Again in 2022, the French unbiased model Charlie Paris teamed up with the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre (French Mountain climbing Federation), which is the group chargeable for marking and sustaining climbing trails all through the nation. The partnership between the French duo resulted in a field watch designed for climbing generally known as the Grande Randonnée (that means “Nice Hike” in English); nevertheless, Charlie Paris expanded its well-liked “GR” assortment in 2024 to incorporate two new fashions. Alongside a time-only model with a further 24-hour show is the Charlie Paris GR Mecaquartz Chronograph, which builds upon the blueprint of its sibling with a date window and chronograph performance.
Crafted from brushed 316L stainless-steel with high-polished bevels, the case of the Charlie Paris GR Mecaquartz Chronograph measures 39mm in diameter by 10.6mm thick, with quick angular lugs which are set 20mm aside and lengthen to create an general lug-to-lug profile of 45mm. When you issue within the domed sapphire crystal that protrudes above the rim of its bezel, the entire peak of the GR Chronograph measures roughly 12mm, and the burden of the watch is available in at 54 grams (not together with its strap or bracelet). The appropriate-hand facet of the case is furnished by a signed push/pull-style crown flanked by a pair of rectangular chronograph pushers, whereas the reverse facet of the watch receives a stable screw-down caseback, and water resistance for the Charlie Paris GR Chronograph is available in at 100 meters to supply ample safety in opposition to no matter aquatic circumstances you may encounter on a hike.
Contained in the Charlie Paris GR Chronograph is the acquainted Seiko Caliber VK64 mecaquartz chronograph motion, which runs on a single SR936SW energy cell that gives it with a battery life of roughly three years. Because the two-register, date-displaying model of this well-liked Japanese mecaquartz chronograph platform, the Seiko VK64 lacks the extra operating seconds sub-dial that may be discovered on its three-register Cal. VK63 sibling. Moreover, since its mecaquartz design emulates the performance of a mechanical chronograph with an instantaneous reset and a five-beats-per-second sweeping movement for its central seconds hand, the Charlie Paris GR Chronograph doesn’t exhibit the standard once-per-second tick that sometimes characterizes quartz watches.
On the time of writing, Charlie Paris affords its GR Mecaquartz Chronograph with the choice of 4 completely different dial colours (blue, inexperienced, brown, and beige), with the green-dial model being the mannequin that’s featured right here. No matter colour, the entire dials function the identical elementary design with a multi-layered building consisting of a raised central part set in opposition to a recessed chapter ring and a pair of registers. Utilized Arabic numeral hour markers and a date window at 6 o’clock additional add visible depth to the dial, and identical to different watches which are based mostly upon this well-liked mecaquartz motion platform, one of many sub-dials serves as a 60-minute totalizer for the chronograph, and the opposite features as a further 24-hour show for the time.
The calmly sandblasted inexperienced floor of the Charlie Paris GR Mecaquartz Chronograph’s dial is punctuated by white and khaki-colored markings, and the ending on the palms corresponds with their performance. The time-telling palms are polished with khaki-colored luminous accents, whereas the palms devoted to the chronograph are painted white, and the utilized Arabic numeral hour markers provide ample distinction in opposition to the dial’s darkish inexperienced floor. Because the utilized indexes are completed white, the one luminous components on the GR Mecaquartz Chronograph are the cardinal-point markers inside its minute observe and the central sections of its hour and minute palms, that are completed with Berlaglow luminescent materials that emits a green-colored glow in the dead of night.
Regardless of having an anti-reflective coating, the domed profile of the sapphire crystal creates a stunning quantity of reflections, though they primarily seem on the higher floor of the crystal, which implies that they do little to compromise the general legibility of the show. My private expertise with Berlaglow isn’t intensive sufficient to make blanket statements about its efficiency in comparison with extra generally used luminous compounds, resembling LumiBrite or Tremendous-LumiNova. Nonetheless, the comparatively small measurement of the luminous components on the Charlie Paris GR Mecaquartz Chronograph implies that they will solely comprise a small quantity of lume, and the palms and hour markers provide average luminescence that isn’t practically as brilliant or long-lasting as what you get from one thing like a purpose-built dive watch.
Charlie Paris affords its GR Mecaquartz Chronograph with the choice of both nylon or leather-based straps, though the model additionally sells a model of the mannequin that’s paired with an identical stainless-steel bracelet. That includes a five-link building with brushed sides framing three rows of high-polished middle hyperlinks, the bracelet tapers from 20mm on the case all the way down to 16mm at its clasp, and it consists of stable machined parts with single-sided screws for the detachable hyperlinks and built-in quick-release springbars attaching it to the lugs. Moreover, whereas the signed clasp is created from machined (slightly than stamped) parts and operates with a double push-button launch, it lacks any kind of built-in extension system past 4 sizing holes to put the connecting springbar.
Arguably the best enchantment of mecaquartz chronographs is that patrons can get their palms on an correct and dependable timepiece with analog stopwatch performance for lower than what they might usually pay to service an computerized chronograph. Assembled in France and priced at $332 USD when bought on a strap, or $376 USD when patrons go for the stainless-steel bracelet, the Charlie Paris GR Mecaquartz Chronograph prices solely barely greater than what somebody may in any other case spend on a MoonSwatch, but it gives a considerably extra premium possession expertise as a consequence of its sapphire crystal and stable metallic building. Thematically related to climbing with out providing any design components that could be thought of too on-the-nose, the GR Chronograph represents a reliable and compelling possibility for many who need an inexpensive chronograph-equipped area watch. For extra data on the Charlie Paris GR Mecaquartz Chronograph, please go to the brand’s website.
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