Choosing the Movements: What's Inside Every Rifino Watch

I didn't want to use mystery movements, and I didn't want to pretend these are hand-finished Swiss calibers either. Every Rifino watch uses one of three movements, and I'll tell you exactly which one is in the watch you're looking at, because you should know what you're actually paying for.

Rionero, Misano, and Lampredi run a VK63 meca-quartz, and Cortina Chrono runs its sibling, the VK67 — both are hybrid movements with a quartz base and a real mechanical chronograph module on top. You get quartz accuracy with the actual feel of a mechanical chrono: the sweeping hand, the tactile pusher action. It's the same family of movement a lot of respected micro brands build chronographs around, because it does the job without the cost of a fully mechanical chronograph.

Monopoli and Vieste run a Miyota 8215 automatic — no battery, winds off your wrist, a proven workhorse caliber that's been in production for decades. If you want a watch that just runs forever as long as you wear it, this is that movement.

La Selvotta runs a Seagull ST1655, a triple-calendar automatic chronograph — day, date, and moonphase, fully mechanical. It's the most complicated movement in the lineup, and it's there because that watch earns it.

None of these are marketing-exclusive “in-house” movements with a fake name slapped on them. They're movements you can look up, read reviews on, and know exactly what you're getting into. That's the point.

— Matt