There is perhaps no more versatile complication than the chronograph. 

From race cars to rocket ships, boats to battlefields, you are likely to find a chronograph being employed to measure a plethora of tasks and times. From the Greek khrónos (“time) and gráphō (“to write”), a chronograph is a watch that has the ability to record time, generally via the addition of small sub-counters that register minutes and hours. 

Though many storied brands produced notable chronographs during the complication’s heyday from the 1930s through the 1970s, numerous other firms fell by the wayside during the Quartz Crisis, folding completely and disappearing or being rolled up into conglomerates that pillaged their stores of parts.

This particular chronograph from Clebar — whose wares were distributed in the U.S. by Trauner and Son, the same company that distributed Zodiac — is funky as hell, affordable, and packs some killer standout features.

Housed in a 37mm stainless steel cushion case with an acrylic crystal, dual barrel pushers, and a bi-directional, fully graduated timing bezel, it features a navy blue ‘exotic' dial with red and white accents and a matching handset, an outer tachymeter scale, and a dual-register 30-minute 'surfboard' chronograph layout.

Powered by the a hand-cranking Valjoux movement and paired to a stainless steel multi-link bracelet with a Zodiac signed blade calsp, this dream of a ‘70s chrono features its factory goodies — including papers signed ‘Marine Corps Exchange,’ indicating this might originally have been a ‘PX’ (‘post exchange’) purchase by an active-duty Marine.

If you are looking for a quirky, functional, and endlessly charming vintage chronograph, look no further.

If you can find a cooler piece for the money, we'll eat our hats!