To all the chrono watch fans, what is the attraction?

More buttons lol

Actually a mechanical chrono Mvmt is an incredible piece but too expensive for me.  Quartz Actually is more accurate so all my chronographs are Quartz. My favorite in my collection is my Lunar Pilot!

For me it's another way of measuring time and I love sub dials on the dial itself. 

Cheers!

I personally like chronographs for several reasons, but one of the main reasons is that fact that it is one of the few complications that allow me to interact with the watch on a regular basis.

Not necessarily -- have you looked at pieces with the ST1901 movement?  I was able to get ahold of my Phylida Homage to the Speedmaster Professional for under $175:

Just playing around with the pushers is one reason the other they are a fantastic mechanical device on the wrist 

I just looked at Aliexpress and wow who thought an affordable mech chrono. 

Darn it's out of stock. I'll have to put in the cart and wait for a restock. It does use a Chinese mvmt. I'm not against it just don't know much about it. I know the Seagull Mvmt is thier proven work horse. Is this the same mvmt? Thanks for the insight. I really appreciate it!

Cheers!

Yep -- the ST in ST19 stands for Seagull Tianjin.  It's really a 1940s designed Venus 175 movement.  The Chinese bought the tooling from Venus in the 60's before they went under along with a license to build them.

Phylida does restock their pieces in dribs and drabs -- all I can say is keep an eye out.  There is also always the more classic Seagull 1963 and its many assorted variations.

 Just read an article regarding the mvmt. You're spot on. Thank you for your insight and help! Always learning

Cheers!

Interestingly, I always wanted a chronograph until I got one. Fortunately I didn't get a luxury one as I'd intended because I have found that not only do I have no need to time anything, but now I don't have a second hand which, for me, leaves a watch feeling cold. I could leave the timer hand running but don't really want to be that guy. 

Many (most?) chronos have a subdial  second hand. Not for you?

I think chronographs are iconically sporty looking, like a leather jacket. 
 

Up until 15 years ago, they were also incredibly useful for anyone cooking or competing.  Now anyone can pull out their phone…but that’s not really important to enthusiasts, as the phone also replaces the standard three-hander. 
 

The complication of a chronograph is very difficult to build. It can, and often does look beautiful. The pushers are interactive fidget toys. 
 

What’s not to like?

Personally I disliked them myself for quite a while. They seemed busy, but I still appreciated that they were beautiful and incredibly complex.

I kind of just grew into liking them. First, the speedmaster, then the Blancpain Air Command. I have the budget version, the Hemel Air League.

When done right, nailing the proportions on a chronograph is a beautiful thing, and having more parts to mess up makes successes all the more evident!

Nah. One is the minute timer and other is a pretty useless 24 hour indicator. 

Chronos are steeped in heritage and when they were released were an achievement in microengineering. To me, it is that extra complication that makes them appealing. Also, I enjoy the looks of the extra registers. 

I can give you a dozen examples off the top of my head of chronographs with a second hand:

Speedmaster, Big Eye, Navitimer, PRX…

At one time I loved chronographs, because the sub dials looks super "cool" and busy, but now I find I prefer simple/clean dials. 

I may one day grab a Seiko Speedtimer, just to have a solar chronograph, but every time I think of buying one I remember I don't actually like chronographs... 🤣

All of the above 

• Feat of engineering 
• Back in the day, needing a way to time things meant you were generally into cool stuff 
• Looks 
• Heritage 

End of the day though, it's just an aesthetic people like. 

Why do some prefer blondes, others redheads, others brunettes? It's just a preference.

OK. Mine doesn't and it's not the only reason I've taken a dislike to them. 

This is why people like chronographs:

Look at that and tell me it's not cool!  And for the record, I generally prefer a center sweep seconds hand to subdials.

Additional registers can make a watch look more interesting than simpler 3 hands. Some of us like it.

I half-agree...I don't really need all of that and I prefer small and simple overall.  That said, I find myself sometimes really drawn to them aesthetically, and I am leaning towards the new Seiko Solar Speedtimer as my first foray sometime this year. 

I think it's just one of those 'watch things'. I don't see much in GMTs, for example, but when I say that it's like a scene in a western where someone has walked into the bar and the piano stops and everyone looks at them with a variety of dumbstruck faces. It just happens. As for the appeal of the chrono, for some, I think aside from the practical ability to measure time, the designs can be quite nice to look at.

Hemel does a chronograph right. Most others don't track hours. Some don't track more than 30 minutes. Hemel is one of the few that puts rotating bezels on their chronographs. Hanhart has the red hash mark on their bezel too. You align the pip with the hour hand when you start timing and you can keep track of elapsed hours too. Some chronos will keep track of hours but most don't and the bezel is a great way to make use of that ST19 in an affordable mechanical chronograph that times for more than 30 minutes. Great watch. 

As for the OP, I use my chronograph. Baking bread, roasting a turkey, timing a bike ride, billable hours, parking, and so on. Sometimes a rotating bezel is enough but most of the time I'm timing longer things or need to be more precise in the timing, like when developing film. So it's the functionality I appreciate in a chrono, though many have limited functionality. 

If you want an affordable meca-quartz, look at something like Seiko Spirit SBTR013 which is about US$140, and comes from a great brand. No brainer, to my mind.

It's in the nomenclature... 'complication.' 

For me it's that the watch has gone beyond elegance and into extended function which in an odd way makes the joy of wearing a miniature self-contained machine even more like a mystery box... 

I pick my watches with a very aesthetic bias (graphic designer by background) and so for me increasing the complication while maintaining an effective, quality design is like an extra layer of challenge. 

My collection is still growing but in the chrono department I currently have a Michel Herbelin Newport Chrono and a Certina DS2 Precidrive. Both are quartz. 

That's the Herbelin. Excuse my mammoth limb. 

Next on my list will be the black Herbelin Cap Camarat Chrono. Oooooh.... slicker than a greased weasel... 

He's was talking about an automatic, mechanical movement.  I like meca quartz watches. I don'thave one.  I own numerous quartz chronos. I have a Lunar Pilot which I love! Appreciate the info anyway!

Cheers!

I am with you, I find chrono's too busy, I like simple...so having numerous dials on dial, I find distracting and extraneous. Not a fan. 

Agree.  But then I am nearly blind!  Lol

Not a fan at all. Years ago at Christmas I was given a very nice one by my wife and kids but I already had my eye on a much more simple piece and they gladly understood so I exchanged it for the one I wanted, a Sieko Arcture Kinetic. Years after that I was gifted an Invicta chronograph which I kept and is the only one in my collection. The rest of my pieces are all simple cases, hands and dials. 

I would wager yours is a Mecaquartz with a Seiko VK64 movement -- and you're right, it doesn't have a running seconds.  I avoid that movement for that one specific reason.