ENDURING LOVE

Chronograph watches measure periods of time. But then so do stopwatches, and a good deal more accurately. So why is it that these fundamentally pointless models remain so endlessly appealing?

Chronographs are unique in that they represent a style that every watch lover covets but which almost no one will use as was intended. It’s the kind of paradox for which you suspect the Germans (or, more aptly, Swiss?) have their own compound noun with no English equivalent.

Despite more than a decade writing about them, I still find it hard to explain the popularity of chronographs. Of course, the most famous models have been to the moon, or they were once worn by a notable racing driver or fighter pilot. But that doesn’t fully explain their appeal.

Most watch brands make one, from Michael Kors to Montblanc, regardless of their sporting credentials. Expensive and difficult to service, they’re a pain in the arse to manufacture, too (and yes, that’s a technical term). Yet brands pour millions into developing ever-better movements – the more complicated, in fact, the better.

To an extent, this is true of all watchmaking. Chronographs, though, are special sauce – get them right and you have a guaranteed success, whether or not your audience has any intention of timing a medium-rare steak. Audemars Piguet knew it when it made the

Royal Oak Offshore a chrono by default: a trick followed by Hublot with the Big Bang.

Of course, sometimes it’s all about what you could do. The owner of a Rolex Submariner might never take it 300m underwater, but it’s nice to have the option. Then there’s the motion of their action. The most prized chronos dart around with zippy energy. It’s a patient man who waits for his moon phase indicator to tip from one position to the next; with a chronograph, it’s possible to observe all of the mechanical mastery in real time.

But maybe focusing on what the chronograph was intended to do is to miss the point. Maybe the most important thing is to appreciate it as a creation in its own right. Either way, here are six fine examples of the genre that have been released this year.

Chris Hall is senior watch editor at Mr Porter

01 Zenith Chronomaster Original, £7,100

A faithful remake of one of the very first El Primeros, released in 1969, this watch is a chronograph purist’s idea of perfection: heritage looks, a modest case size (38mm) and a modern movement that’s entirely in-house and up to date. It can even measure intervals down to a tenth of a second, should you need.

02 Bell & Ross BR V2-94 Full Lum, £4,300

Taking the legibility of a practical tool watch to new extremes, this model has a fully luminous green dial, with yellow chronograph subdials. It’s a solidly specced design: 100m water resistance, screw-down pushers and a 42-hour power reserve, too.

03 TAG Heuer Carrera Porsche Chronograph Special Edition, £5,000

A true blue-chip name in the world of chronographs, TAG Heuer’s Carrera has evolved more times than its namesake. This model runs on the 80-hour Calibre Heuer 02 and boasts a ceramic bezel.

04 Breitling Top Time Ford Mustang, £4,360

Breitling’s Top Time Classic Cars Squad may come over a bit twee to us Brits, but they’re a textbook example of retro chronograph design done right, with bold colours, simple ‘pump’ pushers, slightly squashed subdials and colourful tachymeter scale.

05 Longines Avigation BigEye, £2,970

It may be a 41mm automatic watch with scratchproof crystal over the dial, but this Longines model does an impeccable impression of a 1940s chronograph, with a striking petrol-blue dial and exclusive chronograph movement fitted with a silicon balance-spring.

06 Tissot Seastar 1000 Quartz Chronograph, £470

Tissot’s Seastar 1000 combines both dive watch and chronograph features in its design, with 300m water resistance. The chronograph is quartz-powered, but that means added functionality in the form of split timing, something only found on the priciest mechanical models.