This Groundbreaking Chronograph Offers a Grail Complication at an Impossible Price

It’s even more affordable than you’re expecting.

a closeup of a seagull chronograph watch

By Johnny Brayson

Published January 9, 2025

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Updated January 9, 2025

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One of the most exciting trends in the world of watches right now is the democratization of high-end complications.

Over just the past few years, we’ve seen a sub-$4,000 chiming watch from Christopher Ward, a ~$3,000 avant-garde masterpiece from one of the world’s foremost watchmakers in Max Büsser, and a first-of-its-kind celestial complication for a little over $3,000 from SpaceOne.

Now, yet another high complication has joined the sub-$4,000 club, as a familiar brand has just debuted the most affordable split-seconds chronograph I’ve ever seen.

a seagull chronograph watch on its side — Chinese brand Sea-Gull has created the most affordable split-seconds chronograph ever.

What Is a Split-Seconds Chronograph?

On a normal chronograph, there is a single chronograph seconds hand that acts as a stop watch. Press one pusher to start it, press again to stop it, and press a second pusher to reset it.

On a split-seconds chronograph, also known as a rattrapante, there are two seconds hands stacked on top of each other. When you activate the chronograph, both hands begin measuring time in unison. But the addition of a third pusher allows you to stop one of these hands while the other continues to run. Pressing this pusher a second time will send your stopped hand to instantly catch up to the running one.

The complication is useful for certain events, such as measuring multiple lap times in a race. A rattrapante is complex to manufacture, and as such, it’s associated with very high-end watchmakers like Patek Philippe and A. Lange & Söhne (Lange even produces a “Triple Split” chronograph that can split the minutes and hours in addition to the seconds).

a lange söhne watches — Ultra-luxury German watchmaker A. Lange & Söhne is perhaps the brand most associated with the rattrapante complication.

Splitsville, Daddy-o

The new affordable rattrapante comes from the Chinese brand Sea-Gull, which has produced its own in-house, hand-wound chronograph movement boasting the complication.

To the uninitiated, Sea-Gull isn’t some random fly-by-night Chinese brand. It’s perhaps the definitive Chinese watchmaker and is well-known for its affordable and reliable (not to mention great-looking) ST19 movement: an integrated, hand-wound, column-wheel chronograph based on the Swiss Venus 175 calibre.

The ST19 is a darling of the microbrand world, having appeared in watches from acclaimed brands like Studio Underd0g, Lorier and Baltic, to name just a few. In other words, Sea-Gull knows its way around a chronograph movement, so it’s not all that surprising the brand was able to tackle a rattrapante complication.

a seagull mechanical chronograph movement — The new Cal. ST1961 movement features a split-seconds module on top of the ST19 chronograph movement.

The new movement is the Sea-Gull Cal. ST1961, which looks to be a modified version of the ST19 with the split-seconds feature added. Like that movement, the ST1961 is hand-wound and has a column wheel. Also, like the ST19, it’s quite pretty, with even nicer decoration. It also boasts more jewels (27), a higher beat rate (4 Hz) and a better power reserve (39 hours).

According to Monochrome, the rattrapante complication is accomplished thanks to the addition of a cam-actuated module on top of the ST19 movement. As such, the watch is quite thick at 16mm, but that can be expected for such an affordable complicated watch.

About the Watch

The watch housing this new movement from Sea-Gull is the Rattrapante Split Second Chronograph Limited. It’s a classically styled dress chronograph with a white dial, printed tachymeter scale, applied silver Breguet-ish numeral indices and blued leaf hands. But there are some twists that make it extra interesting.

For one, the 42.5mm case is made of titanium, which should help with keeping the weight down given the substantial beefiness of the movement. The alligator leather strap comes fitted with a titanium buckle to match the case.

a side view of a seagull chronograph watch — The watch’s titanium case should mitigate some wearability issues caused by the 16mm thickness.

In another surprise, the water resistance is a solid 50m. I would’ve expected splash-resistance at best for a watch such as this, especially at this price. Finally, there is a generously domed and expansive sapphire crystal that looks very nice, along with a display caseback showcasing the movement.

Pricing and Availability

The Sea-Gull Rattrapante Split Second Chronograph Limited is, as its name suggests, a limited edition, with just 500 examples being produced by the brand and the first batch being limited to just 30 pieces.

The watch is priced at $3,649, which on the surface feels like a lot for a Sea-Gull. But remember, this is an actual, mechanical split-seconds chronograph. I’ve never seen one available for less than $10,000, never mind well below $5K.

This watch seems like a remarkable value, and it’s just the latest example of once-exclusive watch complications making their way to the masses. It’s one trend I would love to see continue well into the future.

Sea-Gull Rattrapante Split Second Chronograph Limited

Chinese watchmaker Sea-Gull has crafted what is not only the first-ever split-seconds chronograph out of China, but also the most affordable split-seconds chronograph ever. Thanks to a custom module on the in-house ST1961 mechanical chronograph movement, this sub-$4,000 watch boasts one of watchmaking’s most prestigious complications.