Today, I’d like to introduce a watch that became part of my collection purely by coincidence. While I was searching for a diver’s watch—which is currently on its way to me and will be reviewed soon—I accidentally came across the Swiss Military by Chrono 300m diver. You may remember that almost three years ago, I already reviewed one Swiss Military watch, but that one was made by Hanowa (check the review here).
Even today, I’m still confused by all the different brands using the "Swiss Military" name. All I know is that the watches made by Chrono and by Hanowa don’t have much in common…
So why is this watch being reviewed here? Well, while browsing the Irisimo web shop in search of the diver I mentioned earlier, I caught a glimpse of a watch that looked surprisingly similar to the latest version of the Breitling Superocean. “Wait, is Irisimo now selling Breitling as well?” I asked myself, and went back to the page where I had spotted this “Breitling.” Of course, it turned out that Irisimo wasn’t selling Breitling at all. What I had seen was a Swiss Military by Chrono diver.
It didn’t take me long to figure out why my crazy mind had mistaken it for a Superocean. A black dial with a white chapter ring, a black bezel, and a second hand with a square at the tip (Breitling actually has a square at the end of the minute hand, not the second, but at a glance it's an easy mistake to make). If you’re not familiar with the Breitling Superocean, check the picture below—you’ll quickly see what I’m talking about. Since I don’t own a Superocean, the picture is taken from the official Breitling website.
The more I looked at the watch, the more interesting it became to me. Before long, I realized that the dial and hands actually reminded me more of the Sinn U1 models than the Breitling Superocean. Just for the sake of comparison, I’ve included a photo of the blue version of the U1 below—again taken from Sinn’s official website, since I don’t own that one either. But I quite like both of these watches, so it’s only logical that some kind of "hommage" would start to impress me more and more.
To be honest, the version I focused on first was the blue one, which is just one of several available color combinations. There are also black, white, yellow, and orange options—plus an all-black version with a fully blacked-out dial. You can check them all below.
All versions of the watch are also available with a bracelet, or even as a full set—meaning both a bracelet and a rubber strap are included.
Since the base price for the rubber strap version on Irisimo was €900, I started to investigate what I was really looking at. And the more I found out, the more impressed I became: a 42 mm titanium case, 13.4 mm thickness, sapphire crystal, an open caseback revealing the Sellita SW200 automatic movement, ceramic bezel, and a screw-down crown. On top of that: 300 m water resistance and a 5-year international warranty.
The base price for the rubber strap version on Irisimo was €900, with an additional 15% discount. Of course, I also checked the official web store for comparison: €1,000 for the rubber strap version, €1,100 for the bracelet version, and €1,169 for the full set. If you sign up for the SM by Chrono newsletter, you also get a 15% discount on your first purchase.
Without much hesitation, I decided to buy the watch. The €765 price offered on Irisimo seemed like a great deal for a watch with such specifications.
I only had one dilemma—which dial color to choose. Even though I still like the blue one the most, I eventually decided to go with the black version. The simple reason is that I already have too many blue divers at home—or on the way to me. My second choice would have been the full black version, but that model wasn’t available at Irisimo. And frankly, it didn’t seem €85 better to me—that’s how much more I would have had to pay if I ordered it directly from the official website.
This was my first purchase from Irisimo, and my initial impressions are very positive. Just one hour after placing the order, I received an email confirming that it was being packed; two hours later, I got the tracking number; and the next day, the watch was already in my hands (shipped from Bratislava).
The rubber strap is extremely well made. I really like the 22/20 mm taper. On one end, it features a signed titanium buckle; on the other, the strap end is slightly raised, which prevents it from slipping out of the strap keepers—even under water. Believe me, that small detail makes a big difference.
The strap also uses quick-release spring bars.
Since I don’t have the bracelet version, I can’t comment on it—sorry.
I already shared some general impressions about the dial and hands, but let me repeat myself. Because the watch reminds me of models I really like, my feelings are mixed. On the one hand, I genuinely like what I see (the hands are just perfect), but on the other, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m looking at a strange mashup or hybrid copy of the watches I admire.
What I really don’t like is the excessive amount of text on the dial. I understand that Chrono is proud of all the features this watch offers, but a smaller font would have done just fine! The large “Swiss Military by Chrono” inscription, together with the oversized Swiss cross, also feels too aggressive. Luckily, they didn’t go overboard with numbers on the dial, and the date window is reasonably sized and—thankfully—doesn’t have a magnifying glass.
On the other hand, the Luminova is truly outstanding! This watch definitely belongs in the top tier when it comes to lume performance. Interestingly, the glow doesn’t fade evenly. First, the blue marker at the bezel’s zero point begins to fade, followed by the index markers. As for the hands—I'm not even sure they fade at all! Even during the long winter nights, they just keep glowing and glowing.
The packaging of the watch is nothing prestigious, but it serves its purpose well. (Compared to the Swiss Military Hanowa, this one is much better.) Once again, this shows that the watch doesn’t try to be anything other than a (very) good, everyday, all-round robust timepiece.
And I can confidently say that if you’re looking for this kind of watch in the €500–1,000 price range, it’s a great candidate. It can easily compete with many microbrands that use non-Swiss movements. Plus, the five-year warranty shouldn’t be overlooked.
In fact, I’d go so far as to say that this watch can easily compete with other Swiss (and even non-Swiss) brands that use the Sellita SW200 movement and are priced much higher. So, my final verdict can only be: highly recommended! One of the most fairly and correctly priced watches I’ve come across recently.
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