Best chronographs to give as a gift

Nothing else on this site asks so little of its owner. It sets itself by radio, it charges from light, it is rated to 200m, and the crystal is sapphire, so it will look the same in ten years. Citizen's five-year warranty is the longest term here.

It is also a genuine flight computer — perpetual calendar, dual time, a chronograph and a slide-rule bezel — which is the kind of dial somebody enjoys owning rather than merely wearing.

Who it is for: a large-wristed recipient, somebody who travels or flies, anybody who will never read a manual. Who should skip it: a wrist under about seven inches. 45mm is the largest watch on this page and Citizen publishes no lug-to-lug for it, so there is no way to check the footprint before it arrives.

Against it: it is a module, not a movement. When Citizen stops supporting the U680 the watch is finished however good the case still is — which is the honest limit of every watch on this page.

It sets itself by radio, runs on light and is rated to 200m behind sapphire — and it is a module, not a movement. When the module stops being made, the watch is finished, however good the case still is.

45mm wide and only 11.02mm tall is the trick here: it has the dial presence of a big chronograph without the height, so it slides under a shirt cuff in a way the 13.5mm watches below do not. Sapphire and 100m are the other two specifications that matter daily.

Tissot publishes a US service price list, which almost no chronograph maker at this level does, and the PowerDrive movement drives the hands back to zero electronically rather than through a column wheel — fewer things to go wrong and nothing to lubricate.

Who it is for: a recipient who wants a Swiss name and a large dial and wears shirts. Who should skip it: a narrow wrist, and anyone who wants a mechanical watch — this is quartz and makes no secret of it.

Against it: 45mm is 45mm, Tissot publishes no lug-to-lug, and the 22mm lug width is wide for a dress shirt. Two years of warranty.

Tissot publishes a US service price list, which almost no chronograph maker at this level does, and PowerDrive drives the hands back to zero electronically instead of through a column wheel. Cheap to keep, and 45mm across.

The same never-touch-it proposition as the Skyhawk in a 43mm case rather than 45mm, which is the more giftable size. Radio control in five zones, a perpetual calendar, a 1/20-second chronograph and a power-reserve hand, all running on light behind sapphire, rated to 200m.

Five years of warranty, and genuinely nothing for the recipient to do — not even a leap-year date correction, because the calendar is perpetual.

Who it is for: a parent or grandparent who finds setting a watch annoying, or anybody with a drawer full of watches showing the wrong date. Who should skip it: somebody who will want a different strap. It is the only watch on this site with a 23mm lug width, and 23mm is the hardest strap size to shop for that anybody here uses.

Against it: that 23mm lug width is a real long-term annoyance, Citizen publishes no thickness or lug-to-lug for the reference, and it is a module with the same end date as the Skyhawk.

Sapphire, 200m, a perpetual calendar and a chronograph that runs on light — and a 23mm lug width, which is the least common strap size on this site. It is a module rather than a movement, so its long-term future depends on Citizen continuing to support the H800.

The only chronograph here whose service price you can look up: Seiko lists V-series solar service at $163 — cheaper than a 4R36 overhaul and a fraction of any mechanical chronograph. On a gift, that is the answer to the question the recipient asks in year eight.

It is also the best-sized recommendation on the page, and one of only two here with a published lug-to-lug: 41.4mm across, 45.9mm between the lug tips, 13mm thick. That footprint fits most adult wrists, which none of the 43-45mm watches above can promise, because none of them publishes the figure at all.

Who it is for: a recipient with an average wrist who wants a solar chronograph and a known running cost. Who should skip it: nobody on size grounds — the limitation is the 21mm lug width, which is the awkward size, and the fact that Amazon does not carry this reference.

The link below goes straight to Seiko and we earn nothing on it. Three years of warranty, a power-reserve hand, and Seiko states the movement runs six months on a full charge.

Seiko lists V-series solar service at $163 — cheaper than a 4R36 overhaul and far cheaper than a mechanical chronograph. The 21mm lug width is the annoyance: standard straps come in 20 and 22.

The most charming inexpensive chronograph here and the only one in the price band where a chronograph usually means a fashion watch. 40mm with a tachymeter bezel on a steel bracelet, in the 1970s Q Timex case, with a battery any shop in any town can change.

The acrylic crystal is not the compromise it looks like: acrylic scratches immediately and every scratch comes out at a kitchen table with a cloth and a little polishing paste. A marked mineral crystal never recovers.

Who it is for: a first chronograph, a stocking gift that still looks like a watch, a recipient who likes vintage shapes. Who should skip it: anyone who swims — 50m with no screw-down crown means rain and handwashing — and anybody who expects it to be a keeper. Timex states one year.

Against it: 13.5mm thick on a 40mm case is tall, and the 18mm bracelet is narrow for the dial. It is the cheapest watch here and it is honest about what that buys.

A quartz chronograph at 40mm on an 18mm bracelet, with an acrylic crystal that polishes back when it scratches and a battery any shop can change. 50m and a one-year warranty are the limits.