What makes a chronograph watch

The top two sub-dials are generally minutes and hours or minutes and a tenth of a second. The chronograph complication is integrated into the movement of the watch, with the two most common movements being the Column Wheel and Coulisse Lever. Who Uses It? Why Have It? If the split second pusher is pressed, then the split second hand will stop, allowing you to read the immediate time whilst the chronograph second hand continues to rotate.

Tachymeter Scale The Tachymeter Scale is used to measure speed over a fixed distance, located around the circumference of the dial. The pusher is pressed at point A to start and then again at point B to stop, the speed can then be read off the Tachymeter scale using the chronograph hand. Telemeter Scale This is used to measure the approximate distance between you and an event that can be both seen and heard, an example being lightning and thunder.

If the wearer sees a bolt of lightning and starts the chronograph, then hears the thunder and stops it, he can judge how far away the storm is by reading the value shown by the chronograph hand on the Telemeter Scale.

You must be logged in to post a comment. Thank you for being interested in having your watch repaired with us, we are looking forward to your visit. We are conveniently located in mid-town Manhattan at 2 west 46th street , between 5th and 6th closer to 5th across the street from Ranch1 restaurant. Blog How To's. Tomasz Lodowski. July 8, Share on facebook. Share on twitter. Share on linkedin. Share on email. I read this article at least three times when I first encountered it about 12 months ago.

It was extremely useful. I ended up purchasing a Oris Valtteri Bottas limited edition and have been thrilled with it. My other front runners all had bigger names and bigger price tags. But they also had some less desirable features. I wanted at least a 44mm dia. Other considerations I took into account only after reading this article, ended up making a substantive difference.

Thanks again for re-publishing this. I recommend it heartily. Thank you for taking the time to write this out! I am currently in the market for a new watch and this article is the best I have found thank you.

My Breitling Aerospace that I have worn for 29 years is needing to be replaced and they thing that amazes me is how large so many watches are now. I found this very informative about what I had not been told about before. Thank you. I have an Omega Speedmaster. The timing function and biggest source of inaccuracy is the user reaction time to start and stop.

A function can be no more accurate than its least accurate component. This seems to be ignored when manufacturers tout how accurately their watch can time an event. Excellent point. The hype IMHO is more remnant of yester-years when it had actual functional value coupled with the precision accomplished with mechanical gears. I have a Sinn EZM I use it from time to time for its intended purpose; mostly I just like looking at it. After a lot of looking for a truly rugged chronograph dive watch, I found one I really liked, bought it, Then discovered that those big super luminova covered hands that made the watch so easy to read in the dark, blocked visibility of the sub-dials—it takes the minute hand an excruciatingly long time to get past the hour and minute sub-dials.

Nice thin tritium-lit hour and minute hands would make this watch perfect. The older I get, the simpler I like my watches. At this point I prefer a good old 3,hand automatic. It has the day, date, even the month and of course a chronograph function. It is just very cool. I have a Smartphone, actually two, one of each flavor, Apple and Android. I have not, nor will I ever pull out my phone when asked what time it is. I pull back my cuff and glance at my wrist. Smartphones are precise but a wristwatch is elegant.

Elegance trumps precision. Love your assessment. I only own one chronometer, a Speedmaster, the rest of my small collection are dress watches that exude elegance. Truthfully, you probably buy a chronograph because you think it is cool. Most people will not use it as a tool. Your cell phone will do a much better job as a tool than a chronograph. Buy a chronograph because you love the way it looks and because you appreciate the work that went into creating it.

But remember, repairing it if it stops working will probably be a long and expensive proposition, especially if it has an in house movement. An in-house column wheel flyback chronograph with a vertical clutch can be very expensive.

But All chronographs are great in my eyes and to wear one is a nice feeling… Great article and great photos as always. This is a very informative article for those, like myself, who are interested in how a mechanical watch functions. While I agree that the phones we carry — actually a small computer- would be able to provide better accuracy than a mechanical chronograph, battery powered devices seem to have a way of being discharged just when most needed.

I especially agree about the comment that legible elapsed timing functions are being sacrificed on the altar of fashion. I am currently in the market for a chronograph and have found far too many displays are nearly unusable due to the design of the face and hands.

Regarding night time legibility: When the pupils of my eyes are dilated due dim light, I prefer to glance at a watch rather than the blinding light of a cell phone display. Thank you for this unusual piece summarizing what I should know when buying a watch with a complex dial… This article fills in a lot information on how we can properly make use of the different functions. I appreciate the work put into this article, what makes this newsletter Special.

Thanks again! I had a Casio Edifice which I loved, but in actual use there was so much packed into it, and some of the positions were marked with such tiny letters that to do anything more than read the time I had to put my reading glasses on — which kind of spoilt it. I gave it away in the end…. I wear a watch because I feel undressed without one and I love the way a chronograph looks. Just as it is more convenient to glance at your wrist to tell the time than it is to take a phone out of your pocket, so it is more convenient to have the chronograph on your wrist when timing something.

I run training classes and I use my watches to time tea and lunch breaks, as well as time assessments for competency certifications. I have three mechanical chronographs and two analogue quartz chronographs and I wear them all to class, just not all on the same day! I like this article with exception to note 7. It looks like GP or Girard Perregaux movement.

Yet you acknowledge crappy company like Tag. Is there a promotion of pushing certain companies through media? Great article, but why does a pop-up ad for the TV show Bar Rescue appear on every page?

Very annoying. I love chronographs and have owned two … still have one … but I have never known anyone except an old-time physician to ever use its timing features. Like so-called Pilots watches … which are not necessary because all aircraft today have clocks. And truth be known I think most people buy chronographs for show and not because they need their features.

As for timing, etc. I am not opposed to watches that offer conveniences such as the Rolex Day-Date I have worn for about 30 years now. I bought it when I was doing a lot of international travel and I would awaken in some strange city and it was nice to know the day I always knew the city.

While chronographs are historically associated with the world of motoring, its popularity as a complication has meant it has migrated into other sports, as this Seiko Black series dive watch proves. The perfect dive watch, in other words. As chronographs go this is the ultimate. It was only when it was given a Zenith Calibre and became an automatic that people sat up and took notice.

When Tudor launched this addition to its Black Bay line last year, the biggest talking point, apart from its rugged good looks, was that it was powered by a new in-house chronograph. The chat got even louder when it was revealed that this movement was in fact designed in collaboration with Breitling and was in fact a derivation of its B01 with column-wheel chronograph.

Especially when it yields results a great as this Black Bay. Its vintage stylings have remained on-trend this version is a homage to the original CK from and the column-wheel movement that powers this version — the — is renowned for its reliability. There is also a pared-back restraint to the dial that makes it the perfect everyday wearer. Although this latest iteration might be more at home on civvie street, it is still an impressive piece of kit. Zenith seems to have been on a single-brand mission to prove chronographs can work with suits.

This gorgeously restrained, elegant design is the ideal dress watch. Under that midnight-swimming pool coloured dial beats the year-old, high-frequency El Primero movement with column-wheel chronograph. Born in , it was the first-ever automatic chronograph, was totally integrated and, thanks to its 5hz frequency, incredibly accurate.

The aesthetics of the golden age of motoring are at the heart of everything industrial designer and founder Bradley Price creates for Autodromo. A meca-quartz is a combination of quartz and mechanical technologies. All of which gives you a lot of horological bang for under seven hundred bucks. This is a brand that consistently makes great-looking, robust watches — like this Courturier — but at prices that make you think someone is still using the retail list from Being part of the Swatch Group means it has ready access to ETA movements, which explains the amazing price tag.

It also ticks all the chronograph boxes with its tachymeter scale, three sub-dials and clean yet sporty aesthetic. When it comes to the Hamilton family, the Khaki is its military field-watch line complete with vintage military stylings. Rather than go for the traditional 3,6,9 subdial layout it has reduced the number to two at 6 and 12 to allow for a symmetrical and sympathetic day date at 3.

It has also reduced the module to just 96 parts. Watch geekery to be sure, but technology that makes for a long-lasting and happy purchase. Trending Accessories. All products featured on FashionBeans are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. The material on this site can not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with prior written permission of Solid Ventures.

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