Best chronographs with sapphire crystal

Radio-synchronized time, a chronograph, a perpetual calendar and a second time zone, running on light behind sapphire and rated 200m, with Citizen's five-year warranty.

It is 45mm across, and a module rather than a movement: when the module stops being made, the watch is finished.

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.

A Swiss quartz chronograph with sapphire and 100m, and at 11.02mm the thinnest chronograph on this page. PowerDrive resets the hands electronically, and an end-of-life indicator warns before the battery dies.

45mm across on a 22mm strap, with Tissot's two-year 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.

Atomic timekeeping with radio control in five zones, a 1/20-second chronograph and a perpetual calendar, on light power behind sapphire and rated 200m.

The 23mm lug width is the least common strap size on this site, and like the Skyhawk it is a module whose future depends on Citizen.

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.

Sapphire, 100m, a power-reserve indicator and six months of running on a full charge, in a case whose 45.9mm lug-to-lug is the shortest published here. Seiko lists V-series solar service at $163.

The 21mm lug width is the persistent irritation.

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.

A 38mm titanium mecha-quartz chronograph with a flat sapphire crystal and 200m — mechanical-feeling pushers at quartz running cost.

BOLDR states no warranty term. Sold direct; we earn nothing on this link.

Mecha-quartz splits the difference honestly: quartz timekeeping, a mechanical chronograph reset, and a battery any shop stocks. The VK64 is a module — when it dies it is replaced, not rebuilt.