A chronograph is the watch with the stopwatch built in: two pushers on the side of the case, and small subdials on the face. It is also the complication that gets expensive fastest. Most chronographs people recommend start around $500. Under $200 you can still get a good one, but the choice comes down to what is inside the case, and most listings do not tell you.
Here is how to read a cheap chronograph before you buy it.
The three kinds of chronograph under $200
1. Plain quartz chronograph
This is most of what you will find. A battery runs both the time and the stopwatch. It is accurate and almost free to maintain. The trade-off is feel: the stopwatch hand ticks once a second, and on many models resetting it is a slow crawl back to twelve. It works fine. It just feels like a gadget.
2. Mecaquartz chronograph
A hybrid. Quartz keeps the time, so it is accurate and needs no winding. A mechanical module runs the stopwatch, so when you start it the hand sweeps smoothly, and when you reset it the hands snap straight back to zero. It is the part of a mechanical chronograph you actually see and touch, without the service bill. We wrote a longer explainer here: What is a mecaquartz chronograph?
3. Mechanical chronograph
Fully wound by hand or by the motion of your wrist. A genuine mechanical chronograph under $200 is very rare, and the few that exist tend to cut corners elsewhere: thin cases, flat printed dials, weak water resistance. Servicing one can cost more than the watch did.
Our view: under $200, mecaquartz is the best of the three. You get the feel of a mechanical chronograph with quartz reliability.
Five things to check on any chronograph under $200
- Case size and lug-to-lug. Chronographs run big. Many budget ones are 42 to 44mm and over 13mm thick, which looks oversized on most wrists. About 39mm wide with a lug-to-lug around 46mm fits most people. See our size guide.
- Do the pushers feel right? They should click firmly and the hand should start the moment you press. Mushy pushers are the first sign of a cheap movement.
- Is the dial textured or printed? Subdials crowd a dial. A textured dial, such as a guilloché pattern, keeps a chronograph from looking flat.
- Real water resistance. Look for 10 ATM. A chronograph rated 3 ATM should not go near a pool. See water resistance explained.
- A written warranty. A chronograph has more parts than a time-only watch. If the seller does not put a movement warranty in writing, assume there is none.
Red flags
- A "limited edition" with no number stated anywhere.
- Subdials that are printed on and don't do anything. Check that each subdial is listed as a function.
- A crossed-out "original price" the watch was never actually sold at.
- No movement named in the specs.
What we built for $199
Season No. 2 is a 39mm mecaquartz chronograph built around the checklist above:
- Seiko VK63 mecaquartz movement: sweeping chrono hand, instant snap-back reset
- 39mm 316L stainless steel case, 46mm lug-to-lug, 11.8mm thick
- Diamond-pattern guilloché dial
- 10 ATM water resistance, steel bracelet, one-year movement warranty
- 100 pieces per color, each caseback engraved with its own number
Three colors: Silver Snow (white on silver, the easiest to wear), Midnight Gold (blue and gold, the dressiest), and Trinity (black with three colored subdials, the boldest). Free shipping, 30-day returns, and every order includes a free Autism Awareness watch.
Not sure which one? Email journeyabouttime@gmail.com with your wrist size and I'll tell you honestly how it will wear. — Sam