Graham Chronograph Fighter Sahara Watch Review
The Graham Chronograph Sahara (ref. 2CCAUB02A) watch shows masculinity and is an off-road vehicle installed in a luxury timepiece. I discussed this watch first because it is part of Graham’s Chronofighter II watch collection here. Chronofighter II is a refined version of the original Chronofighter series. In the previous article, we discussed some changes, but let’s leave it at “This is the desired Chronofighter watch, there is no reason to look back”.
Chronofighter is dressed in the Sahara Desert, with a PVD black steel case, khaki hour markers and hands, and a textile fabric strap. It looks like a tent canvas from the 1940s. I would not call the appearance of Chronofighter Sahara “military”, but if there is, it must be “outdoor tactics”. As a sports watch, I find it suitable for casual and more interesting outdoor environment tasks. To be honest, I found myself preferring Chronofighter rather than I thought I would give the big and stupid chronograph trigger system I once thought was clumsy.
Part of the new feature of Chronofighter II is a simpler and more elegant trigger. Installed on the left side of the case, it will never pierce your arm or wrist, and it looks very cool in the end. I found that it also acts as an “artificial magnet” because many people will comment on the watch and express how much they like it. The trigger is lightweight and made of a solid piece of cut carbon. The carbon fiber texture looks great, and as a chronograph button, it works well. Above it is a smaller chronograph reset button.
Built into the trigger system is the crown of the watch. Intentionally large, operating and manually winding the watch (if needed) is much easier than it looks. The button of the chronograph is actually located in the middle of the crown, which is where the trigger is pressed. Without any feeling of swing and solidity, I would definitely think that the smaller size and exquisite design and materials of the chronograph trigger system are an upgrade to the previous generation of chronograph fighter watches.
Inside each Chronofighter is an improved Swiss ETA Valjoux 7750 automatic chronograph movement, which Graham calls the G1747 movement. The 7750 is rolled over and the 12-hour counter is removed. This makes the time on the dial with auxiliary seconds, as well as the date (luckily on the black disc) and a 30-minute chronograph. The medium-sized hour and minute hands match the retro clock design, which is very easy to read. I would say that the sub-second hand and the dial with black lettering on a black background are easier to read, but honestly I never pay much attention to it, so I hardly think it is a problem. If you want to measure seconds, then the easily recognizable chronograph second hand is for this. Graham fake also designed a chrono-minute counter that is bigger than you think, which makes it very easy to read.
I have been using the Chronofighter Sahara dial for a while, and now I can say that I not only appreciate its legibility, but the sleek design has become very beautiful for me. Nothing is too shiny or polished, and it turns out that it is very comfortable to read under many different lighting scenarios. Interestingly, the dial contains a telemetry scale, which I don’t have and will never use. It has never bothered me, but when writing this review, I recalled interestingly that it was there. Graham’s only suggestion on when to use it might be to measure the distance of the light from you based on listening to thunder. A telemeter uses a chronograph and sound to measure the distance of something from you. Gradually, the assumed ambient temperature is 25 degrees Celsius.
The Lume on the dial is SuperLumiNova in tan. I appreciate that it is not pale green. Lume is very good, but considering the color of lume, there is a mild trade-off. It emits real and green light, but it reduces light absorption when it is painted. However, chronographs have no luminous light-so time measurement can only be done under light. Overall, from a practical point of view, I have given a high evaluation of the new Chronofighter, and it has a variety of balanced dial functions, very suitable for booting.
The 47 mm wide steel case is not small, but it is not “large” either. Black helps it look smaller, and the lugs help create a fit. The case is water-resistant to 100 meters, and there are sapphire crystals on the dial and case back. What I really appreciate is the black ceramic (as opposed to steel) bezel. It is very shining, adds a high-end feel to the case that was originally focused on practicality, and provides very high scratch resistance. Although the case itself is not polished, I found that the strap buckle is black and polished, which is very interesting. wholesale watches
For most wrists, the Chronofighter II case is very comfortable. Although it has never bothered me, it is worth noting that the inside of the lugs is very sharp. This is part of the design and manufacturing process, but they are sharper. Nevertheless, I have never bothered when wearing this dress. I also found that the black and tan colors of Sahara’s design are very flattering, which makes it possible to become my first choice for my new Chronofighter design.
The attached fabric strap is quite comfortable and matches very well in terms of color. A small problem is that the fabric is easy to wear. You can cut off the loose thread, but I can see that the strap replacement will expire in a few years. I think everything from NATO straps to brown alligator straps fits Chronofighter. I haven’t actually seen too many Graham Chronofighter watches with non-factory straps, but imagine that, just like Panerai, these interesting designs can be greatly changed with different types of straps.
On the back of the case is a see-through window on the back of the watch to view the movement. It has been slightly colored to match the black theme. You will still notice that the base of the 7750 is decorated and has some nice blue screws. Graham watches have come a long way in my mind, from high-end toy-style watches that like sports exaggerated appearance to watches that can have a serious and possibly permanent position on my wrist. The brand still produces some works with strange color combinations, which are most suitable for men in mid-life crisis to go out with their new sports cars, but more and more Graham watches are adapting to mature and exquisite appearances, which should be in more people’s wrist. Of course it is worth taking a closer look.
