There is no light to be shed..
1 and a half year ago the PAM 196 came out and it was one of the most accurate PAM visual (and still is in the top ten) with a fully working chronograph with date.
If you are a chrono guy, you get a working automatic chronograph and you pay for it.
The manual chronographs (like the Venus on the 192) they are not expensive probably because they don't have any modifications.