8 good-value chronometers

Text: Filip Ericsson

The interest in mechanical wristwatches has increased steadily since the winding down of the quartz crisis, particularly in recent years. The most exact watches are called “chronometer” which means that they have passed the precision tests at Switzerland's official test institute for chronometers. Eqotime lists eight good-value chronometer watches on the market today!

The term “chronometer” originates from the 1700s and referred to extra exact watches above all intended for navigation at sea.  

Organised chronometer testing took place at the observatories in Neuchâtel and Geneva in Switzerland, as well as separately within the various cantons, from the later part of the 1800s onwards. After that the tests and the requirements were developed, and from 1961 chronometer certification meant for example measurement in five different positions and a precision of -1/+10 seconds per day.  

In 1973 the Contrôle officiel suisse des Chronomètres (COSC) was then finally created, the official Swiss institute for chronometer testing. Together with the federation for the Swiss watch industry, FHS, the institute was founded by five cantons where watchmaking takes place. It today comprises three different laboratories that receive movements from all Swiss manufacturers that want to obtain chronometer certificates for their watches; in Biel, Saint-Imier and Le Locle.  

Chronometer tests are carried out on both quartz movements and mechanical movements and today we focus on the mechanical ones. The tests for these are carried out over 15 days where the movements are exposed to three different temperatures (-8 to +38 C) and positioned in five different positions.  

For the movement to be able to be honoured with a chronometer certificate the average rate deviation must be kept between –4 and +6 seconds per day. But it does not stop there; the following intervals are also measured: average variation of rate, greatest variation of rate, difference between rate in horizontal and vertical positions, variation of rate in different temperatures as well as resumption of rate.  

More expensive brands such as Rolex, Omega and Breitling sell exclusively chronometer certified watches and they are of course expensive. The very cheapest Omega with a mechanical movement costs for example around 45 000 kronor and then the price curve goes steeply upwards. A Seamaster Diver costs for example 78 300 kronor with a bracelet…The same applies to Breitling, while Rolex is even more expensive than that.  

But there are chronometer certified watches from slightly less prestigious brands that do not dig as deep holes in the wallet. Eqotime lists eight fine alternatives within the range 10 000 – 30 000 kronor, all Swiss quality watches that promise certified chronometer precision. We take it in alphabetical order.  

Ball Engineer III 

The idiosyncratic, almost slightly screwy watch manufacturer Ball is today a Swiss brand, but is – founded in Ohio in 1891 as it is – at the same time a significant part of North American watch history. Ball was part of creating the segment railroad watches, today an extremely narrow niche, and actually inspired COSC itself when the chronometer standard came about. With its relatively restrained prices a Ball should thereby undeniably be in an article for good-value chronometers! 

Ball is a brand that is rarely mentioned in discussions about watches. Many have never heard of it and its products are for many quite original. The model range is extensive and perhaps a little messy. The common thread is in any case tough instrument watches in a number of series that all resemble each other.   

Those who have not been scared off by all this may finally turn their gaze away because of the brand-typical squiggle in the form of a stylistic “RR” (Railroad Standard) on the seconds hand that the brand insists on. 

If you look past that too it is however possible to pan out some nuggets of gold from the Ball raisin bowl. One of them is the Engineer III which has the shape of a simple instrument watch, a so-called GADA watch or perhaps a luxury sports watch – choose whichever is most to your taste. Roughly like an Omega Aqua Terra or Rolex Oyster Perpetual, you could say.  

The case measures 40 or 43mm and is 13.6mm thick. A bit on the large side for some but then the Ball watches are built like tanks, and the specifications are for the price class lavish. 

The steel in the case and bracelet is for example the so-called 904L, a real quality marker which they share with Rolex itself (and a few more). It is a finer and cleaner steel than the 316L that is used by the competitors, and contains a lower carbon content as well as a higher nickel and chromium content, which increases the corrosion resistance. The material is several times more expensive and harder to work, and gives a finer lustre as an extra bonus. 

The Engineer is water resistant to 100 metres and is moreover well protected against magnetic fields (80 000 A/m) as well as shocks (5000 Gs).  

Inside sits an automatic movement in the form of the Ball Caliber RR1101-C, which is in fact a modified ETA 2892-A2, this reliable and exact premium movement which has sat in so many luxury watches over the years. Many have been chronometer certified, so too in this Ball.  

The Engineer III exists in a number of versions, where mainly the dials differ. The prices start at just under 20 000 kronor. Odd, tough and exact – something for practically minded eccentrics! 

Christopher Ward C65 Sandhurst Series II 

Christopher Ward is a small British brand founded in 2004. The core business is premium watches at reasonable prices which is achieved by handling the sales on their own, without middlemen. The watches are designed in Great Britain but put together Switzerland under the slogan “English Swissness”. 

One of the company's most important models is the C65 which has the shape of a luxurious field watch. The company also calls it a “VIP field watch”. In the C65 range there is the C65 Sandhurst which is one in the row of tributes to Great Britain's armed forces. The brand has after all from the start embraced a patriotic streak which is expressed through models that pay tribute to the country's military.  

Despite their restrained prices several of Christopher Ward's watches are chronometer certified, so too the C65 Sandhurst. 

The model came out in 2019 and has been inspired by the old military watch Smiths W10, a British-made field watch that was used by the country's armed forces from 1967. Production ceased in 1970. The name Sandhurst is furthermore a tribute to the royal military academy in the town with the same name. Today an updated version is sold under the name Series II.  

The case measures a modest 38mm in diameter and 11.9mm in height. The crown is screw-down and the water resistance is stated at a generous 150 metres. The crystal is in beautifully domed sapphire. 

Like all C65 watches the case is timelessly and elegantly shaped and the dial is that over-clear that only a field watch with military genes can be. The detail work is for the price class magnificent, just look at the beautifully decorated crown. 

Inside sits, as in so many other moderately priced mechanical watches, an automatic Sellita SW200-1 with 38 hours of power reserve, which here has thus been given chronometer certification. The Swiss movement is as many know a clone of the famous ETA 2824-2, which has after all driven millions of mechanical watches in all kinds of price classes for decades.   

Choose between a fabric strap or a steel bracelet. The price is around 13 000 kronor with the fabric strap and a good 15 000 kronor with the bracelet, depending on the exchange rate against the Euro. Like found money considering the beautiful design, the quality and the exact chronometer movement! 

Frederique Constant Highlife Automatic COSC 

Swiss Frederique Constant has since the start in 1988 made a name for itself on luxury watches with internally developed and built movements, without costing the shirt off your back. Since 2016 the company is owned by Japanese Citizen. 

Their good-looking luxury sports watch with an integrated bracelet, the Highlife, came out in 1999 and today constitutes the backbone of the company's range. The genre seems after all to be forever immensely popular while Frederique Constant's contribution is an attractive product which is moreover within reach for ordinary folk. Set up for success then! 

A completely new version was launched in 2020 and quickly remained a bestseller. The model exists in a number of executions such as a men's model at 39mm, a ladies' model at 34mm, chronograph, Worldtimer and Perpetual Calendar. The chronometer certified men's model with three hands is the one that gets our attention today, since the ladies' version lacks certification and since the prices run away with added functions. 

The case measures as said 39mm in diameter and a slender 10.34mm in thickness, ideal for an all-round watch that has to handle the luxury sports watch's demands of everyday chores and formal occasions. The water resistance is incidentally to a purposeful 100 metres. 

Inside ticks the Frederique Constant Caliber FC-303 which is the brand's version of the famous Sellita SW200-1 which also motorises several other watches in today's list. It undeniably appears as a suitable choice for manufacturers that want to offer chronometer precision at good prices. 

The Highlife 39mm is sold mainly with the good-looking integrated steel bracelet while some versions come with a leather strap. They are also sold with PVD treatment in gold colour for the person who is a little more glamorously inclined. The model comes with a good selection of dials so you just have to choose which colour you prefer. 

The price is about 24 000 kronor for a watch in steel with a steel bracelet while the PVD models are a few thousand more expensive. For a well-designed luxury sports watch of good quality from a respected manufacturer, which moreover sports a chronometer movement, the Highlife indisputably appears as a tempting alternative! 

Longines Spirit  

Venerable Longines is one of the bigger players within the Swiss watch industry and at the same time a part of the gigantic watch group Swatch Group. The range of elegant quality watches for the ordinary man is vast and with the combination of humane prices, thoroughly worked design and a hard-to-beat history they go down well with enthusiasts as well as with ordinary people without any particular watch interest.  

Longines is perhaps the biggest of all when it comes to providing retro watches, that is to say new wristwatches that are heavily inspired by the timekeepers of former times. They were after all part of creating the still ongoing retro trend with their beautiful diving watch Legend Diver in 2007, and after that they have positively sprayed out one retro watch after the other.  

The Longines Spirit which came out in 2020 is also inspired by history, but represents a new sort of direction for the brand. The Spirit is not a retro watch and has no template to copy. It is a new wristwatch but one which in spirit takes impulses from former times. As such it is also a tribute to the “pioneering spirit” that Longines wants to be associated with.  

Because the brand exuded a spirit of discovery in masses in the old days, with one adventurer after the other wearing Longines watches during their historic journeys of hardship.  

The most famous adventurer with a Longines connection is probably the pilot Charles Lindbergh, who wore a pilot's watch from the brand when in 1927 he flew nonstop from New York to Paris. The American Amelia Earhart flew alone over the Atlantic in 1932 and then wore a chronograph from the brand.  

The year before, a Longines watch sat around the wrist of her compatriot Elinor Smith when she reached close to 10 000 metres of altitude in an aeroplane, while the airship captain Hans von Schiller during the 30s flew around the world in the airship Zeppelin with various Longines instruments on board. 

The Frenchman Paul-Emile Victor used Longines instruments for navigation during his expeditions to the poles, and is said to have praised the Longines watches he wore during the trips. The Swiss deep-sea divers father and son Auguste and Jacques Piccard explored the seas in a submarine during the 60s with Longines stopwatches to help them. And so it continues.  

Many decades later Longines wanted to create a wristwatch that is a reminder of all these historic achievements, and the result was a sportily elegant wristwatch with a shape that has been inspired by classic pilot's watches.  

The Spirit is offered in three case sizes of 37, 40 and 42mm. There are chronographs and GMT versions, cases in steel, steel/gold or titanium, straps/bracelets in leather, fabric and steel as well as five different colours for the dials. There is thus a Spirit for most tastes. Common to them all is that they house chronometer certified, automatic movements.  

In the simpler three-hand watches sits the Longines Caliber L888.4, which means a heavily modified ETA 2892-A2, with precision-promoting modernities such as a balance spring in silicon (silicon) as well as a very fine power reserve of 72 hours.  

Undeniably an extremely competitive engine in a Swiss quality watch from a famous and respected manufacturer which is bought for a reasonable 28 600 kronor (with leather strap). A few thousand more for the person who prefers a steel bracelet.  

I choose a 37 millimetre one with a steel bracelet and a silver-coloured dial, head out into the world and do not take it off until I come home, regardless of what I get up to during the journey. The Spirit is surely a real GADA watch anyway – a chromometer certified one! 

Mido Commander Chronometer & Icone 

Mido was founded in Switzerland in 1918 and initially aimed at elegant dress watches. During the 30s the focus changed to sporty, water resistant watches with antimagnetic and shock resistant properties – innovative for the time.  

In 1959 the diving watch Oceanstar was launched as well as the sporty Commander, both still in production – in modern executions of course. 

Today the brand belongs to the Swatch Group and shares the space there with several brands in roughly the same price class. Mido namely sells watches that lie somewhere between Tissot and Longines in price. 

The Mido Commander is sold in several subgroups with many different models but it is exclusively the Commander Chronometer and Commander Icone that offer chronometer certification. 

The Commander Chronometer is a modern-format wristwatch which has however taken inspiration from the original from 1959. It measures 40mm in diameter and 11.3mm in height, just right and easily worn dimensions for most men's wrists one might think.  

The Chronometer has a date as well as a weekday indicator and is sold exclusively with a steel bracelet. Four different colours for the dial are offered.  

The Commander Icone is more retro inspired and resembles the original to an even higher degree. It measures (a little surprisingly) 42mm in diameter and comes with a period-typical mesh bracelet. Exactly as on the original from the 1950s there are no lugs and the crown is barely visible on the case. That gives a Mido-typically clean design that appears completely modern even today, despite design elements with 65 years on their back. 

The Icone exists in steel with a grey dial, case in black or gold-coloured PVD steel, or steel with a PVD bezel in gold colour and a silver-coloured dial.  

Both models are water resistant to the equivalent of 50 metres and both hold the Swatch group's state-of-the-art automatic movement Powermatic 80 with a whole 80 hours of power reserve. At Mido it is called the Mido Caliber 80.  

The prices are tempting. The steel versions of both the Chronometer and the Icone cost 16 800 kronor according to the Swedish list price while the PVD watches are a thousand kronor or so more expensive. 

With its significant history, distinctive design and competent, chronometer certified movements it appears as a bargain. If you like the shape that is! 

Squale 1521 Classic COSC 

Squale was founded in 1959 in Switzerland. Initially they produced cases for a number of well-known watch manufacturers such as for example Blancpain, Heuer, Doxa and Sinn. In 1974 they began building their own watches and during the 80s diving watches were delivered to the Italian navy. The name “Squale” means incidentally “shark” in French.  

In the aftermath of the quartz crisis the company tried to switch over to quartz watches but it went shakily and at the beginning of the 1990s production ceased. Squale was bought up by the Italian Maggi family and in 2010 the brand was relaunched. The head office is based in Milan but the watches are put together in Chiasso in Switzerland, close to the border with Italy.  

Today exclusively thick-skinned diving watches for professional use are produced. Several different model series are offered and the most classic one, the one that best honours the brand's origin, is model 1521. It can moreover be had in a chronometer execution and then goes under the name 1521 Classic COSC. 

The shape is classic and timeless and therefore perhaps lacks a bit of its own character. It is however a completely purposeful dish with an over-clear dial and hands, substantial luminescence and a classic diver's bezel that turns in one direction, as it should. A classic Squale attribute is that the crown sits at four o'clock.  

The 1521 Classic COSC measures 42mm and 12.5mm in thickness. Slender considering that it handles 500 metres below the surface! 

Inside sits, little surprisingly, a Sellita SW200-1 which has thus been chronometer certified, a smart and purposeful choice by the manufacturer since its low price, exact running, toughness and economical maintenance are tailor-made for serious instrument watches such as Squale's.  

The watch is delivered with a really good-looking steel bracelet, while a mesh bracelet, fabric or leather strap can be bought in addition. The price tag is 1990 Euro which corresponds to just over 23 000 kronor, at the time of writing. A Squale is surely something to travel to the end of the world with! 

Tissot Heritage 1938 Automatic COSC 

Swiss Tissot is one of the entry brands within the Swatch group and has a long and exciting history to lean back on. The company was founded as early as 1853 and quickly became a pioneer in several technical areas.  In 1929 they merged with Omega and in 1983 the company was swallowed by the conglomerate that in 1998 remained the Swatch Group.   

Tissot's watches are very attractively priced and the slightly more luxurious wristwatches in the repertoire appear particularly good value. The PRX, the luxury sports watch in the budget class for example, can be had for a modest 9000 kronor, despite a state-of-the-art mechanical movement and fine build quality.  

They also sell perhaps the market's cheapest chronometer in the form of the Heritage 1938 Automatic COSC which thereby has an obvious place on this list. Tissot has released a number of good-looking vintage-inspired watches in recent years and the Heritage 1938 came out during 2023. 

The shape is heavily imbued with the well-turned wristwatches of the 30s and 40s and the dials, which are offered in black or old rose, possess a clear vintage style. They are moreover very clear, a practical advantage even for a modern watch wearer.  

These versions have no date and have a large seconds hand. A third version with date and small seconds hand – Small Second – is also offered, and it has a black and white dial of the so-called sector type. 

The Heritage 1938 measures an ideal 39mm and 11.1 in thickness. The Small Second is thinner at only 9.8mm in height. This is because it holds a thinner and finer movement. 

Inside the 1938 Automatic ticks an ETA 2824-2, something that perhaps surprises since the brand after all frequently uses the more modern Powermatic 80 movement which is also part of the group. Any noticeable disadvantage for the wearer it is however unlikely to mean, except that the power reserve stops at 38 hours in the older 2824 movement – if that now matters so much in an automatically wound watch. 

The Small Second instead uses the ETA 2895-2 (the small seconds version of the 2892-A2) which is a more premium unit and which has driven considerably more expensive wristwatches over the years, for example many Omegas.  

The water resistance is to 50 metres and sapphire crystal sits both front and back. The 1938 Automatic is delivered with a handsome leather strap while the Small Second comes with a steel bracelet of mesh type. The price is 10 495 kronor for the Automatic and 12 395 kronor for the Small Second. They are likely to aspire to the title of watch bargain of the decade! 

Zodiac Super Sea Wolf Pro-Diver 

Zodiac was founded in Switzerland in 1882, then under the name Ariste Calame. It would take until 1908 before the company officially changed its name to Zodiac. The brand was early out with automatic winding as early as 1930 and in 1953 the diving watch Sea Wolf was released, one of the world's first diving watches.  

Already at that time they aimed at mass-produced sports watches for the masses and so it has continued up to today. Zodiac is currently owned by Fossil with its head office in Texas, USA. Production however still takes place in Biel in Switzerland.  

The Super Sea Wolf comes in several executions while two of them have chronometer certificates, at least in steel. There is also a version in ceramic which can however be designated as its own subcategory. Today we focus on the steel ones.  

The chronometer watches go under the name Pro-Diver and exist in two executions: with a classic black dial and a more eye-catching version with a light green dial where the whole dial is luminous. The Pro-Diver is otherwise a straightforwardly shaped diving watch with slightly angular lines and with a classic rotating bezel in black.  

The case measures 42mm in diameter and 13 in height. The water resistance is to 300 metres.  

Inside there is, not a Sellita movement, but the Caliber STP 1-21, an automatic movement from Swiss Technology Production. The watch factory was founded in Ticino in Switzerland in 2006 and is today owned by Fossil, and hence the connection to Zodac. The Caliber 1-21 is exactly like the Sellita SW200 a clone of the good old ETA 2824 movement. Reliable and precise timekeeping can thereby be expected from a Zodiac Pro-Diver as well. 

The price is 23 295 kronor which refers to the list price in Sweden. Cool name, cool watch, unimpeachable toughness and precision – for entirely reasonable means.