Does anyone else see the Chronomaster Original as elongated rather than round? Also some wrist shots :)
So I’ve been in love with the dial of the Chronomaster Original Triple Calendar for a while now, and I finally found a store that had one.
After trying it on, I realized that something about the watch didn’t sit quite right with me. It took me a while to figure out exactly what it was.
Several reviewers have criticized the Chronomaster Original for being a bit of a “flyover,” with the relatively flat lugs leaving a visible gap above the wrist. I actually don’t think that part is too bad. At least on my wrist it wore pretty well from that perspective.
What bothered me personally was the perceived shape of the watch.
On most watches, the eye primarily reads the case as a round object, while the lugs curve downward and feel more like extensions connecting the case to the strap or bracelet.
With the Chronomaster Original, the lugs are relatively long, flat and sharply defined, so my eye doesn’t really separate them from the case. Instead, I perceive the whole thing — case + lugs — as one shape. Instead of round, it looks narrow and elongated.
This short video might convey this a little bit better as it gives some 3D perspective.
https://reddit.com/link/1vpyv1y/video/53ybz562zqjh1/player
And with a strap (which they had on the regular Chronomaster) the lugs looked a little like batman ears. My wife actually sees them as the opening of a wrench.
I’m not sure if I just don’t like the shape or whether this is something that would grow on me (much like some people need time to acquire a taste for rectangular watches). I do know that this kind of angular late-60s/70s case design has made something of a comeback recently — the PRX being an obvious example (which BTW looks like the poor man's Zenith Triple Calendar):
Anyway I wanted to share the observation and add a few wrist shots for anyone considering this watch. My wrist is 17 cm and fairly flat across the top.