What is a chronograph?

Watches , timepieces, stopwatches, chronographs. Words that seem very similar to each other but that, in reality, contain very different technical characteristics. For everyone, the watch is an accessory, wrist , wall, mobile, pocket, useful because it allows you to always know what time it is. But it can also be much, much more. Today we discover together what a chronograph is, in a simple way and suitable for everyone.

Watch or much more?

The first thing to say is that a chronograph is not really a watch, but an additional function of one, defined, in jargon, as a 'complication'. It is a special technical addition that allows you to measure and indicate the time elapsed in a limited period. For the uninitiated, a kind of stopwatch.

But then, what is a chronograph? It is used not only to measure time, but also (and above all) speed.

Chronograph or stopwatch?

Chronograph and chronometer are two words derived from ancient Greek. The first indicates the graphic tracking of time, or the measurement of short intervals, not necessarily associated with a timepiece. The chronometer, on the other hand, is nothing more than a time measurer.

So, a chronograph is by its nature also a stopwatch.

In chronographs, in fact, it is possible to start, reset and stop a hand as one prefers, to calculate the time in a precise interval. Usually, it is used to measure times with great precision. In the most advanced models, it is possible to measure even hundredths of a second.

In detail

The dials

You may have noticed that, in chronographs, there are two or three additional counters on the dial. They are used to measure hours, minutes and seconds with extreme precision.

The time is indicated by special hands.

How to use?

Despite their complex mechanism, modern chronographs are very simple to use. By convention, they have two pushers. One at the top, at 2 o'clock, the central hand begins to measure the event, as do the various counters present. To end the measurement, simply press the pusher again.

The second, lower button, at 4 o'clock, resets all counters.

Simple, yet effective.

The additions

In some chronographs, decidedly particular and unique in their kind, there is also the tachometric frequency, that is the meters traveled every second. In the 1920s, the heart rate or pulsometric frequency was often included, much to the favor of the nurses of the time.

A dive into the past

It is interesting to know that the first chronograph was invented in 1816 by the watchmaker Luis Moinet, for astronomical purposes. His innovative mechanism rested on rubies and was completely immersed in oil. The first modern chronograph, with a use similar to the current one, dates back to about 60 years later.

I hope this very short guide has helped to clarify the extraordinary difference between a "simple" timepiece and the technological and cutting-edge world of chronographs. Who knows what technology will have in store for us in the future in the field of watchmaking. We can certainly say that we always have the time at our wrist.