Emporio Armani Men’s 43mm Chronograph Watch (AR1878)

\n Warm cream dial, steel case, dark brown crocodile-embossed leather: the AR1878 is Emporio Armani’s\nmid-century-looking chronograph, and the colour combination does most of the work. Against the pale dial\nthe three sub-dials read as faint circles rather than hard punctuation, which keeps a busy layout looking\ncalm. \n\n Case and Wrist Presence \n Stainless steel, round, 43 mm across. That is a full-size men’s case, with lugs that curve down\nhard at the ends so the strap starts bending close to the case rather than standing off the wrist. The\nfinish is bright and polished all over, including the flanks, so the case picks up light from the side as\nwell as the top. Two rectangular chronograph pushers sit either side of a fluted crown at three. \n\n Dial and Legibility \n The dial is champagne, warmer than cream and much warmer than the steel around it. Applied Arabic\nnumerals mark the even hours, twelve through ten, with printed batons between them and a minute track\naround the outside. Three recessed sub-dials sit at nine, three and six, and a small date aperture is cut\nin at four. The hands are gold-toned and slim; against the light dial they rely on shape rather than\ncontrast, so this is a watch you read in good light rather than in the dark. \n\n Movement and Functions \n Quartz, with a chronograph and a date. The top pusher starts and stops the stopwatch, the lower one\nreturns the hands to zero, and the totalisers add up the elapsed minutes and hours while the sweep hand\ncounts seconds. The date sits in the aperture at four and advances at midnight; on a thirty-day month you\nwill need to push it on by hand. \n\n Strap, Clasp and Fit \n Dark brown leather with a crocodile grain pressed into it, stitched in a matching tone along both\nedges. Leather like this starts stiff and takes a few weeks to learn the shape of your wrist, after which\nit creases at the same point every day and sits flatter. Keep it dry: the grain will darken and the\nbacking will stiffen if it is soaked repeatedly. \n\n Who This Watch Suits \n Someone who wants a chronograph that does not shout. The cream dial and brown strap read as older than\nthe watch actually is, which suits tailoring and heavier winter fabrics better than it suits a T-shirt.\nAt 43 mm it needs a wrist of roughly 17 cm or more to look right. \n\n Care and Maintenance \n The dial prints no water rating, so keep it away from taps, rain and swimming. Wipe the case with a\nsoft cloth, and let the strap air out on days you are not wearing it rather than shutting it in a drawer\nstill damp with sweat. \n\n About the Brand \n Emporio Armani has built watches under licence since the late 1990s, and the chronographs are the part\nof the range where the house’s colour sense shows most clearly. A cream dial on steel is an unusual\nchoice, and it is the reason this reference still looks different on a shelf of black-and-silver\nchronographs. \n Technical Specifications Reference AR1878 Brand Emporio Armani Case diameter 43 mm Case material Stainless steel Case shape Round Dial Champagne Hour markers Arabic numerals Movement Quartz chronograph Calendar Date at four o’clock Strap Brown crocodile-embossed leather EAN 4053858473607 Buying With Confidence Every watch ships new and unworn in its original box with the manufacturer’s paperwork, and carries a 24-month international manufacturer warranty on the movement, excluding the battery and normal wear. We deliver nationwide with tracking, and the Consumer Protection Act right of return applies to an unworn watch still in its original packaging.