Mercer Lexington Bi-Compax Column Wheel Chronograph

The watch looks great from the front, especially on the Italian calf leather rally strap that it comes with, but by far the most outstanding feature is it's large exhibition case back that perfectly shows off the ST1901 mechanical movement that powers this timepiece. As a hand wound movement, there is no rotor to block the intricate view of the chronograph's cogs and wheels, and the movement is very nicely decorated with Côtes de Genève finishing, a mix of gold and silver colored components, and blued screws.

For horologists, the Seagull ST1901 movement also has an interesting historical association with the Swiss Venus 175. When Venus closed up shop, they sold not just the design but the equipment to manufacture the movement to Seagull, who then started producing the design as the Seagull ST19 series.

Mechanical chronographs (a chronograph is a wrist watch with a stop-watch built in) are more complex than simple three handed watches with their additional sub-dials, and typically carry a price tag to match. We find the Lexington to be a very affordable option in this category.