Amazingly, competitive eating is now a televisual event. I hesitate to call it a sport, as the idea of eating as many hotdogs or burgers as possible faster than a horde of ravenous competitors is, well, nutritionally questionable and athletically suspect. Anyway, the current world champion is an American fellow by the name of Joey Chestnut, who holds the record for the number of hotdogs ingested: a quite frankly ludicrous 68 in the space of 10 minutes. As with any timed event, even an event as absurd as competitive eating, the minutes, seconds and tenths of a second are absolutely paramount and, of course, nothing records time better than a chronograph watch.
Invented by French watchmaker Nicolas Mathieu Rieussec to amuse Louis XVIII, the chronograph is one of the most basic and ubiquitous complications in analogue watchmaking and, put simply, it is a stopwatch function. Of course, the mechanics behind a good chronograph are far from simple, as illustrated by the Jaeger-LeCoultre AMVOX5 World Chronograph LMP1 (above left). The AMVOX5 is a limited-edition version of a watch released last year, and a continuation of the partnership between Jaeger-LeCoultre and British luxury car marque Aston Martin. The fifth iteration of the AMVOX is a tribute to the Aston Martin LMP1 endurance racing car and its sporty fundamentals are shown off by the ultra-accurate chronograph, with two push buttons located at the three and nine o'clock positions to record hours and minutes, with seconds counted by the large central hand. Predictably for a watch inspired by Le Mans, the AMVOX5 has a massive 65-hour power reserve and comes with a world time disc with cities as counters. No prices for the Jaeger-LeCoultre AMVOX5 World Chronograph LMP1 have been released yet but the watch is limited to 250 pieces so expect it to be pricey.
Omega, as the official timekeeper of the Olympics and numerous other sporting events, takes chronograph complications incredibly seriously. The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Co-Axial Chronograph is a Christmas release that upholds Omega's chronograph credentials but with added style, with a nod to the original Moonwatches from the lunar missions of the 1960s. The watch has two chronograph counters, measuring 12 hours and 60 minutes, with the 12-hour counter doubling up with a small seconds hand. The masculine 44.25mm case houses Omega's celebrated Co-Axial calibre 9301 movement, which should get watch addicts excited, but it's the overall styling of this watch that stands out. There are two versions of the Speedmaster Moonwatch Co-Axial Chronograph: an 18-carat orange gold model, priced at HK$201,200 (above right), and a stainless-steel model priced at HK$67,400. The orange gold model works best with the black leather strap and black dial.
IWC has a rich heritage of chronograph watches and the IWC Ingenieur Double Chronograph Titanium (below left) is another gem from the company. Priced at a bargain HK$98,500, the Ingenieur Double Chronograph is as the name suggests: a watch that contains two chronograph complications to time two events simultaneously within the same minute. The meaty 45mm titanium case is robust enough to house such a complicated movement and the dial features a split second hands mechanism for intermediate timing. There are also three chronograph counters located at the six, nine and 12 o'clock positions. Other complications include day and date indicators. The sporty theme of the IWC Ingenieur Double Chronograph is continued with the black rubber strap and the phenomenal build quality of this watch means it is water resistant to 12 bars and has a 44-hour power reserve.