It is not the only chronograph to be released in this post-pandemic age, but it does herald a new era. The time-writer will be explored in depth, and we’ll continue the exploration in future issues. A magazine that specializes in wrist-worn time keeping instruments has a special attraction for the chronograph. This complication is not only one of four major features of traditional watchmaking but is also popular in the world of wristwatches (according the Federation of Swiss Watchmaking). It is the only high-complication watch that has a wide commercial appeal, and therefore comes in a variety of quality. This is not simply a matter of price and quality, for example, because more affordable and accessible tourbillons – one of the most distinctive of the aforementioned high complications – are available but have never quite been embraced outside of enthusiast communities.
One limitation is that most people don’t know what a tourbillon actually is. It is also not a feature that can be interacted with. The chronograph, on the other hand, requires interaction and offers (typically), two pushers which invite handling. The chronograph’s appeal is not based on its functionality. One of the world’s most symbolically important examples of fine watchmaking, the Rolex Oyster Perpetual Cosmograph Daytona is a chronograph, and its appeal has little to do with the complication. The Daytona has become a shorthand for luxury sports, perhaps more than ever before. By association, chronographs are elevated above pure functionality and into myth and legend.
The Omega Speedmaster is a chronograph and is therefore the most significant watch in history. Even though the traditional chronograph is extremely functional, it still has the highest level of desire. What person would not want a piece kit that was so useful to the astronauts in Apollo 13? However, its symbolic value is much greater than the chronograph value. What ever the case, it is clear that the chronograph has become a symbol of traditional watchmaking (especially for medievalists and fantasy fans).
Charming in Concept
It is not surprising that we have chosen this particular aspect of traditional watchmaking to be the focus of our technical feature this year. Another reason is that many brands debuted impressive new chronographs over the past few years, culminating in an abundance of them this year. The preponderance in new chronographs for 2023 is evident and unmistakable if you have followed our coverage or that of any other publication covering Watches and Wonders Geneva. The Omega Chrono Chime will, according to the most discerning collectors and enthusiasts, be the most significant chronograph development. The Omega Chrono Chime is a unique watch that combines the chronograph with chiming complications. However, we believe it’s more of a statement piece for fewer wrists. This is similar to Roger Dubuis Monovortex Concept, except this watch isn’t available for all wrists.
It is the first time in many years that we have taken a deep look at the chronograph. If you’re keeping score, it was 2020. And we mention that here. While we could have turned out a story on how the chronograph mechanism itself works, we avoided the temptation…sort of…for now. As we did for our series about the mechanical escapement (which we also wrote), our research quickly revealed how many pages would be required to cover the topic. This section will instead serve as a reintroduction to the chronograph, which could become our next long running series. The chronograph, unlike the escapement, tends to attract a wide variety of designs. In our opening salvo we suggest that the diversity and experimentation in the chronograph is due to brands being able to charge more for their innovations (whatever they may be).
This is best illustrated by the Roger Dubuis Concept Watch. The Geneva-based brand offers a version of the watch called the Excalibur Spider Flyback Chronograph for sale. This is in stark contrast to the escapement which, for the most part, users are unable to interact with and whose movement is too fast to be seen by the naked eye. Grand Seiko offers the SLGC001 Tentagraph, which is paired with the automatic calibre, 9SA5, that features the dual impulse escapement. However, the Tentagraph gives this earlier innovation a chance for glory. Grand Seiko’s watchmaking expertise is on display with this chronograph.
Second Thoughts
Consider that a sweep-second hand is justified by the chronograph. In the days prior to the Quartz Revolution, a large sweep second hand was considered an extravagance. Even a dress watch with only two hands would have seemed vulgar. A subdial was fine (just to let you know that your watch is working), but a centrally located second hand seemed ridiculous. (No one needed to know their time down to the second). Of course, today things are different, and the sweep second hand has a function – it tells people that you have a mechanical watch. This alone is worth a lot of marketing dollars and speaks volumes about the status that a functional component can bring. As a result, the chronograph also makes a statement about prestige while adding functionality for avid collectors.
This is why the first-ever chronograph from MB&F is notable, to use a recent example that is not actually a 2023 model, and why the Roger Dubuis Flyback is on the very crest of the aforementioned wave. These pieces highlight their technical content with the greatest of splashes. It may not be Patek Philippe, or even the late watchmaker Roger Dubuis, but both Genevan brands are pushing into new territory in fine watchmaking. They are as different as an iron fence is cold during winter.
And now, for a bit of a fourth-wall break… As some of you will know, I am perhaps not the best writer to cover the subject of chronographs, given that they are outside my own collecting parameters and I do not like the “time pressure” character of the complication. This gives me a certain objectivity which I found helpful in pursuing this story. What is the point of this complexity, if you want to evaluate it? Now is a good opportunity to learn what a clock is, how it functions, and what it is capable of.
Working Definitions
This section is devoted to mechanical mechanisms. So, we won’t be able to discuss the scales and other features that are often included with chronographs. We will also not go into detail about the flyback feature or the split seconds chronograph. We will not even cover the why and how of digital chronographs in future issues, despite the self-imposed limit. The only notable exception is analogue clocks that use quartz movements. This is because the chronograph part is the same in both mechanical and digital versions. To address our two first points, the chronograph’s function and what it is is so simple that we can summarise in one sentence. The chronograph records and tracks elapsed times, as we have noted repeatedly throughout this section. It is and does only that.
How it works will be covered in this section. We’ll start with the gears. The mechanical clock is, in essence, a completely separate system of components, which, on demand, interacts and performs its functions with the main timekeeping mechanism. The perpetual calendar and the tourbillon are examples of this. By pressing the start button, the chronograph engages with the main mechanism. If the chronograph does not have a user-driven starting, it is isolated from the main action.
This is for those purists, who are sure to read this story. Here’s a definition by an authority. Here’s what the Dictionary of Horology says about the basic chronograph.
A chronograph watch mounted at the center of the dial with hands showing the hours, minutes and second. The chronograph hand can be stopped, started and reset by pushing the push-pieces. It makes one revolution every minute. A minute counter hand counts the rotations. The minutes are usually between 30 and 60.
The US National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors has a different take on the definition.
A modern chronograph can be described as a watch with an additional mechanism for measuring time intervals. This requires four components: a timekeeper (or stopwatch), a seconds counting mechanism (usually a latch), a coupling device connecting the timekeeper and the counting mechanism (3rd) and a return to zero mechanism (4th).
These definitions do not include some examples, including the Porsche Design digital display chronograph, chiming clocks and the Roger Dubuis Excalibur Chronograph. We have also covered all three in our one-liner, so well done! We say that you can expect to find some unexpected complexities in this game.
This article appeared first in WOW Autumn Issue 70
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