I have owned the following chronographs to-date (estimated year of ownership)
Vj 7750 TAG Heuer (late 1980's)
Vj 7750 Bell & Ross by Sinn 144Ti (1990's)
Lemania based Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Cal 1866 (2000's)
FP 1185 based Cal 3313 CoAxial in an Omega PO Chronograph (2000's)
Seiko 6S37 movement based Erhard Junghans Aerious ( less than 1 year) since early 2012
Grand Seiko SBGC003 Spring Drive Calibre 9R86 since 2010
Lastly a Zenith El Primero 36,000 chrono in my hands for 4 weeks from a friend who wanted to sell it to me but I subsequently returned it back to him.
My experience as follows:
9R86 is the smoothest (not only the second hands movement which is due to the the Spring Drive-SD but also the start, stop & reset). No second hand jump at any stage. Of coz in overall accuracy the 9R86 is also way ahead of the rest at +1 sec/week.
6S37 has a very smooth start,stop, reset too but second hand sweep is not as smooth as GS or Zenith as it is a 28,800 vph and not a Spring Drive or a 36,000 vph. Accuracy/rate +3-4 secs/day
The Zenith El Primero in comparison is almost as smooth as the Spring Drive 9R86 as far as second hand sweep is concerned as it is 36,000 vph.However the chrono start suffers from a jump from 0-0.5 before continuing on its way. The stop/reset is almost as good as the SD and equal to the 6S37. Accuracy +2-3 secs/day. An ex-owner however told me the watch being hi-beat, needs servicing quite frequently as the rate/accuracy drops after 2-3 years.
The FP1185 based CoAxial Omega Planet Ocean Cal 3313 28,800 vph has a smooth start/stop/reset. Accuracy was about + 1-2 secs per day....excellent for a 100% mechanical. Some online posts mentioned some early issues with the Cal 3313 but mine work perfectly well until the PR was reduced after several years. I sold my orange bezel PO Chrono as the look was wearing thin on me.
The Lemania Cal 1866 Omega Moonphase based on Nouvelle Lemania 1884, 21,600 vph, 48 hr PR. Beautifully rhodium finished hw movement. Accuracy was inconsistent deviating from +10 secs/day to +30secs/day. Start/stop/reset is smooth although a bit stiff to activate. Sold as the rate was too inconsistent and the black dial was more of dark grey... a deep jet black would have been much nicer.
The 2 Vj 7750's (28,800 vph) were the worst performers of all. Firstly when you pull out the crown to reset the minute hand, when the crown is pushed back in, the hand will shift slightly. I have tried advancing past the time and reversing or advancing to the correct time before pushing back the crown. it's still the same.. the hands still shift slightly... perhaps its only my particular watch but even after a service at B&R in Paris it still came back the same. The rate/accuracy was fairly good for the 1st 3 yrs at approx +5-8 secs/day but over time it became slower and slower till it was -8 secs/day. After service it was back to approx +3 secs/day and again after 1-2 yrs the accuracy drops, becoming slower and slower. Besides the rotor is loud when spinning and sounds very crude in operation. Finish of the movement is below average viz-a-viz the others. Of course there are different levels of finish from ETA. Chrono is also sliding pinion vs vertical clutch/column wheel in the others. Stop/reset is very crude. Unless the Vj7750 is the highest finished version, no more 7750 for me.
I would rate them as follows 1. 9R86 2. FP1185 3. 6S37 4. El Primero 5. Lemania Cal 1866 Speedy 6. Vj 7750
I have sold all the chronos except the Grand Seiko SBGC003 and the Erhard Junghans 6S37
I'm very keen to test out the characteristics of the new Omega Cal 9300 but the 2 counter look has so far has put me off.
I'd also love to own an 8R28 based chrono but unfortunately I didn't see any with the look I liked during my last Tokyo trip.
One of my greatest wish is to have Grand Seiko come up with a 36,000 vph chronograph movement..I'd get it in a blink as long as its in stainless steel.
Would love to hear about the performance of Daytona/PP and JLC chrono movements.
although I would never buy the Daytona as IMHO it is way overpriced viz-a-viz its other peer excellent chronograph like the JLC, Omega Cal 9300, etc..
