I would like suggestions for mechanical 3 register chrono watches up to £2000, even consider a good quality vintage. I am drawn to hte heritage of the old Zenith but am not fully decided, not averse to something running off a 7750 movement. What I am decidedly unfond of are the over elaborate Breitling sort of thing not that I consider them a bad watch I just find them aesthetically fussy.
Thanks for any ideas.
Size? Dial colour? Sub dial orientation? Anything specific such as screw down pushers, water resistance etc.
Also check out the pictures on http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...t=Chronographs
Thanks, really at this point I am on the look out for brands and types I might not be used to. One gets ovelry familiar with what one just sees on the high street and I know there are so many things off my radar made by companies who are less mainstream but use the same movements as the major brands.
I prefer a clean looking dial but I must say I like the heritage of the Zenith el Primero. Have seen a new Longines black face but not convinced about the gold hands and numerals. I hear Longines is moving up to fill the Omega slot and Omega advancing its profile into a new bracket. Maybe not true but would not surprise me.
I know where your coming from, all the high street Jewellers carry the same brands and it can get a little dull.
WRT clean dial, is this the sort of thing? http://www.junghans.de/en/junghans-c...el/detail.html 7750 movement with day and date, I don't find the black dial variant as nice because the day/date is on a white background, would have been nicer if it were white text on black background
Last edited by christech81; 10th August 2014 at 18:02.
Longines used to be at the very front of chronograph, creating the first flyback (13ZN)
My favourite are the watches based on the 30CH calibre, but they are out of your budget.
A Valjoux 72 will be lovely as well, Minerva maybe...
Universal Geneve uni or bi compax (the tri may be too far out of budget).
But all this is not needed if you are set on a Zenith.
I've considered swapping my IWC 3717 for this several times.....
http://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.ph...ghlight=Zenith
Last edited by toezapper; 10th August 2014 at 19:22.
you mentioned a 3 sub dial but what about this.....
quite the steal at £1400ish new.....
Great, different dial orientation but the Zenith I'd be thinking of would be something like Zenith el Primero Ref 02.0501.400 but I don't think that is in the current collection, pre owned might be in your budget. Google for pictures.
If you'd look at the Longines Master Collection they have a great set of movements including column wheel and blued hands! Something like Longines Master collection chronograph Ref L26934783 (Google it) is clean and clear, there is also the http://www.longines.com/watches/the-.../L2.693.4.78.3 from the current collection.
Baume et Mercier have gone all blue http://www.baume-et-mercier.com/en/clifton-10123.html
Eberhard have a nice collection of two or four dial watches but their three dial doesn't quite do it for me http://www.eberhard-co-watches.ch/?page_id=2926
The issue with Chronographs is that it's easy for them to become cluttered, the Muhle for example is clean and clear but something about the day date makes it unbalanced http://www.pageandcooper.com/muhle-g...chronograph-1/
However I've got to say if you just want a Chronograph no date then you can't get much better than a Speedmaster professional, prestige, heritage, robust, clean and very clear. Resale will probably be good too.
Good luck with you search.
Last edited by christech81; 10th August 2014 at 19:39.
Also, if you go with a 775X you will have a very solid and easily maintained calibre, but:
- It is usually noisy
- more importantly, it is quite thick
So make sure you can try it and see if it floats your boat.
Sinn 356 - a vintage look (which I like) - plexi or sapphire
And a reasonable size 38.5mm
I don't think you should stray from your Zenith idea:
White one now sold, but the black will never go.
At full retail you'd be hard pressed to justify the price, and I don't know that you'd ever score the kind of deal I did (sorry, not revealing what that was, but it was borderline criminal), or that you could ever even find a used example... but if you did, this is one of the nicest watches I've ever owned.
Only if Japanese is not considered..someone just posted this..
Last edited by seikomatic; 11th August 2014 at 10:15.
A cheap way to get a modern El Primero is by buying a used Concord Impresario. They can be had for ~2k USD on eBay.
Yes, that is the problem. You'd not choose this over other options available at the retail price, but if they were selling them at say 60% of that, or even 50%, they'd be quite attractive. Ah, well... if you ever do find one, you'll have something as rare as a tiger striped unicorn.
Have at it, as they say…
https://www.chrono24.com/en/girardpe...-id2758338.htm
https://www.chrono24.com/en/girardpe...-id2526268.htm
https://www.chrono24.com/en/uniongla...-id2334479.htm
https://www.chrono24.com/en/uniongla...-id2801803.htm
https://www.chrono24.com/en/uniongla...-id2513731.htm
https://www.chrono24.com/en/sinn/arktis--id2760330.htm – send it to Sinn for the full spa treatment, it'll be as good as new
https://www.chrono24.com/en/glashuet...-id2580156.htm
https://www.chrono24.com/en/corum/ad...-id2712888.htm
https://www.chrono24.com/en/seiko/10...-id2581525.htm
https://www.chrono24.com/en/perrelet...-id2783993.htm
https://www.chrono24.com/en/perrelet...-id2708192.htm – their own 2 yr warranty which would mean returning to them
https://www.chrono24.com/en/perrelet...-id2572150.htm – not sure if manufacturer's 2 yr warranty and VAT already included adds up to the difference in price.
To quote the youth of today...."OMG! OMG! OMG!
you have tapped the motherlode and you are my "Go to guy" what a bunch of beauts you found there. Problem is I would choose at least 9-10 off that list. Darn it for being so needy. But how very thank you for your suggestions, I think i may just sit and stare for a while with a couple of glasses of red wine
How about something like this? The Sinn surprised me quite a bit.
This one has some class too, I think
And what about value for money? 72 hours power reserve!
I have decided for now on a Sinn 356, got a good price for one ebay, it should be here this week or next. However I am loving all the suggestions and have been exposed to brands unknown to me or ones I might never have considered looking at. Most are very well priced too.
Last edited by toezapper; 11th August 2014 at 21:41.
You can't beat the sound of a Lemania 5100.
Stick one of these on a GGB or bracelet, a watch for almost any occasion.
Johnny.
Junghans Meister Chronoscope!!
Angelus Chronodato
I have to say thanks to these suggestions, you have contributed some very nice ideas, and who knows? in time i might seach one of them out too. However this watch hoved into view and for £720 I thought it was worth it to me. I know it has a couple of light scratches on the acrylic but I will deal with them tonight when I get home, may need a wee service in the near future, but overall very happy to have a great 7750 Valjoux from an underappreciated yet superb brand.
I just might see if I can fit a sapphire crystal back plate to it if Sinn has such a thing.
[IMG]Sinn 356 with Valjoux 7750 movement ... A lovely watch by toezapper, on Flickr[/IMG]
But please don't stop comming up with cracking ideas just because I have bought one.
Thanks for the great suggestions folks
If two registers are on the table, and clean is your thing, you could do worse than a Junghans Max Bill Chronoscope:
I've got one. Love it to bits. Incredibly elegant on the mesh, too.
Great result! That's a beautiful Sinn
like the Zenith, the Perrelet, the Jungans, the Hamilton, the Baume, the Stowa, the Horo, the Longines, the GO, the Union and the Muhle... Howver I have cleaned my new Sinn with a bit of Brasso and put it temporarily on a strap which is in better condition even if the Sinn buckle is a couple of mill bigger than the end of the strap. It will do until I decide what I wnat it on.
[IMG]Cleaned it up with a bit of brasso and put it on a temporary strap by toezapper, on Flickr[/IMG]
What about this? Zenith El Primero on board, lovely case and bracelet, and fits into you budget just fine...:
Have a look at the Orient Star WZ0011DY. Its got the Seiko 6S28 calibre inside.