While my happy place in terms of horological devices is the straightforward, monochromatic tool watch, I do appreciate and want to see more options for less utilitarian and more business casual ones. Because as much as I fancy myself being a hardcore explorer and outdoorsy person, realistically speaking I spend more time in urban and suburban environments. So instead of climbing snow-capped mountain peaks, you would most likely find me zigzagging between shopping carts at my local grocery store. (Which does not make me yearn for real adventure less.) And I don’t have the budget or the time to shoot Nolan-esque videos of myself staring at the distance in a Matthew McConaughey’s fashion while driving a vintage Defender I don’t own down the Pacific Coasts Highway where I don’t live. (Damn, I had a lot on my chest I needed to unload today!) 

No, my life is not like this at least not right now nor in the near and somewhat distant future. 

This begs the following question: what can an urban tool watch enthusiast/collector wear? And one, I should add, which has limited funds to spend on a watch? I’m so glad you asked because I have two options for you coming from Paris-based brand Charlie Paris. First, the Grande Randonnée (GR) Mecaquartz Chronograph which we’re going to take a look at today. Second, the GR Field Quartz which we’re going to analyze in an upcoming review. Both models belong to the same collection, GR, which stands for “Grande Randonnée” in French, the latter translating to “Big Hike” in Shakespeare’s native tongue. The first iteration of this collection was made in partnership with France’s agency which traces and monitors hiking paths in the country. After a few years of absence, Charlie Paris decided to bring this collection back and to give it a brand new look. 

Specifications 

What a watch is made out of helps define what it is. And since I made the claim, early on, that what we’re looking at today is a business casual chronograph—a description which I might regret using later on—then it must be sized and equipped with certain technologies which makes it so—in addition to having the right looks for it. Since it is a mecaquartz chronograph then we will obviously find a mecaquartz chronograph caliber inside, here being a Seiko VK64 which comes with a 24-hour indicator, a 60-minute totalizer, and a date complication in addition to having a stated battery life of 30 months. This movement is common for such watches as it is attainable, robust, and reliable. The Seiko VK64 also comes with the benefit, due to its very own nature, of being insensitive to magnetic fields and most daily shocks. (For those who don’t know, the Seiko VK64 is part classic quartz movement and part mechanical one for the chronograph functionality.) 

What is also common for a mecaquartz chronograph is to be endowed with average dimensions which will make it wear comfortably on many wrists: 39mm in diameter, 45mm lug-to-lug, 12 thick, and coming with a 20mm lug width. Being equipped with a Seiko VK64 means the watch is light, especially on the provided canvas strap. So we find ourselves with a nice combo of dimensions and weight which will induce you in wanting to strap it to your wrist for your Hollywood-like adventures or your actual day-to-day life. (I’m the type of watch nerd who loves timing all sorts of random events with a 60-minute chronograph, for example how long has the dryer been running for or how long have I been staring at my watch instead of working.) Should you want to go on actual adventures, know that the GR Mecaquartz Chronograph is equipped with a sapphire crystal, decent lume on the hand and hour markers at the cardinal points, and comes with 100 meters of water resistance. 

Still looking at this model from a technical standpoint, the case and the crown/pushers combo further aid in making the GR chrono look like a business casual tool watch. Besides its dimensions which I listed above, I would like to turn your attention to the finish of the case. Although we mostly find horizontal and circular brushed treatments—on the fixed bezel, case sides, and upper sections of the lugs—, we also see thin polished chamfers running alongside the case and which will ever so slightly make light bounce off of it. Just enough to elevate the visual appearance of the watch. But do note the rectangular-shaped chrono pushers on which were machined cross hatch patterns to make them easier to operate, and the small (5.8mm in diameter) push/pull crown also equipped with similar patterns for the exact same reasons. Both are reminders that we’re indeed dealing with a tool watch.  

Design 

As always, and evidently, we must dissect the design of the GR Mecaquartz Chronograph in order to properly award it the title of “business casual” tool watch. There are several elements of its design that give it a utilitarian/tool watch attitude, and several others which endow it with a business casual appearance. (I’m aware that we generally speak of business casual attire and that we don’t use these words to talk about watch design. I just feel it is appropriate to do so here.) As a tool watch, the GR has an almost full stack of Arabic numerals for the hour markers, save for the three and nine o’clock positions, where we find small triangles, and the six where we find the date aperture. Having the small triangles helps in keeping the dial symmetry and preserving practical legibility, so does having a white disc/black printed numerals for the date. And the fact that all the hour markers are made of blocks of lume further aid in making the dial easy to read. 

Charlie Paris opted for large and polished pencil-style hour and minute hands which are hard to miss, fully polished chronograph seconds and minute hands, as well as a fully polished hand for the 24-hour register at the three. The two small hands—found on the sub-registers—are in the shape of arrows which make them legible, and I do appreciate the difference in treatment given to the two in order to tell them apart based on their functionality. Indeed, the hand for the 60-minute totalizer got a full white treatment, akin to the running chronograph seconds hand, while the hand for the 24-hour sub-register, being less crucial to the overall functionality of the GR, was designed to be more discreet. Overall, and just looking at the design of the hands, I find that Charlie Paris did a good job to not only make the watch legible but also visually coherent. 

The remainder of the dial design is where we find the elements which elevate the status—in pure watch nerd form—of the Grande Randonnée. Primarily, the fact that the center portion of the dial is raised (in relations to the minute track and two sub-registers) which is what gives this model a unique je-ne-sais-quoi as it makes this whole section pop out—which is a different visual effect than having, for example, the minute track being recessed from the main portion of the dial even though technically, that is also true here. And this effect is even more apparent given that the hour markers are applied on said main section. (My favorite detail of the dial design is the fact that the date aperture is naturally framed by the raised portion of the dial.) Consequently, also, the two sub-registers are sunk in. 

Lastly, the case. Whether or not you’re ever seen photos of the first generation Grande Randonnée, well it doesn’t matter because Charlie Paris completely resigned the case. The latter has character and suits the intended use and nature of the Chronograph. Seen from above, it is mostly circular except for the area of the lugs which are short and appear bent towards the wrist which gives the impression that the north and south sections of the dial are horizontal. And this effect is made more apparent by choosing to only add polished accents on the chamfers of the case sides, in other words, accentuating the dip made by the lugs. Seen from the side, the GR has an elegant, elongated and geometrical profile which aids in making it look thin on the wrist and actually wear as such. 

The Heart of the Matter

At the heart of the matter is the fact that Charlie Paris has indeed created what I dare call a business casual mecaquartz chronograph. One which leans more towards the urban life than the outdoorsy one, which would appear to contradict the reason why this collection was created in the first place (a few years ago) although it doesn’t. The world is such that we each have our preferences in terms of looks and functionality for the watches we want to buy and wear, and although straightforward, utilitarian tool watches are my personal preference, I applaud Charlie Paris for beautifying this genre of timekeeping devices. And setting aside its looks, the GR Chronograph is a functional piece of equipment as it does come—should you need me to remind you—of a sapphire crystal, good lume, a reliable caliber, and 100 meters of water resistance. 

Conclusion 

Mecaquartz chronographs equipped with the Seiko VK64 are more and more common to find in the catalogs of micro/independent brands. But the GR Mecaquartz Chronograph from Charlie Paris is its own thing mainly due to the way it looks—and I would argue it looks very good. Not only is it legible and functional, as it should be, but it also looks refined and elegant enough to accompany you and your business casual attire to appropriately dedicated social gatherings. In other words, this model bridges the gap between tool watches which are destined to live outside and dressier timepieces which can only survive inside. It’s a very neat balance Charlie Paris managed to achieve here. 

Oh shoot, I forgot to tell you about the price: roughly $417 USD full retail and $361 USD during the pre-ordering campaign which begins today October 9, 2024, with shipping estimated for the end of November. 

To know more about Charlie Paris and this collection, I strongly suggest taking a look at the brand’s website.

Thanks for reading.