Sinn makes tough tool watches, and the Sinn 936 is no exception. It has a scratch-resistant case, magnetic protection and a water-resistance rating of 100 metres. It has the conventional bicompax chronograph layout, but the movement has been modified to give the chronograph minute subdial a 60-minute scale instead of the usual 30-minute scale. This makes chronograph readings easier when seen at a glance, but possibly a bit more difficult to discern the precise reading in minutes.
Case and strap
The case is fairly large at 43 mm diameter, 15 mm thick, and it feels quite heavy at 111 grams without the strap. The strap options are a leather strap with red stitching details, a stainless steel bracelet, and a silicone strap with the Sinn logo moulded onto it.
One of the special Sinn features is the D3-System applied to the screw-down crown and the chronograph pushers. On most chronograph watches, crown and pushers have a tube placed inside the hole through the caseband, while in the D3 system, pusher pins and crown shaft are mounted directly into the case, improving water resistance and reducing the possibility of damage in the case of sideways knocks against the pushers or crown.
Dial
The dial features a simplified version of the pilot’s watch, with baton hour markers instead of Arabic numerals, and sword-shaped hands. Hour markers and hour and minute hands are coated in SuperLuminova for night-time visibility. The long central chronograph seconds hand and the chronograph minutes hand on the subdial at 3 o’clock are red, ensuring that there is no confusion between the two subdials, which are otherwise totally identical. The dial has a pleasing symmetry, reinforced by the position of the date window.
Movement
The Sinn SZ05 movement is the ETA Valjoux 7750, which has been modified as mentioned above, with a 60-minute chronograph minute counter rather than the usual 30-minute counter. The watch has a solid caseback so you can’t see anything of the movement. It runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, 4 Hertz, and is self-winding, with a power reserve probably around 44 hours. It provides the stop-second function.
Price
The Sinn 936 costs €2,890 with a leather strap, €3,120 with a stainless steel bracelet, and €3,165 with a silicone strap. They are not the cheapest chronographs with Valjoux 7750 movement, but the 100 metre water resistance and the scratch-resistant case are attractive features that makes it a great all-weather, everyday watch. Further information from the Sinn website.
