To Chronograph Or Not To Chronograph

I consider myself a watch guy. Maybe not to the level where I know every vintage version of every watch brand ever, but I think I know a thing or two. Most of my watch preferences, because of my experience, have been with three hand watches (hour, minute and second hands.) I have an almost uncontrollable love for the Rolex Submariner and really any black bezel, black dial watch on the market. What can I say? I am a sucker for a classic diver. One particular watch type, the chronograph, has never really inspired me.

I guess the reason that the chronograph hasn’t pulled me into its double pushers is because they are kind of hard to tell time with. I am more of a simpleton, who loves the simplicity of a tool watch that is designed to go down 304 meters and use the rotating bezel as your only timer. I really could say that I was a purist until the Tudor Heritage Chrono came along.

A few months back, I was with a local watch guy, who is super passionate about Swiss watches in general. He had gotten a text from the local Rolex/Tudor Authorized Dealer about a flawless second hand Tudor Chronograph. He showed me the picture over coffee and I had to have the watch. On a separate note, I am a huge Tudor watch fan in general. As a matter of fact, my first fine timepiece was a Tudor Sport Ref: 20020 which I purchased in Geneva at Bucherer. Tudor had me at hello.

I was able to get the grey dial with black outer rim Tudor Heritage Chrono. I liked it immediately because of the symmetry of the dial and the fact that for a chronograph, it was easy to read the time. What I had not understood about the pull to chronographs previously, I now have a much better understanding after wearing one. It isn’t the the fact that you can tell time or measure time with them but the intricacy of the dial – the artistic beauty of combining so many facets onto one watch dial.

The dial of a chronograph is obviously much more complex to make because of all of the hands that must be utilized due to the movement. These dials become little worlds on your wrist that you cannot help study and be amazed by. Because of the complexity of the time measurement, somehow, they become almost like a ballet on your wrist.

Somehow, I guess I must be growing as a watch guy. My mom must have been right, “give it a try, you might like it.” That statement rings clearly in my head as I write this article, when she was suggesting to try her lemon carrots countless years ago – now my favorite vegetable. Give a chronograph a try, you might come to love it.

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