Fourteen millimeters of attitude
By Rafael Ortiz, Mexico City ·
Fourteen point four millimeters. That's the number I keep coming back to with this Offshore, because on a 43 mm octagon with 24 mm lugs it adds up to a lot of watch. Under a uniform sleeve it would be a wrestling match every time I reached for the radio panel. On a beach in Cancún, in shorts, it makes complete sense.
And credit where it's due: the 4404 is a proper modern chronograph. Flyback, column wheel, 70 hours of reserve, so it survives a two-day layover in a drawer and is still running when I get back to it. The flyback is the feature I'd actually use. Hit the lower pusher mid-timing and it snaps back and restarts, which is exactly what you want when you're timing legs of a holding pattern or, more realistically, the third pot of coffee at the hotel.
The grey dial with the Méga Tapisserie pattern is good looking, but I'm not convinced it's the most legible face for a chronograph. Lots of texture, lots of applied metal, and in low light the hands can get lost against it. The sapphire is clear enough, I just want more contrast from a tool watch shape.
At 32,000 to 34,500 dollars it's priced like jewelry that happens to time things. If you love the Offshore's 1990s swagger, buy it on the rubber and wear it loud. If you want a chronograph you'll read at a glance, there are better faces for a quarter of the money.