Why are all chronos so thick except Daytona

[stewester]

Zenith El Primero A386 is a similar thickness and was launched in 1969. It has a date too!

[alllexandru]

Originally Posted by Hub6152

Spoken like a true fanboy. Geneva would be proud.

As others already stated there are so many manufacturers thinner than Daytona if that's you really wanted to know.

[mpliskin]

Personally I like a little thickness in my watches. A thick Daytona would look out of proportion since it diameter is really 39mm.

[Master_Grogu]

Originally Posted by Hub6152

Spoken like a true fanboy. Geneva would be proud.

Truly. I’m a awful fanboy but even that is too much for me.

Best in class chrono is definitely Bulgari’s. Hate it or love it, you can’t say it’s not a great watch. The caliber is phenomenal.

[Bobby100]

Originally Posted by Master_Grogu

Truly. I’m a awful fanboy but even that is too much for me.

Best in class chrono is definitely Bulgari’s. Hate it or love it, you can’t say it’s not a great watch. The caliber is phenomenal.

Big as a space ship though, I believe that is what they had to resort to make it that thin

[IR201]

Originally Posted by Master_Grogu

Truly. I’m a awful fanboy but even that is too much for me.

Best in class chrono is definitely Bulgari’s. Hate it or love it, you can’t say it’s not a great watch. The caliber is phenomenal.

Too much that someone who doesn't like daytonas is too much of a daytona fanboy! Gotta love this forum and assumptions :)

[kieselguhr]

Royal oak chronograph - 11mm thickness
Patek Phillipe Nautilus chronograph with GMT- 12.5mm thickness

[amanbra]

I love Chronos and I do find the daytona to be the best shape for me. This from all perspectives including:
shape - i like round watches
lug to lug - under 47mm is extremely good
Thickness -
Case size - it's actually under 40mm
Dial size - around 30mm

On top of this is it's a column wheel vertical clutch movement. I have TT, one day I'll own a full PM and SS... don't know when...

[IR201]

Thanks guys for inputs here. I guess I did inadvertently wind up as being a Rolex fanboy here...but funny enough, I don't like Daytonas...so I def wasn't going for that vibe.

I am guilty though of only thinking about the following brands: Tudor, Omega, Tag/Heuer, Zenith, Fortis, Breitling.

All seem to me to have thicker chronos than the daytona, and I don't get why that's necessary, which sparked my Q.

I never really looked at AP, never really cared for them, or some of the other brands mentioned.

Thanks again for inputs!

[enjoythemusic]

Originally Posted by IR201

Thanks guys for inputs here. I guess I did inadvertently wind up as being a Rolex fanboy here...but funny enough, I don't like Daytonas...so I def wasn't going for that vibe.

Mmmmkay. Btw I have a Bvlgari Octo AND Daytona... and Speedy, had a PP 3970er 'Hamburger'...

Have fun I say. Enjoy your time

The Daytona is legendary for a reason. Same with Speedy too, and now the world record Bvlgari making its mark. So yeah, other brands may seem more fanboyish as they're just another chrono... except FP Journe, as he has an EPIC chrono I sooooo want one day.

jmho

[jssans]

Which is the fattest chrono ? Maybe the Tudor. That watch is a monster.

[kieselguhr]

Originally Posted by jssans

Which is the fattest chrono ? Maybe the Tudor. That watch is a monster.

Nope. The honor of thickest chronograph goes to Grand Seiko at > 16mm thickness


(From ABTW)

It does have dual time function though

[OG1982]

Originally Posted by kieselguhr

Nope. The honor of thickest chronograph goes to Grand Seiko at > 16mm thickness


(From ABTW)

It does have dual time function though

What, even thicker than a Planet Ocean Chrono? Must be one hellova beast if so!

[ajw45]

Originally Posted by kieselguhr

Nope. The honor of thickest chronograph goes to Grand Seiko at > 16mm thickness


(From ABTW)

It does have dual time function though

that GS needs to bulk up. Porsche Design Indicator P6910 - 19.9mm thick carrying a movement with over 700 parts designed by eterna so probably going to fail sooner rather than later

[Henrimontgomery]

Originally Posted by ajw45

that GS needs to bulk up. Porsche Design Indicator P6910 - 19.9mm thick carrying a movement with over 700 parts designed by eterna so probably going to fail sooner rather than later

LOL! That’s where AP got the inspiration for CODE.

[Oxfordian]

Originally Posted by jssans

Which is the fattest chrono ? Maybe the Tudor. That watch is a monster.

How about a Planet Ocean Chronograph, isn't that around 16mm?

[horseShu]

can't blame the OP.

being the most recognizable luxury brand in the world, i can't blame most people if their watch journey starts and ends with Rolex.

its great for assessing someone who claims to be a 'watch enthusiast'.

"i am super into watches!"

"yeah? name three luxury watch brands other than Rolex."

"Tag Heuer, uh... Seiko? Invicta? I give up."

[IR201]

Originally Posted by horseShu

can't blame the OP.

being the most recognizable luxury brand in the world, i can't blame most people if their watch journey starts and ends with Rolex.

its great for assessing someone who claims to be a 'watch enthusiast'.

"i am super into watches!"

"yeah? name three luxury watch brands other than Rolex."

"Tag Heuer, uh... Seiko? Invicta? I give up."

What on earth are you talking about


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[myporsche]

Originally Posted by horseShu

can't blame the OP.

being the most recognizable luxury brand in the world, i can't blame most people if their watch journey starts and ends with Rolex.

its great for assessing someone who claims to be a 'watch enthusiast'.

"i am super into watches!"

"yeah? name three luxury watch brands other than Rolex."

"Tag Heuer, uh... Seiko? Invicta? I give up."

OP actually made a good point about Daytona being relatively thin chrono movement, most Omegas, 7750 based chronos, Blancpain chronos, are too thick for me. At one point in my watch hobby I had to let go of a Breguet Type XXI Chrono as much as I had loved it and wanted one, it was way too thick and top heavy (those are Lemania based). I'm not a Daytona fan but like that it is not bulky and relatively a thin automatic chronograph, this has nothing to do of knowledge of horology or drinking Rolex KoolAid, its a great thin chrono. AP also makes a great thin chrono in the Royal Oaks (F.Piguet).

[IR201]

Originally Posted by myporsche

OP actually made a good point about Daytona being relatively thin chrono movement, most Omegas, 7750 based chronos, Blancpain chronos, are too thick for me. At one point in my watch hobby I had to let go of a Breguet Type XXI Chrono as much as I had loved it and wanted one, it was way too thick and top heavy (those are Lemania based). I'm not a Daytona fan but like that it is not bulky and relatively a thin automatic chronograph, this has nothing to do of knowledge of horology or drinking Rolex KoolAid, its a great thin chrono. AP also makes a great thin chrono in the Royal Oaks (F.Piguet).

Thank you! Said it way better than I could have (obviously lol).


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[Oyster Sauce]

Originally Posted by myporsche

OP actually made a good point about Daytona being relatively thin chrono movement, most Omegas, 7750 based chronos, Blancpain chronos, are too thick for me. At one point in my watch hobby I had to let go of a Breguet Type XXI Chrono as much as I had loved it and wanted one, it was way too thick and top heavy (those are Lemania based). I'm not a Daytona fan but like that it is not bulky and relatively a thin automatic chronograph, this has nothing to do of knowledge of horology or drinking Rolex KoolAid, its a great thin chrono. AP also makes a great thin chrono in the Royal Oaks (F.Piguet).

+1 Although there are "higher horology" chronos that are thinner than the Daytona, for its "class of watch" (stainless steel rugged daily chrono) it is among the thinner chronos. For example, although I currently have and enjoy a Speedy Pro, previously had a Speedy Reduced -- I felt that the form factor of the Reduced was just heavenly -- so thin! Of course, the Reduced was modular and a very different movement from the Speedy Pro. For thinness, the Reduced and Daytona are the exception to the rule, though.

The Daytona really stands out for being an integrated automatic chrono with a thin profile; even though I don't have one (and likely will not ever acquire one), I give it big respect for this. I don't understand why other similarly positioned brands (Omega, GS, etc) don't invest in a chrono that's thinner...I think it would make their products instantly a lot more compelling.

Regardless, wear whatever you have in good health

[inadeje]

Most chrono movements of old used a piggy back chrono module that sits above the movement, rendering chronos historically thicker watches. Around 2 decades ago column wheel chronographs with a vertical clutch as used in the Daytona, Zenith el primero and numerous others allowed for a slimmer movement due to the incorporation of the chrono mechanism into the horizontal plain of the movement.

[subtona]

Bvlgari chrono is awfully thin.


The thickness issue doesn’t apply just to the chronos, the rest of Rolex line up is consistently thinner than the typical competition. Among the reasons that Rolex sells a million watches a year.

[stateman]

Originally Posted by subtona

Bvlgari chrono is awfully thin.


The thickness issue doesn’t apply just to the chronos, the rest of Rolex line up is consistently thinner than the typical competition. Among the reasons that Rolex sells a million watches a year.

Think this is a really important point…and one of the reasons why Rolex is broadly appealing to so many…for all the other reasons that we all know, but also because it provides nearly its entire range at sizes that can fit a wider range of wrists.

[gt0279a]

It is unfortunate many brands make unnecessarily thick chronographs.

Even the 7750 can be made into a ~14mm watch case with 100m WR, but most are in the 15.5mm-16mm range.

A watch salesman will tell you the brand is going after 'wrist presence" or it simply it can not be manufactured thinner than the 16mm hockey puck he is trying to sell.

The reality from what I understand is it more expensive to manufacture a watch with more precise tolerances that is thinner and has decent WR.

[Krash]

I never considered my Speedmaster thick, but it’s manual not automatic.


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[JP.]

Most automatic chronos are ETA 7750-based. That requires thicker case.

I have two Ebel chronos. Other one has inhouse Cal.137 (based on Lemania) and the other one has Zenith El Primero.

Both are very slim.

[amanbra]

The new chronomaster original is 38mm and 12.6mm thick i just discovered, i'm paying a visit to the AD after we're out a lockdown I think...

[AltiTudor]

The Cartier Santos chronograph is 12.5mm thick as well. And modular.

[MRBolton]

The Bvgalri would be so nice if it weren’t so big width-wise! The height is amazing, and the watch wears so light weight. The non chrono version in titanium is like air!