We all know that a chronograph measures and records times, but if that’s what you require from your watch, what determines WHICH chronograph you buy?

On some, the subdials are discreetly displayed-numbers and hands blend seamlessly into the background dial color, as on the Longines Evidenza or the Oris Miles Tonneau, or they’re accentuated with a contrasted color, as on the brighter red subdials of the maroon dial of the Tutima Flieger Chrono F2 Power Reserve.

Is it a matter of complication? You can have one subdial: the Tutima Commando Chrono has one subdial over the 6 that measures 12 hours. The Glycine Altus had two subdials: a 30 minute counter and a 12 hour counter, vertically displayed along the center. The Oris Centennial also has the two counters, but they’re displayed horizontally along the center.

The most common chronograph display is with the three subdials, and one needn’t look far for an example. So is the consideration aesthetic or functional? Do you actually use your chronograph to measure your parking meter time, or do you prefer the complications for how they make you appear? Time to tell-how do you like your chrono?

World Lux Staff Writer, Matt Wencl

After five years of Basel showing, the Seiko Spring Drive is finally here, and if you’ll pardon my blatant blowing of horn, you can find them in their first U.S. showcasing at World Lux. The idea began with a dream in 1977 to create an automatic watch that was quartz accurate; in the Spring Drive technology there is no battery; instead, an oscillating weight charges the permanent cells. Seiko CEO Shinji Hattori comments, “[Spring Drive] is a unique technology and we believe that no other company will be able to duplicate it . . . Seiko is determined to establish itself in the high-end watch market” (International Watch Oct 05).

Only a thousand pieces are planned for production this first year, but Seiko plans to increase this number over the next few years. Seiko has been producing mechanical watches for some time in Japan, but their reputation in the U.S. is established as a quartz brand. I believe the Spring Drive will help Seiko’s image evolve, but I’m curious as to what their new technology means for the entire business of watches. Certainly, Seiko can revolutionize—they introduced quartz to the world—but I wonder if Spring Drive will help convince more quartz users to go mechanical. The price points of $3495 for a steel bracelet and $3295 on a croc strap may be surprising to the average Seiko quartz watch buyer, but now they have the accuracy of the mechanism to consider as well as the Spring Drive’s value when placed beside Swiss automatic watch counterparts.

What do you think? Any theories on how the Spring Drive will change the market? And who would be up to the challenge of producing something similar?

World Lux Staff Writer, Matt Wencl