Countdown Conversation

Two WOW editors sit down (virtually) to talk about their respective relationships with chronographs

- Ashok Soman And Ruckdee Chotjinda

By far the sportiest of all complications, the chronograph is a favorite of this magazine, especially when the Summer issue rolls out in Singapore. Traditionally, this is the sportiest issue of WOW, although that has changed in recent years as we try to be more flexible and adaptable. For example, we are happy to acknowledge that the chronograph is more than just a vital instrument in competitive games - it is also quite beautiful and commands the attention of watch collectors like no other complication. In this very issue, we present two very different takes on the chronograph, one targeted at those who are still considering their first such purchase, and this one.

Presented as a short dialogue between the editors of WOW Singapore and WOW Thailand, you can discover that it is indeed possible to hold deeply nuanced views on a very specific subject in watchmaking, beyond merely liking something or not. As it was in issue #56, the editors’ views are denoted by their respective initials.

RC: The chronograph is not my favorite complication, but it is one that got me to watch collecting in the first place. When I finished high school, I asked my dad for “that watch with many hands that you don’t wear anymore and left in the drawer”. That was 1998, and, of course, I did not know right away how to operate the buttons or read the subdials. Luckily, I was wise enough to look up online resources like TimeZone, ChronoMaddox (known by the original XNet URL at the time), and Zowie before causing any mechanical damage. So, unlike many watch collectors, my first experience with a chronograph was purely coincidental and sentimental. It was the watch I grew up seeing my dad wear. So what is your earliest recollection or experience with chronographs, Ashok? Or what got you started on chronographs?