A while back, I wrote an article on my top 5 iconic chronograph watches. Some of you readers wondered why Zenith wasn?t in there. Quite simply, it didn’t make my personal Top 5. However, I do love the Zenith El Primero movement, and think that its reputation as a great chronograph caliber is well-earned. So, to make it up for some of you fellow watch nerds out there, here I focus specifically on chronograph movements rather than watches.
One of my watch-loving friends ? who, sadly, passed away a couple of years ago ? had a special appreciation for chronographs and even ended all his e-mails with, ?Chronographs, like most finer things in life, only improve with time.? If you want to know more about chronograph movements, and certain specific calibers, from a collector?s point of view, I recommend you read the interview I did with him a couple of years ago (click here). Although it does not include the latest chronograph movements, it is still a useful article covering many important aspects of chronographs. Another great read that I can recommend if you want to learn more about chronograph movements is the book Chronograph Wristwatches ? To Stop Time, written by Gerd-Rüdiger Lang (founder and former CEO of Chronoswiss) and Reinhard Meis. The book dates from 1993 and offers good ? albeit very technical ? descriptions of the various chronograph movements out there.
My personal Top 10 contains in-house manufactured movements as well as mass-produced movements from manufa...