This Affordable Automatic Chronograph Is Extra Tough Thanks to Some Clever Engineering

After seemingly coming out of nowhere last year with its smash-hit titanium dress watch, the Rivanera, Italian microbrand Echo/Neutra — which was actually founded back in 2019 — is seemingly everywhere.

Conan O’Brien has been wearing the brand’s 1956 3-Hands diver around, wearing it on rotation with his far more expensive Omega Seamaster NTTD and even name-dropping Echo/Neutra in a New York Times interview back in May. More recently, Kevin O’Leary showed off a Rivanera on Fox Business by displaying his usual breadth of watch knowledge and mixing up the brand and product names.

Echo/Neutra released a white-dialed second variant of the Rivanera back in July to great acclaim, and last month, the brand branched out with an all-new model, the Averau 42 Ceramic Chrono. I spent a few weeks with the watch, and while it may not be as head-turning as the sharp-angled Rivanera, it still offers something unique in the space thanks to its clever construction.

Two materials, one family

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

The main selling point of the new Echo/Neutra chronograph is its interesting case construction, which the brand calls TiFrame. It consists of a grade 2 titanium inner case that extends into the lugs and the strap integration system that is then surrounded by a black ceramic shell.

Such a setup gives you the best of both materials. The titanium inner core provides strength and rigidity that ceramic lacks, while the ceramic outer case gives you far superior scratch-resistance than you would get from pure titanium. The fact that the titanium extends into the lugs is a nice, thoughtful touch, as lugs are a frequent fail point of ceramic watches. (I’ve seen a few ceramic lugs snap off in my day.)

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

The uncommon case construction is certainly the headline-grabber for the Averau 42 Ceramic Chrono, but it isn’t the watch’s only notable quality. There’s also its design, which is very contemporary and sleek, but also quite toolish.

The black dial with white printing is very legible — aided by some very nice AR coating on the sapphire crystal — and I appreciate the restrained use of red on the two seconds hands to spice up the most dynamic parts of the watch face. I also like the large arrow handset, as it has a modern utilitarian design that doesn’t at all resemble the vintage-inspired arrow hands I’m used to seeing.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

The crown and pushers are all large and anthracite-colored with prominent knurling. The knurling is functional on the crown, which screws down, but it’s just for show on the pushers, which do not screw down. I actually like this detail, as it gives the watch a cohesive design without making me actually unscrew the pushers to use them, which is always a pain.

Powering the watch is a Sellita Cal. SW510B Elaboré-grade automatic, which is a very solid movement at this price. However, in my sample unit, the rotor winding was extremely noticeable — I could feel it whenever I moved my wrist — but this slight annoyance may not be present on the final versions of the watch, as my loaner was a prototype.

Photo by Johnny Brayson for Gear Patrol

My only other annoyance during my time was the watch was the black textile strap. It has metal keepers like a NATO, but the strap is too thick and stiff to fold down like a NATO, meaning the excess tail just kind of stands up awkwardly. I also didn’t love the large Averau branding on the strap — it’s a model name that means very little to me — so if I were to purchase one of these, I’d pick one of the other strap options (Echo/Neutra offers a vegan leather or rubber strap as an alternative, both black).

Pricing and availability

While I don’t think the Averau 42 Ceramic Chrono will be the blockbuster hit the Rivanera was for Echo/Neutra, I do think it will become a mainstay in the brand’s collection. It’s an attractive and different-looking tool watch with a coolness factor that’s difficult to quantify.

The case construction is innovative and feels pretty high-end, and when combined with the Swiss-made automatic chronograph movement, the Averau 42 Ceramic Chrono suddenly looks very tempting at its $1,970 price tag. Sub-$2,000 automatic chronographs aren’t exactly common, and the fact that this one offers something different makes it stand out that much more against its competition.

Echo/Neutra

Echo/Neutra Averau 42 Ceramic Chrono

Specs

Case Size	42mm
Movement	Sellita Cal. SW510B automatic chronograph
Water Resistance	100m

• $1,970 at Echo/Neutra

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