PD-1701
the sub-$160 sapphire chronograph
A 40mm steel quartz chronograph with sapphire, a screw-down crown and a molded tachymeter bezel, from Pagani Design at roughly $152. Cheap, and honest about it.
Scored by the published HypeScore formula from the specification and the street price. Never edited by hand, never influenced by affiliation. Read the formula →
Chronographs are normally where a watch budget goes to die, and the PD-1701 is Pagani Design’s argument that it does not have to. For about $152 you get a 40mm steel case, a sapphire crystal with a hard anti-reflective coating, a screw-down crown and a molded bezel carrying a tachymeter scale, per Pagani Design’s own product page.
The engine is quartz, and the maker is vague about which one. The page names the Japanese VK63 and the Miyota 0S20 in the same line, so I will not tell you which is inside any given example. Either way, what you buy is a stopwatch you can start without winding anything, not a movement to admire. Battery life and lug to lug are not published. Water resistance is 330 feet, or 10 bar, Pagani Design’s own rating and not a certified one. Treat it as rain and handwashing.
At 14mm thick and 138g on the steel bracelet, it is a substantial 40mm, and the 20mm lug width means strap changes are painless. The nylon options will suit it better in summer. The page also sells it in over a dozen dial colours, which tells you where the brand’s attention goes.
My view: this is the right way to spend $150 if you want a chronograph look and will tolerate a no-name quartz module. It is not the right way if you care about service support or resale. At the money I would also look at the brand’s own PD-1661 for a mechanical heartbeat, and save for the Speedmaster if the chronograph itch is real.
- Pagani Design: official PD-1701 product page · Case diameter and thickness, weight, steel material, screw-down crown, sapphire crystal coatings, chronograph function, 330 ft water resistance, movement naming (VK63 / Miyota 0S20, quartz), band width and length, deployant clasp, and current pricing, as published on Pagani Design's own storefront. No lug-to-lug figure or battery life is published.
What reviewers say.
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Where to buy.
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