The Affordable Luxury: Elini Barokas Fortitudo chronograph watch for under $150: one of the best watches a man can buy
The Elini Barokas Fortitudo is a beautiful watch that looks much more expensive than it is. The design is aggressively masculine, with a great deal of architectural detail in the case. I particularly like the look of the face, which is partially skeletonized, a detail I've only seen in much more expensive watches. In spite of all the detail, the face looks very uncluttered and the watch is very easy to read. The silicone band is comfortable, but it is a little short. I have an average sized wrist and am wearing this on the third hole from the end, so it might be too small for men with very large wrists. Despite its large size, it is not excessively heavy, unlike many of my Invictas. The Elini name is associated with a high-end Belgian jewelry firm that once made expensive boutique watches, but the watch brand has been acquired by the SWI Group, which also owns the Swiss Legend brand. Like Swiss Legend, nearly all the mass market Elini chronographs appear to use the ISA 8172/220 movement. This is a Swiss parts caliber. (I also have it in three other chronographs from Swiss Legend and Invicta.) Although a relatively inexpensive movement, it keeps very accurate time and is a pleasure to use as a stop watch. Unlike more expensive movements, it does not read to 1/10 sec. Frankly, I cannot remember the last time I needed to time something to that accuracy. The only quibble I have with this movement is that the date is a bit small. (My invicta has a small magnifier on the crystal over the date to compensate for this.) All things considered, this is one of the nicest watches in this price range.
The Elini Barokas Fortitudo is a beautiful watch that looks much more expensive than it is. The design is aggressively masculine, with a great deal of architectural detail in the case. I particularly like the look of the face, which is partially skeletonized, a detail I've only seen in much more expensive watches. In spite of all the detail, the face looks very uncluttered and the watch is very easy to read. The silicone band is comfortable, but it is a little short. I have an average sized wrist and am wearing this on the third hole from the end, so it might be too small for men with very large wrists. Despite its large size, it is not excessively heavy, unlike many of my Invictas. The Elini name is associated with a high-end Belgian jewelry firm that once made expensive boutique watches, but the watch brand has been acquired by the SWI Group, which also owns the Swiss Legend brand. Like Swiss Legend, nearly all the mass market Elini chronographs appear to use the ISA 8172/220 movement. This is a Swiss parts caliber. (I also have it in three other chronographs from Swiss Legend and Invicta.) Although a relatively inexpensive movement, it keeps very accurate time and is a pleasure to use as a stop watch. Unlike more expensive movements, it does not read to 1/10 sec. Frankly, I cannot remember the last time I needed to time something to that accuracy. The only quibble I have with this movement is that the date is a bit small. (My invicta has a small magnifier on the crystal over the date to compensate for this.) All things considered, this is one of the nicest watches in this price range.
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