My Top 5 Chronographs (This Week, Anyway)

It started with a DM.

@darrensdials hit me up on Instagram and asked a deceptively simple question: what are your top 5 chronographs? We're both named Darren, we're both watch people, and somehow we ended up in the same corner of the Internet. Go figure.

The question stuck with me. Not because it's hard to answer, but because it's hard to answer honestly. Anyone can rattle off five grails they've read about on Hodinkee. Or heard Justin, Salim, Tim or Jake talk about on Four Married Men Podcast. The harder thing is to say: here's what I actually love, here's what I own, here's what I'm still chasing, and here's the one I keep looking at and still haven't bought even though I could.

So that's what this is.

One disclaimer before I get into it. I don't know every chronograph that exists. I under-index on Patek and Journe -- I know they make incredible pieces in this category, I just haven't spent enough time with them to have an informed opinion. This list reflects what I know as of the week of June 8, 2026. The next time I visit Tai, Glenn, Spence, and Brian at Shreve, Crump & Low, or walk into some other store, I might learn something that changes it. I'm always learning. That's kind of the point.

With that caveat firmly in place, here are my five. In no particular order.

Cartier Tortue Monopoussoir CPCP

In collection

This one owns the list. Not because it's the most impressive on paper, but because it tells you everything about what I actually look for in a chronograph. One pusher. A shaped case that hasn't been made since the CPCP era ended in 2008. A movement with a lineage that traces back through THA and FPJ to some of the most interesting independent watchmaking of the last 30 years.

It's a dress chronograph in the truest sense. You don't strap it on to time a race. You strap it on because it's beautiful and because you know something about what's inside it.

Every other watch on this list has to answer to this one.

A. Lange & Söhne Datograph 405.035

Aspiration

The Datograph is the watch serious people point to when they want to talk about finishing instead of features. The flyback mechanism, the outsize date, the way the subdials are laid out -- it all feels considered in a way that most chronographs don't. Nothing is there by accident.

I don't own it. But it's been on the list long enough that it's basically furniture at this point.

Daniel Roth Chronograph Ref. S247

Aspiration

This is the one that might need the most explaining, and I think that's exactly why I love it.

Daniel Roth worked with Gerald Genta before founding his own brand. The S247 has that same design DNA you can feel in the shaped case and the double ellipse -- which shows up later in Bulgar's work after they acquired the brand. It's a piece of independent watchmaking history that most people walk past.

It also connects directly to the Tortue in a way I find genuinely interesting. If you trace the movement history of some of these CPCP-era pieces, Roth's name shows up in the lineage. I like that. My collection tends to have threads running through it, and this one pulls the thread tight.

Rolex Daytona 126500LN Panda

In collection

Yes, the Daytona. I know.

Here's the thing about the Daytona Panda: it doesn't need my endorsement, and that's actually part of what makes this list honest. I could easily build a contrarian collector's list and leave the Daytona off it. But that would be performing a taste I don't actually have. The 126500LN in white dial is a great watch. The column wheel movement, the ceramic bezel, the bracelet execution -- it earns its place.

What I've noticed is that I resist buying watches just because they're popular. But I also resist not buying watches just to prove a point. The Daytona is on this list because I own one and I love it, not because Rolex told me to.

Omega Speedmaster "Tokyo 2020 Rising Sun" Edition

On the list. Still not purchased. Don't ask.

This one requires a longer explanation.

I've owned a Tokyo Speedmaster before. I had the Blue & White edition from the Tokyo 2020 limited set -- picked it up from Gary at Jemwatch in New York. I moved it out of the collection recently. The blue dial was pulling rank against another blue dial watch I care about more, and when I thought about reaching for a chronograph, it bumped hard against the Daytona. Similar energy, similar use case. The architecture didn't work.

The Rising Sun is a different story. @robinbankswatches posts his regularly and it looks stunning every single time. He knows I love it -- I've told him. And yet.

I can find it on Chrono24 right now. I could have it in a few days. It's limited edition, but it's not unobtainium. And I think that accessibility is part of why I keep passing on it. There's no urgency. The watch will be there tomorrow. So I don't buy it today.

But there's something else going on too. I already have the traditional Speedmaster Professional in the collection. Adding the Rising Sun means I'm running two Speedmasters, which starts to feel like an endorsement of the line rather than a considered choice. The real question I keep avoiding is whether the Rising Sun should replace the traditional Speedy, not join it. And I'm not ready to make that call.

So it sits. On the list. Watched closely. Still not purchased.

What Claude Guessed (And Where It Went Wrong)

I actually built this list in conversation with Claude, which I use regularly as a thinking partner and writing collaborator. Before I gave it my actual five, I asked it to predict them based on everything it knows about my collection and taste.

It got two right: the Tortue and the Datograph. Those were the easy ones.

For the misses, it suggested an F.P. Journe Chronographe Monopoussoir, a Habring² Doppel, and a Grand Seiko Tentagraph. All defensible choices given my stated preferences -- and the Journe and Habring are watches I respect. But Claude was working from a theory of my taste: independent, understated, anti-status-symbol.

What the model missed is that I'm not anti-mainstream. I'm anti-lazy. The Daytona and the Speedmaster both belong on this list because they've earned it, not because I'm trying to prove I'm not a basic watch guy.

The Daniel Roth also surprised it, which I expected. That's a watch for people who've done some digging. Claude went Journe; I went the guy who influenced the people who influenced everyone else. Closer in spirit, different in answer. For those wondering, I'm particularly interested in the new Roth pieces which are hitting the market but no chronograph, yet.

Thanks to @darrensdials for the prompt. This was fun.