We’ve scoured the watch world to come up with five of the best Chronographs you can buy for under $20,000, and some of these may surprise you!
It’s one of the most common questions we hear in person, on forums, and in general conversation amongst watch collectors. “I’m Looking to spend up to a certain dollar amount on a watch – needs to be X, Y, Z, what should I get?” So for today, we’re focusing on what you should get if you were to spend up to $20,000 on a Chronograph – one of the more useful and common complications on a watch today.
And for $20,000, there are a lot of choices to sort through, from dress chronographs, to pilots chronographs, to diver chronographs. The list goes on. And we can say that if you’re just starting your search it can be daunting, but don’t worry, we’ve got five great choices here that will suit a range of budgets, and are some of the best chronographs you can buy (at retail) for under AUD $20,000.
Longines Avigation Bigeye Chronograph
Longines has a long history with Aviation navigation (Avigation), with their watches donning the wrists some of history’s most notable Aviators. A Chronograph was (and still is) key for aviators, and the Longines Bigeye Chronograph represents this history and functionality in a modern vintage inspired piece.
This watch is all about functionality. Large lumed numerals on the dial, the large minutes counter at 3 o’clock for ease of reading at a glance and 41mm in size, not too big or small allowing all the information to fit on the dial. It’s a good looking modern watch with that vintage style and the L688 Chronograph movement is a decent movement and good bang for buck.
Australian RRP: $4,700 on leather. Available at Longines.com
Raymond Weil Freelancer Pilot Flyback Chronograph
We recently did a hands on review on this specific watch and were impressed with its looks, the design elements and functionality. Check it out here. We’ve picked this as the Freelancer Pilot Flyback Chronograph is good value for money and is also limited to just 400 pieces, 10 in Australia.
The flyback functionality is great, the multifaceted dial looks amazing and at 42mm, is sized well and sits flush on the wrist. Plus, it’s not something that everyone will have, and the design is unique, so it’s not something you see often.
Australian RRP: $6,995. Available at Raymond-Weil.com
Bremont Supermarine Chronograph
Watch Advice had the pleasure of touring the new Bremont Boutique in Melbourne last week, and this model caught our eye. The Supermarine is a robust divers watch designed for purpose, and this piece has the added functionality of the GMT, making it a highly versatile sports watch.
At 43mm and 16mm thick, it’s a larger wearing watch, but this isn’t meant to be a dress watch. The rubber strap is comfortable a suited to whatever you throw at it, and the watch is pure fun on your wrist – perfect for that next travel adventure overseas.
Australian RRP: $9,300 on rubber. Available at Bremont.com
Omega Speedmaster ‘57
No Chronograph collection is complete without an Omega Speedmaster. But we’ve gone something a little different to the standard Moonwatch. The Omega Speedmaster ’57 pays tribute to the 1957 Speedmaster (predating the Moonwatch) and is a perfect 40.5mm in size. With an in-house co-axial hand-wound movement that has 60hrs power reserve, it’s also on the slimmer side too, making at a great sports watch that can be dressed up and down.
The Speedmaster is synonymous with timing, and the ’57 is a nod to this. Plus it has the added functionality of the date window at 6 o’clock, which the Moonwatch doesn’t have, adding a touch more functionality to the piece.
Australian RRP: $15,250 on steel. Available at Omegawatches.com
Breitling Premier B25 Datora 42
Breitling are making some seriously good watches these days under the leadership of Georges Kern and the Premier B25 Datora is one of the best looking dress chronographs in our opinion. The B25 refers to their in-house concept movement & its look is reminiscent of a Patek, with that beautiful Salmon dial working brilliantly with the tan alligator strap.
“Datora” was a term used by Breitling in the 1940s and refers to a complete calendar chronograph displaying day, date, month and the different moon phases, making this highly useful. At 42mm and 15mm thick, its on the larger side, but wears very well and will turn heads with both watch and non-watch people!
Australian RRP: $19,790. Available at Breitling.com
So there you have five great chronographs to choose from under $20,000 and at a range of budgets too. Now the world of chronographs is massive, and whilst we’ve five here, there are so many more we could have included. So if you have any suggestions or don’t agree with any of these choices, leave us a comment below!
