Sixtyoneandfortynine

As someone with a nice collection of more costly watches, I can confidently say I’d be delighted to receive just about any of the suggestions thus far. (Monetary value is a secondary concern to a lot of us, and you should absolutely NOT feel out of place here.)

The only 2¢ I’d add would be to budget $30-40 for a decent strap. At this price level (especially with the Japanese brands) you’ll get a sensational watch for the money, but the strap will instantly betray where they did the cost-cutting. Barton and Hirsch in particular make very nice replacement ones of all sizes, colors, and styles for this price range, and any of them will wear much better and look better than the originals (in some cases, a $40 strap can make the watch look substantially more expensive, lol).

(I may get skewered for this, but it’s just an opinion of one.). Personally, I am a lot more “OCD” about matching strap color with attire.

I don’t think the dial color matters much except in the most formal of circumstances. I see watch dials as an inconspicuous place to have a bit of fun with color/design that may or may not strictly match or compliment the attire color(s), sort of in the same vein as pairing a “loud” necktie or socks pattern with an otherwise staid and conservative suit. I mean, no one bats an eye at wearing a flaming orange Doxa with a “business casual” outfit! (Besides, where does that leave stuff like Mr. Jones - those dials don’t really match anything, lol.)

If you want the most absolute “neutral” dial color possible, I think white is probably more versatile than black (paired with brown, black, blue, etc. strap as appropriate).

If you like this style, I would forget about all the cheap "homages" of dubious origin and simply get the original Eone Bradley.

It is the "OG" bearing watch, has a cool backstory, and I think has a better aesthetic than the clones. Also, it isn't that expensive (as far as watches go), and they are nicely made with titanium cases. Proceeds from some of the models go to charitable organizations for the blind, too.

Probably no big deal, you just need to reset the "home" position of the chrono hands. That appears to be a Ronda 5020.B movement (very decent unit, btw), here is the manual which includes instructions on re-zeroing the hands.

Unlike a mechanical chronograph where everything is coupled through gears and therefore mechanically "fixed" in place, in quartz watches the chronograph hands are controlled by individual stepper motors, which means that the only thing fixating the hands in place is a magnetic field. Therefore, if the watch is subjected to just the right vibration or shock the magnetic field can be overcome and the hands can get knocked out of place, and this commonly happens during shipping.