Chronostar was introduced in 1998 by Italian company Artime Group, which had also distributed Sector since 1988. According to Watch Wiki, the launch was aimed to compete against Swatch and Flik Flak in the entry-level market.
Sector Group and Morellato Group
Artime Group rebranded as the Sector Group in 2000, retaining Chronostar and Sector while also later acquiring Invicta. Sector and Chronostar have been owned by the Morellato Group since 2006, operating as separate brands.
Aprilia in 500cc Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing
The Chronostar logo appeared on the Aprilia RSW-2 500 raced by Tetsuya Harada and Jeremy McWilliams during the 2000 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It’s worth mentioning that the brand was also featured on the Aprilia RSV 1000 that contested the 2000 Superbike World Championship. An old print ad suggests that Chronostar was the Official Timing Partner of Aprilia Racing.
500cc Aprilia rider Jeremy McWilliams chasing down Sete Gibernau, Nobuatsu Aoki, and Àlex Crivillé in 2000. (Photo: by Box Repsol, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
At least one Chronostar Aprilia digital watch has been previously released, although details are sparse. It’s unknown if the timepiece had a direct connection with the 2000 partnership with Aprilia.
It’s worth noting that stablemate Sector was also a sponsor of the Aprilia MotoGP team when the Italian brand made a return to the premier class after a 2001 hiatus from Grand Prix racing.
Related Pages
References
https://newdresswatches.blogspot.com/2010/11/history-of-sector-watches.html
https://www.watch-wiki.net/doku.php?id=artime_group
https://whichwatchtoday.blogspot.com/2015/09/sector-chronostar-aprilia-lcd-watch.html