What's so special about the watch?
The black and white color combo never gets old, especially when it comes in the form of this classy number. The Tissot Navigator presents the humble chronograph in a quirky way, its oddly placed registers making for a nice conversation starter.
 
Vintage chronographs are starting to crowd the market, and between the loads of offerings out there, this one stands out with its lob-sided arrangement of the registers. The Lemania 1341 movement beating inside removes the need for a minute register at 3'O, leaving space for the date and printing. 
 
The watch also sits nicely with its tonneau shaped case, the slight convex putting the nice dial on display at a higher elevation.
 
What are the functions of the watch?
12-hour chronograph with date.
 
Let me tell you about the case...
Tonneaus cases are an odd thing for me - sometimes they work, sometimes they flop. The case in this particular watch has a certain appeal and wears well on the wrist despite the elongated ends, partly due to the rounded crystal and large dial. 
 
This example comes free from major dinks and scratches, evidence that the previous owner took pretty good care while wearing it out (or just kept it in a drawer). While unpolished, the case has the obvious hairline marks that make vintage look authentic, sharp lines separating the brushed top portion with the polished sides on the case. 
 
There are no factory engravings on the caseback, which presents itself free from careless tool marks. 
 
And now the dial...
Matte black is a pretty good color for sports watches. I mean, who's to argue with the likes of the Speedmaster and the Type 20 right? This guy toes the line while injecting its own flavour with an odd register placement for hours at 6 and running seconds at 9. 
 
The usual 30 minute register has been replaced by a cenrtral sweeping one placed underneath the chronograph seconds hands, allowing for more accurate reading of the elapsed minutes in a larger 60 minute register. 
 
A large tachymeter scale is printed in white, seperating the micro minutes markings on the dial from the thin bezel of the tonneau case. long hash markers aid the telling the time, with baton indices lined with lume. 
 
The reverse panda dial sees the registers in white, clear black markings printing the digits for the running seconds and the hours. One small detail that I kinda like is how the date window cuts into the micro minutes was done well, with a slight space allowance to separate the window from the markings.
 
Let's not forget the hands...
Legible white hands are broad with applications of lume that is consistent with the one on the dial. Faded orange hands indicate the chronograph seconds and minutes, with the signature Lemania cross at tip of the minute register hand.