On the face of it, the chronograph is easy to understand: it records elapsed time. So, if you are on a road trip and need to ensure that your pit stops do not get out of hand, you could set time limits and use your chronograph to keep things moving as planned. If five minutes is what you give yourself, the chronograph is the instrument to maintain that limit. The quartz and mechanical versions both do the same job, just with different degrees of precision. The travelling friends in the PRX ad could have done just that, if they had more than just the 35mm time-only model.

Of course, you could just use the stopwatch function on your phone, but then again, the mechanical wrist-borne chronograph is much more than merely functional. Beating an actual clock simply feels better, and that is what gives a contemporary mechanical chronograph like the Tissot PRX Chronograph its appeal. Of course, we would argue that using a chronograph, mechanical or quartz, feels better than a palmborne item like a phone, but we are biased.

To begin with though, it is all about how the watch sits on the wrist, how the chronograph calibre goes about its business, and how the registers on the dial deliver information. The PRX Chronograph is a 42mm watch in steel, and wears tall at 14.5mm. This is worth taking into account because it means that not all wrists will be able to accommodate it, nor will it be as versatile as the Automatic. It still wears smaller than it looks, thanks to the design of the lugs and the integrated bracelet. On that note, this is total watch design, as we are calling it, but contemporary thinking means that you are not limited to this one bracelet, nice as it is. This is a reference to the quick-release system for the bracelet, giving it flexibility and adaptability.

As noted, the date function is certainly a head-scratcher, and we look forward to improvements in this area. One easy fix would be a variant that has no date at all, but only time will tell what happens here. Anyway, back to the chronograph then, which features a tricompax layout for its subdials. The 12 hour counter is at 6 o’clock, the 30-minute counter is at 3 o’clock and the running seconds is at 9 o’clock, so there are no surprises here. The chronograph pushers are flat and relatively subtle, but not at all difficult to use.

There are two variants to consider here, a so-called panda and reverse panda, both with vertical brushed finishing. The blue version has silver-coloured subdials with polished steel indices and baton hands, while the silver-coloured dial has black subdials with rose gold-coloured hands and indices. The minute track on the inside of the flange is silver on the blue dial version and black on the silver dial version. Both versions have SuperLuminova on the hands and indices. We trust we do not have to say which one is the panda, and we leave it to you to decide on what appeals to you. Given that the PRX Chronograph is likely to be immensely popular, you should also add that to the points to consider, before pulling the trigger.

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