A smaller brand like Alexander Shorokhoff may have quirks but can also benefit from the unique attention paid to each watch produced. For example, unlike a more assembly-line approach to watch making at larger brands, smaller operations at Shorokhoff have individual watchmakers involved in most all the steps required to make the watch. So each of these timepieces is likely assembled by a single watchmaker. That goes from regulating the movement, to casing it and setting the hands. This can tend to reduce the rate of errors and defective timepieces.

Without wanting to sound as though I am exaggerating, this is seriously one of THE most comfortable watches I’ve ever worn. It could just be how it fits on my wrist, but it fits like a glove. Let’s try to explain why that is and what Alexander Shorokhoff did right. The polished and brushed steel case is 43.5mm wide with modest sized lugs that hug my wrist. I found that for my under seven inch wrist size, the lugs dropped exactly where they needed to at the edge of my wrist while the relatively flat bottom laid comfortably on the top of my wrist. So the case shape certainly had a bit to do with it.

Another element related to comfort is the placement of the crown and pushers. This is actually a “lefty” watch meaning that the pushers and such are on the right of the case. It is called a lefty watch because it is intended to be worn on your right wrist. Though in reality you can wear it on either wrist. I rarely wear lefty watches, but having the pushers placed on the inside prevents them from digging into your hand at all when you move your wrist around. The funny thing is that I am actually a lefty, though an odd one because I wear my watch on my left wrist like right-handed people do. No particular reason why, I just always have.

Probably the most important element of the Avantgarde Lefthanders’ Chronograph’s high level of wearing comfort is the strap. Most people don’t realize that straps largely dictate the comfort of a watch. A bad strap can also ruin the wearability of an otherwise decent timepiece. The distressed-style honey brown leather strap is extremely soft and wraps around your wrist effortlessly. I’ve worn some of the world’s best and most expensive straps, and this is among the best. It is possible that the strap might wear out faster than others due to its softness, but it is so worth it even if you have to replace it each couple of years.

The strap also tapers a bit. While it can be a matter of taste, I happen to think that tapered straps and bracelets upgrade the look of a watch. Not only are they more comfortable and flattering for the wrist, but they help maintain the large size of a watch case without continuing that large shape entirely around your wrist. To see how this works, try wearing a Rolex Submariner with its tapered bracelet and a similar looking watch that doesn’t have a tapering bracelet. Tapered straps are common on most high-end pieces but oddly not as common on less expensive watches. I am happy to see one here on the Avantgarde Chronograph. By the way, the steel case with black dial and light brown strap give the entire composition of the watch a distinctly Italian feel that many people can appreciate.

The case is water resistant to 5o meters, without the crown screwing down. Over the dial is an AR-coated domed sapphire crystal that helps increase the high-end feel of the watch. Case detailing is impressive on the back of the watch as the text is done in raised relief text as well as more traditional engraving. However, it makes me chuckle that with all the text on the rear of this (and many other watches) there is no mention of the model name or number. While I can more or less understand why watches from 50 years ago don’t have model names on them, I think brands should start printing model names and numbers on the watches so that in the future people can better identify timepieces. I think that will greatly help the future collector’s market.

If you want an automatic version of this watch, the “Lefthander’s” version is the way to go. This is the best looking dial, though there is a version of the Avantgarde chronograph with a Swiss ETA Valjoux 7750. That isn’t what is in this particular watch though. Also, there is a “righty” version of this watch design with an almost identical looking dial, but it does have a date. That watch is the standard Avantgarde Chronograph C01, and rather than an automatic, it is manually wound. So if you want a date you need to go with a manually wound movement. I’ll take automatic winding over the date and enjoy the beautiful clean dial.

Inside this ref. AS.CA05-4L Avantgarde Lefthander’s Chronograph Automatic watch is their caliber 2030.DD automatic movement. It is a base Sellita SW200 with a Dubois Depraz chronograph module on top of it. The movement further includes a special custom engraved Alexander Shorokhoff automatic rotor that is quite pretty. At 14.5mm thick, the watch actually doesn’t feel too chunky. I am a fan of Dubois Depraz, so I find the movement quite interesting. On the dial, Alexander Shorokhoff proudly mentions “49 Jewels” (which is apparently the number of synthetic ruby palettes in the movement). I mention this because very few people use the number of jewels in a mechanical movement as a measure of quality anymore, but that certainly used to be the case. I believe the general perception was that the more jewels it had, the more complicated and possibly reliable a movement was.

Today we use different measures of quality, and I hope that I’ve discussed the majority of them in this review. I genuinely really like the Alexander Shorokhoff Avantgarde collection of watches, and the “Linkshander Uhr” model is among the most appealing as far as I am concerned. Though there are different dial colors and even a Milanese-style bracelet available that you may prefer. The design isn’t for everyone and the lack of full lume is quizzical, but they did promise it was an “avant-garde” timepiece didn’t they? Price is a reasonable feeling $2,510. alexander-shorokhoff.de

Necessary Data
>Brand: Alexander Shorokoff
>Model: Avantgarde Lefthander’s Automatic Chronograph ref. AS.CA05-4L
>Price: $2,510
>Size: 43.5mm
>Would reviewer personally wear it: Yes
>Friend we’d recommend it to first: If the concept of an “avant-garde retro-style sports chronograph” sounds appealing to them then we’d bring it up quickly.
>Worst characteristic of watch: Hands contain no lume but hour markers do.
>Best characteristic of watch: Simply beautiful and legible design in an ultra comfy case with a lot of welcome character.