you’ll have to be quick to get a slot when the next order window opens. Any cash you’ve got left can go on a bag of Jolly Ranchers for the fully immersive experience.
Furlan Marri Havana Salmon Ref.1031-A
You might think that swanky vintage chronographs are the sole enjoyment of the full of pocket. Those with well-endowed wallets have been snuffling up the very best the past has had to offer for several decades, even to the point that a small Longines chronograph of the period can command prices that compete with the ever-present Daytona.
It feels like it’s game over for us normies, but do you know what? Thanks to Furlan Marri, it doesn’t have to be, because they’ve decided enough’s enough and created a line of watches that you might be hard pressed to discern from the real deal.
Looks-wise, they borrow from every which way. You could call it a pastiche, and I guess you’d be right, but this is one of those rare occasions where that’s exactly what the doctor ordered. There are pleasant details all over like the deeply curved hands, knurled pushers and internal scales that give me the same warm fuzzies as the crackle of a record or the click of a mechanical shutter.
There’s a lot of care and attention in making this thing look authentic. It could be straight off the wrist of a guy who bought it in 1951 and promptly died after getting home and climbing into a light and humidity-controlled pod.
The trick is to really push the quality of what you can see with the cash saved by using a Seiko VK64 mechaquartz movement. It’s a cheap but reliable movement that leaves more to play with and play they did. Back in the 1950s or whatever the quality could only be so good, and so between the cheapest watches today and the highest quality of the period, this sits comfortably towards the latter.
It’s hard to put into words, but where many affordable watches have that aura about them that whispers, “cheap,” this completely avoids it. The 38mm stainless steel case feels solid and well-finished. The crystal is sapphire with layers of anti-reflective coating for high contrast. There’s no iffy proportions or strange afterthoughts. It’s just … right.
Baltic Tricompax
If you’ve not been satisfied by the first two chronographs, I can probably guess why. They’re lacking a certain Swiss-ness that is ever-important for many people when it comes to buying watches. Baltic, a watchmaker that started off like Studio Underd0g, making watches with the Chinese Seagull, has just stepped up its game and laid down a few cards that might raise an eyebrow or two.
Remember that watch owned by Paul Newman that sold for $18m? Yeah, it’s kinda hard to forget, especially when the design was pretty derivative of everything else on the market at the time. I’m not kidding—because the industry was supplied by a handful of third-party manufacturers, almost every chronograph at the time looked the same. Even the exotic dial wasn’t exclusive to Rolex.
Nevertheless, it’s a stunning look. Complaining about its overuse would be a bit like whining about a rose garden having too many roses. The more the merrier, and that’s the attitude Baltic have gone for with the Tricompax, which enjoys the very best of the period.
There’s a 39.5mm stainless-steel case with a sapphire crystal surrounded by an aluminium tachymeter bezel, and a triple set chronograph dial that could be straight out of Paul Newman’s watch box. Like the Furlan Marri, it’s a cheat code to getting the vintage chronograph you’ve always wanted but can’t afford, and with this one you get the icing on the cake too with a Swiss made movement.
It’s a Sellita SW510-M, with the “M” standing for manual. Yes, you’ll have to wind it by hand, just like Mr. Newman did. No automatic trickery here. That means the watch, minus the crystal, sits at a slender 10.7mm, avoiding the unfortunate bloat many of the automatic chronographs have. It’s dearer at £1,500, but that’s the price you pay for the Swissness. It’s still a comparative bargain for every budding actor-slash-racing driver-slash-BBQ sauce maker out there.
Hamilton American Classic Intra-Matic Auto Chrono H38416111
So far, we’ve looked at watchmakers who, ten years ago, didn’t exist, and that might be a problem for some. Who knows where they’ll be in another ten years? Well, I think it’s safe to say that Hamilton, founded in 1892, might be around a little longer yet.
It was originally an American company, and not only that, it was one of the American watchmakers that inspired the Swiss to stop mucking about making watches in huts and actually think about what they were doing. The Swiss wouldn’t want you to know this, but when they got started, their watches were pretty rubbish, and it was the Americans who were knocking it out of the park when it came to quality.
The irony is that the American watch industry died out and so Hamilton was obliged to move to Switzerland to become part of the machine it helped create, but you can’t win ‘em all. For us, it means the illustrious business is still firing out legends like this, the Intra-Matic.
Back in the 60s, Hamilton was part of the Swiss supergroup—alongside Heuer and Breitling—trying to crack the automatic chronograph nut, and in 1969 they did just that. Heuer called the resulting movement the Calibre 11, Breitling the Chronomatic and Hamilton the Intra-matic. It was that era where everyone put “matic” on the end of everything.
And so the kind people at Hamilton decided to bring that watch back for the benefit of all of us, decked out in a 40mm steel case with the calibre H-31, a Valjoux 7753 base with a 60-hour power reserve. The weird irony is that Valjoux was manufacturing the calibre 72 manual chronograph that Hamilton et al were trying to supersede, and yet here they are, back again in the driving seat. Anyway, the Intra-Matic is £5 shy of £2,000.
Tudor Fastrider Black Shield M42000CN-0018
For our last bargain chronograph, we’re going to spend a bit more cash, somewhere around the £2,500-3,000 mark, but I promise you it’ll be worth it. This is a watch that’s flown under the radar a while after it was discontinued for being too not-Black Bay-ish enough. This is the Tudor Fastrider Black Shield.
The name might sound like the title of a badly translated Japanese action movie. The movement is most certainly not in-house. But nevertheless, this little gem is a watch that does so much more. For one, it’s a Tudor, and Tudor is hot property right now. They may have cancelled more titles than Netflix, but the ones that remain are making companies like Omega wish for the days when they only had to worry about the quartz crisis. And if history has taught us anything, it’s those unpopular, lower run models that come back with a vengeance in the collector market.
So, what’s so special about the Lamerider Lame Shield? The 42mm case is entirely made of black ceramic. Not just the bezel—the entire case! Cast your mind over to Omega’s immensely popular Dark Side of the Moon and your back account will be crying to a tune three times the price.
What’s not to like? A Daytona-esque chronograph that’s arguably better for much cheaper, and far, far less ubiquitous. They even do one with red bits for the full Knight Rider look. Now that would’ve been a better name!
What bargain chronograph watches would you add to this list?
