The Battle of the Timers: Chronograph VS. Rotating Bezel

Which do you prefer between a watch with a chronograph and a rotating bezel for measuring elasped-time (e.g. a diving or countdown bezel)? Which method of timing do you find more useful on a day-to-day basis? I would love to hear your opinions and the situations in which you use actually use your watch to time things.
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Any G-shock will get you that for better economy and accuracy.

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I prefer a rotating bezel because it's quicker to set, and read. I don't use a watch to time things down to the second, so the precision of a chronograph is unnecessary.

The bezel is also less expensive to maintain than a chronograph...

If I'm doing a job that requires precise timing I use my phone, or a digital stopwatch.

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Rotating bezel.

  1. Generally better legibility, though there are good and bad examples of both
  2. Simplicity. Less parts mean less can go wrong
  3. Service costs are typically more expensive on chronographs, and usually by a good bit.
  4. I rarely require high levels of precision. If I ever do, my phone or a digital Casio do a much better job.
  5. Bezels are more fun to fidget with than pushers
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Chronographs are my favorite complication, so I would prefer a chronograph over a timing bezel. A better option is a chronograph with a timing bezel, such as my Norqain Adventure Sport (unfortunately it's a uni-directional bezel), which gives even more flexibility.

I tend to find lots of admittedly silly excuses for using the chrono. I use it to time my walks around the neighborhood, the time I spend with the VR headset, the time it takes to do my Sudoku puzzles, the time it takes for the pizza delivery guy to show up, and the time it takes for the edibles to kick in, etc. :-)  I realize that I could use my phone for all that, but it's just so much easier, and much more satisfying to me,  to simply click a button on my watch. The chronograph is one of the very few features found in mechanical movements that provides for user interaction, and I find some enjoyment in that interaction, timing things that I really have no need to time.

The drawbacks of chronographs are the extra thickness that is usually associated with them, along with the potential maintenance costs. I'm perfectly willing to live with those drawbacks.

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tempus

Chronographs are my favorite complication, so I would prefer a chronograph over a timing bezel. A better option is a chronograph with a timing bezel, such as my Norqain Adventure Sport (unfortunately it's a uni-directional bezel), which gives even more flexibility.

I tend to find lots of admittedly silly excuses for using the chrono. I use it to time my walks around the neighborhood, the time I spend with the VR headset, the time it takes to do my Sudoku puzzles, the time it takes for the pizza delivery guy to show up, and the time it takes for the edibles to kick in, etc. :-)  I realize that I could use my phone for all that, but it's just so much easier, and much more satisfying to me,  to simply click a button on my watch. The chronograph is one of the very few features found in mechanical movements that provides for user interaction, and I find some enjoyment in that interaction, timing things that I really have no need to time.

The drawbacks of chronographs are the extra thickness that is usually associated with them, along with the potential maintenance costs. I'm perfectly willing to live with those drawbacks.

I forget to turn the chrno off when they kick in, or forgetting why it's running in the first place. 

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MinnKonaMike

I forget to turn the chrno off when they kick in, or forgetting why it's running in the first place. 

Me too!!

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tempus

Chronographs are my favorite complication, so I would prefer a chronograph over a timing bezel. A better option is a chronograph with a timing bezel, such as my Norqain Adventure Sport (unfortunately it's a uni-directional bezel), which gives even more flexibility.

I tend to find lots of admittedly silly excuses for using the chrono. I use it to time my walks around the neighborhood, the time I spend with the VR headset, the time it takes to do my Sudoku puzzles, the time it takes for the pizza delivery guy to show up, and the time it takes for the edibles to kick in, etc. :-)  I realize that I could use my phone for all that, but it's just so much easier, and much more satisfying to me,  to simply click a button on my watch. The chronograph is one of the very few features found in mechanical movements that provides for user interaction, and I find some enjoyment in that interaction, timing things that I really have no need to time.

The drawbacks of chronographs are the extra thickness that is usually associated with them, along with the potential maintenance costs. I'm perfectly willing to live with those drawbacks.

Chronographs are awesome micro-machines. Mechanical machinery dialed to eleven! It’s everything watch enthusiasts love about the hobby. 

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😉

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Chrono is easy to use. Any G Shock at the push of a button.

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I clicked 2) Bezel, but the answer is slightly more subtle than that

Anything 10 minutes long or more, rotating bezel does a great job as accuracy is rarely needed (ie home to work travel time). I've thought of timing long drives with my Speedmaster (12 hour chronograph) but I always forget the chrono has been launched 2 km into the trip and wonder why it still runs by bedtime...

Anything shorter, such as timing elevator travel from ground to 21st floor, can't beat the chronograph

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Bezel 100% in the everyday practicality of timing life. 

Chronographs are awesome, beautiful, admirable, artistic, expensive fidget-toys-for-grown-ups 😃😜

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I have and use both. The only one I find completely impractical is a chrono with screw down pushers. Granted, it's a trade off for water resistance, but by the time I unscrew both pushers, it would have been easier just to pull out my phone. Fortunately my one watch with screw down pushers also has a countdown bezel, which, in my eyes, makes the chrono part pretty much decoration only. 

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Chronographs are amazing machines, and fun to use. But rotating bezels are far more practical, legible, and simple to use for common daily uses, in my opinion.