Chrono curious

Chronographs are my favorite complication. Here are some of my thoughts:

-I don't miss the sweeping seconds hand, although all of my chronographs have a small running seconds in one of the sub dials

-other than the fact that some of my chronographs don't have a date display (such as the Speedy Pro), there isn't anything else they don't have that my other watches do (well, other than my GMTs, etc).

-some chronographs, such as Broad Arrow Omegas, or the IWC Pilots Watch chronos, have wide hour/minute hands which can sometimes obscure the subdials, making the chronograph sub dials difficult to read at times.

-when sub dials are in contrasting colors to the main dial, they can really get in the way of overall legibility of the watch.

-chronographs tend to be fairly thick, especially automatics.

-chronographs will be more expensive to service than standard 3 hand watches

-Omega makes a ton of chronographs beside the Speedy Pro, not only in the Speedmaster line, but also in other lines such as Seamaster & DeVille. Lots of great deals to be had on pre-owned watches, but keep service cost in mind.

-the choice between sapphire & hesalite on the Speedy Pro depends to a great degree on how much you care about being true to the original. If I were buying a vintage Speedy Pro from the space race era, I'd probably want hesalite, but I personally opted for sapphire on my 3861 since I wanted the exhibition caseback, and I just personally happen to prefer the way the watch looks with the sapphire crystal, not to mention how much more scratch resistant it is. The premium for the sapphire crystal was worthwhile to me, but it depends on your own financial situation, since it isn't trivial.

-the only issue with going to manual from automatic is remembering to wind it. Most of my watches are automatics, so when I wear a manual wind like my Speedy Pro, I need to try to remind myself to wind it.  I usually change watches every couple of days, so I've never had it stop on me. FWIW, I  tested the PR on mine, and it goes a fair bit beyond the advertised 50 hours.

-Omega watches tend to lose value quickly, so unless you can negotiate a considerable discount, be prepared to lose money when you sell if you buy from a boutique or AD.  I stupidly bought my 3861 from my AD as a spur of the moment purchase and negotiated a small discount. Now, 1 1/2 years later, I'd be lucky to be able to get 80% of what I paid (of course, 12% taxes account for some of the loss). I've also bought a few pre-owned Speedmasters which I would be able to sell at a slight profit, or at worst, break even. When I bought them, the prices I paid were equivalent to getting 35-40% discount from AD, and watches were in pristine condition with remaining warranty

-there are tons of great watches based on the Valjoux 7750 family of movements that are available in reasonably priced watches. I have a couple of Sinn chronos with those movements, and feel they are terrific value.

Jonathon, you ask if there is any watch to consider before buying the Speedy.  My recommendation is to compare the cam operated Speedy side by side with a column wheel chronograph like a Zenith El Primero or any Longines.  The column wheel seems to give a much a much crisper feel to the pushers when you are timing.  If it doesn't matter to you buy the Speedmaster it is an awesome iconic watch.  If it matters there are Speedmasters with a caliber 321 movement instead of the Valjoux or you can spend more for the Zenith El Primero or a bit less for a Longines.  

@tempus  did a really nice job of summarizing the main points. Like many, it is my favorite complication as well and I have always been drawn to multiple subdials.  Biggest advice is to try a bunch on. Find a dealer with a lot of variety to see what you like the look and feel of in person. I love the Speedy (have the Sapphire sandwich personally) but it is not my favorite chrono in the collection because I prefer an automatic, but it is still awesome. I did look at the reduced when I originally bought it because, at the time, they were a 1/3 the price in a better size (for me). Same look, but smaller and with an automatic movement, but the devil on my shoulder told me to go for the non-reduced. 

I also agree, try to negotiate down if buying through an AD, but many Omega boutiques are not budging, but they are often found much cheaper through grey dealers, and even cheaper used. 

I agree that column wheel chronographs tend to have a better pusher feel. There are also other column wheel chronographs from Omega, such as the Speedmaster 57 and Speedmaster Racing, which would be less expensive than the Caliber 321 models. I personally prefer the look of chronographs with 2 sub dials, however most of them only allow for a max of 1 hour timing. The current Speedmaster 57 and Speedmaster Racing combine the hours and minutes chrono hands in a single sub dial, so you get the 2 sub dial layout with full 12 hour timing functionality. These are available pre-owned in like new condition for significantly below MSRP, making them pretty decent value as well.

No one has mentioned Tag Heuer, so I'll go ahead and do that since we're talking chronographs. The in-house Heuer 02 movement is worth considering: column wheel, vertical clutch, 12 hour timing, and a fantastic 80 hours of power reserve really set it apart from others. COSC-certified in some models. To be fair, I do wish Tag would upgrade it with an anti-magnetic hairspring and COSC-certify as a standard. This movement kind of flies under the radar (perhaps because Tag isn't the most loved brand these days) but I think it's an often overlooked gem. Heuer played a big part in the development of chronographs, and there are some nice models in the Monaco, Carrera and Autavia range.

But don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Omega, and in particular their movements. Master chronometer, anti-magnetic, co-axial escapement - what's not to love? I'm not saying the Heuer 02 is on that level, but looking purely from a chronograph perspective, it offers things the entry-level Moonwatch doesn't. And you may have completely written off Tag up to this point, but I'd encourage you to visit an AD or boutique and try on some models, you might be surprised.

If I were buying a Speedmaster today, I'd personally go for hesalite. To me, the sapphire upgrade isn't worth it; I like the aesthetic of the hesalite better (makes a change from all the watches I own with sapphire) and I rarely look at my see-through casebacks. The 321 is great, but expensive. If money weren't a factor I'd take it over the hesalite.

Last thing I'll say is that I personally don't like chronographs that can only time for 30/45/60 minutes, and there are so many these days. It's one of the reasons I really like the chronographs offered by Omega and Tag.

EDIT: I have never missed the sweeping seconds, or even considered it really. The subdial is there after all. And being able to make the "big seconds hand" stop and go on command is much more fun! 😀

And being able to make the "big seconds hand" stop and go on command is much more fun! 😀

I think this is one of the reasons that I enjoy chronographs so much - they give you an excuse to interact with the watch.

Most of the comments have things covered, but I have a Speedy Moonphase, which does have a column wheel chronograph, so you have that option in this line too. 

As a non-chrono person, the sweeping seconds is something I do miss; I alwayds get the feeling that the watch isn't working when I see the stationary big second hand, despite the small one turning in its smaller circle.

As far as "what watches to consider first before buying a speedy" I'd say get yourself a much cheaper quartz or mecaquartz chrono, to see whether you are a chrono person in the first place, and if you are, whether you rather have a sparse or a full dial. Possibly even getting a homage of the watch in your sight. I mean, if you get an $80 homage for a speedy and you don't like the look you lost $80; if you get the real one, don't like the look and re-sell, you are likely to make a $1000 loss.

I have a Speedy pro, hesalite glass and steel backed. I didn't buy it for the chrono functions as such, but because I love the design/form of it. If you want a pure chrono-timer, then there are better options, there are better technical choices. 

Plus points.

1. It's a stone cold design classic - the visual neatness of the watch and case is near-perfect.
2. It wears beautifully - it's comparatively thin for a chrono, has a comfortable lug-to-lug and sits snugly to the wrist. Pulls of the same trick as the Daytona, in that it sits near-perfectly on a wide range of wrists.
3. The movement is a beast. Tried and tested, they may not be the most accurate timer out there but they are robust and efficient. Easy to get repaired as well, if needed. 
4.  They've been in strong demand for many years, and will continue to be - every new generation loves a speedy - ensures support from Omega in the long-term. 

Detractors

1.  Common as water - everyone has one!!
2. Hesalite glass- beautiful, but will scratch if you look at it in a funny way
3.  Bezel - vertical edge design is great but will attract nicks and dings over time, unlike a  more, well...bezelled, design
4. Winding - crown is small-ish and tight to the case - even small fingers can find it fiddly to wind. 

In summary - if you want a speedy, buy one. It's a keeper and a brilliant watch. Hesalite or Sapphire is a personal choice - see which you prefer - they are quite different.  If you want a chrono-timer, then have a broader look in the market - there are better Chronos than a speedy, but as aon overall package, it's a winner. 

footnote - on the reduced model. I have one of those as well - it's more convenient (automatic, not manual wind), but doesnt haev the same visual impact. It's lovely, but not quite as elegant as the full-size - the dial seems a little compressed. Otherwise, great watch. 

I’m no expert on chronographs. I’ll say that you got some great opinions above. But I do have Speedmaster. Between the two versions I choose the hesalite version. I really liked the distorsion that the hesalite gives. I also imagine that the hesalite was thinner from the case down (even if the total thickness is thicker) and therefor sat better on the wrist.

Thank you for the mention @jonathandubosemiller ! I appreciate it 🍻

Some great feedback and food for thought. I had not considered the below before (especially with the popularity of panda and reverse panda dials). 

-when sub dials are in contrasting colors to the main dial, they can really get in the way of overall legibility of the watch.

Also relatively new to automatic watches so I have not had a service experience before. Hopefully my plan to space out nice watches doesn't backfire and leave me in the hole or bare wristed... 

-chronographs will be more expensive to service than standard 3 hand watches

Keep the excellent content coming! 

Good to know! Do all Zenith chronohands rotate much faster around the dial than once every 60 seconds or is it only the popular modals that flood my instragram feed?

Thank you! Any recommendations for negotiating down at an AD? The few Omega ADs I've been to (boutiques in Chicago, NYC; Tournwau/Bucherer in NYC) seem to have everything and pretty eager to make a sale (even to the point of feeling less premium than other brands). 

I find it somewhat frustrating that I prefer the aesthetic of contrasting sub dials, but prefer the readability of sub dials that blend in. My Omega Speedmaster Racing is probably my favorite chronograph in my collection from an aesthetic point of view, but it is also my least readable at a glance. That may be partially due to the hands themselves, but the black rings on the sub dials add to the problem. The Speedy Pro has similar sized hands, and is super legible at a glance.

I haven't been collecting for long enough to have personally experienced the high maintenance costs yet, but am prepared for it, since I have several chronographs in my collection.

I think this is good idea. I had both a quartz Luminox and Citizen EcoDrive chronograph before jumping into the Speedy. Needless to say, I was happy enough to take the leap. 

Of chronographs, I only have a Sea-Gull 1963. I absolutely don't miss a running central sweep second hand in a chrono. Sub-second is perfectly OK. As a vintage watch guy, I'm used to that.

As for hesalite vs sapphire - it's the original feel or modern convenience. Whatever floats your boat more.

I own some autos and plenty of hand-crankers. Other than being mindful of that a hand-cranker won't wind itself, what difference are we talking about?

Prices for the new Speedmaster are extortionate. I can forget about any perspective of owning one. So, the way I see it, pre-owned vs new depends on how much are you willing to pay. And only you know the answer to that.

The movement of the Speedy Reduced is a 2892 derivative with a chrono module. These are said to be slightly more tricky to service, and I heard of Omega service centres sometimes swapping out the entire chrono module for a new one. Mind you, what you'll notice about the Reduced is that the pushers aren't on the same level as the crown - because the chrono is a separate assembly mounted to the dial side of the baseplate. In my experience with ETA chronos, their modular ones' chrono action doesn't feel as good to operate. 

Only the popular models have fast rotation.  The Port Royals all have the El Primero column wheel movement and sell at an incredible discount.  

A cheap example of "just try out the look" approach would be this Olika

It looks pretty much like a Junghans chrono, but just cost £26. So this is probably not a keeper, but a try-outer, but you'll get a good impression what this is gonna look like on your wrist. If you want to try a watch that has a chance of being a keeper you could go for this PP homage by San Martin: 

This has a Seiko VK64 mecaquartz movement, which is also used by more upmarket homagers like Furlan Mari. This is £177 pounds, but as a San Martin it is almost certainly very well put together.

Otherwise, a brand for trying out chrono design styles very cheaply is Jaragar. They make a ton of cheap [all below £35] chronos, mostly (but not exclusively) large watches with busy dials, such as this one:

I'm sure this is more miss than hit, but at that pricepoint you can chance it.

Jaragar is admittedly rather sketchy. Less sketchy is the British brand Accurist. They make a ton of affordable chronos of varying styles, and because their brand has been relaunched this year lots of retailer sit on piles of new old stock of Accurist watches and sell them at reduced prices, e.g. I found this one for £66:

1.  Common as water - everyone has one!!

Thought the same thing about the Rolex Submariner until I tried one on. Always imitated - and for good reason!

I'm going to have to check this out. Thanks!

Awesome side by side comparison. Thanks for sharing!

The biggest drawback I've heard about the Speedmaster and other chronographs is the relatively low water resistance (amplified by accidentally engaging the chronograph when bathing kid, under water, etc.) or need for screw down pushers which makes it less than convenient to operate. Haven't seen any comments about that so maybe it's an urban legend?

that's a cool looking watch! I need to check Zenith out more

Does a mecaquartz movement turn the chronograph sweep into a tick, tick, tick?

I got way less expensive chronographs, a citizen and a seiko, but I like them. 

I don't mind the still second hand. I've had a couple of chronographs with a constantly running second hand, but those aren't as "true" chronographs to me, who doesn't really know how to use a tachymeter scale.

My analog chronographs are good for keeping track of like 5 minute increments, but if I want super precise time tracking I go with one of my digital watches. It matters to me because I make my own coffee and precision matters. I guess is how are you going to use it? Both types of chronographs are good for Pomodorro use, but I like using my analogs for that kind of thing a bit more.

One fact is that the pushers are two more potential points of water ingress. However, I'd put the whole paranoia into the category of fairy tales.

Of course you're better off not operating the pushers when the watch is submerged, since you wouldn't want any additional strain on the gasket than only the hydrostatic pressure. However, incidentally actuating a mechanical (hand-wound or automatic) chrono can be safely dismissed. Most chrono movements I tried out - among them the column wheel Longines L688, Zenith El Primero and the Valjoux 7750 as TAG Heuer cal.16 - were quite safe from incidental actuation.

Years ago, I've been swimming with a Swatch quartz chrono with 30m WR. Nothing happened. I haven't treated that watch lightly. And there, it survived it all, a dirt-cheap beater. Which reminds me - gotta finally replace the beat-up crystal, torn strap and the dead battery in it.

My Seiko 5 SNXS79 isn't a chrono, but it has 30m WR. Survived submersion, swimming, shower. Again, nothing happened.

In my experience as a former watch salesman, lots of the horror stories come from the customer not having read the instructions manual, and general mistreatment of the watch by said customer. 

In a mecaquartz the chrono function is done by the mechanical module of the movement.

how are you going to use it?

Excellent question! And one I'm still figuring out the answer to. Today, I use my dive watches for cooking, tracking the time it takes to get from A to B, how long I'm waiting in a chairlift line, etc. All of these uses work pretty will knowing how many minutes. 

Since I'm not a race car driver, other making espresso where else do chronographs beat out their dive watch counterparts?