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A chronograph is a specific type of
watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...
that is used as a
stopwatch A stopwatch is a timepiece designed to measure the amount of time that elapses between its activation and deactivation. A large digital version of a stopwatch designed for viewing at a distance, as in a sports stadium, is called a stop clock. ...
combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has an independent sweep second hand and a minute sub-dial; it can be started, stopped, and returned to zero by successive pressure on the stem. More complex chronographs use additional complications and can have multiple sub-dials to measure seconds, minutes, hours and even fractions of a second. In addition, many modern chronographs use moveable bezels as tachymeters for rapid calculations of speed or distance.
Louis Moinet Louis Moinet (1768–1853), inventor of the chronograph, was born into a prosperous family of farmers in Bourges, France, was a French horologist, sculptor and painter. History During his studies, he quickly distinguished himself for his mastery ...
invented the chronograph in 1816 for use in tracking astronomical objects. Chronographs were also used heavily in artillery fire in the mid to late 1800s. More modern uses of chronographs involve
aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
ing,
auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
,
diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...
and
submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...
maneuvering. Since the 1980s, the term ''chronograph'' has also been applied to all
digital watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...
es that incorporate a stopwatch function.


History

The term ''chronograph'' comes from the Greek ( 'time recording'), from ( 'time') and ( 'to write'). Early versions of the chronograph are the only ones that actually used any "writing": marking the dial with a small pen attached to the index so that the length of the pen mark would indicate how much time had elapsed. Hood, Peter. How Time Is Measured. London: Oxford U.P., 1969. Print. Cowan, Harrison J. Time and Its Measurement; from the Stone Age to the Nuclear Age. Cleveland: World Pub., 1958. Print.Chronographs
Accessed 25 March 2012
The first modern chronograph was invented by
Louis Moinet Louis Moinet (1768–1853), inventor of the chronograph, was born into a prosperous family of farmers in Bourges, France, was a French horologist, sculptor and painter. History During his studies, he quickly distinguished himself for his mastery ...
in 1816, solely for working with astronomical equipment. It was
Nicolas Mathieu Rieussec Nicolas Mathieu Rieussec (20 July 1781 – 18 June 1866) was a French watchmaker. Surname origin The Rieussec family's birthplace was the town of Lespinassière. Nicolas was the son of Joseph Rieussec, a merchant born in the 18th century in Les ...
who developed the first marketed chronograph at the behest of
King Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...
in 1821. The King greatly enjoyed watching horse races, but wanted to know exactly how long each race lasted, so Rieussec was commissioned to invent a contraption that would do the job: as a result he developed the first ever commercialized chronograph. Rieussec was considered the inventor of the chronograph until the Louis Moinet pocket chronograph discovery in 2013 when history was rewritten.A technical perspective, the chronograph, Xavier Markl, Monochrome-watches
/ref> In addition to inventing the chronograph, Louis Moinet is also the father of High Frequency. In 1816, his Compteur de Tierces timepiece beat at a rhythm of 216,000 vibrations per hour (30 Hz). This frequency record stood for exactly one century, before eventually being broken in 1916 – after which standard chronometer frequencies returned to present-day levels (generally 4-5 Hz). Still in perfect working order, the Compteur de Tierces is preserved at Ateliers Louis Moinet. In 1915, Gaston Breitling produced the first chronograph with a central seconds hand and a 30-minute counter. Later, in 1923, Gaston Breitling introduced the first chronograph with a separate pusher at 2 o'clock. In 1934
Willy Breitling Willy Breitling was a Swiss watchmaker, businessman and the former president of the Swiss luxury wristwatch manufacturer Breitling SA. Willy Breitling is credited for the invention and introduction of the first two-pusher chronograph wristwat ...
further developed the concept of the chronograph with the addition of the second pusher at 4 o'clock. Since then the 3-pusher chronograph design has been adopted by the entire industry. In 1844 Adolphe Nicole's updated version of the chronograph was the first to include a re-setting feature which now allowed successive measurements, unlike the constantly moving needle in the original chronograph.De, Carle Donald. Watch and Clock Encyclopedia. Ipswich England: N.A.G., 1983. Print. In the early part of the 20th century, many chronographs were sold with fixed bezels marked in order to function as a tachymeter. In 1958 the watch company
Heuer Heuer is a surname that comes from the German word "Heu" meaning "hay." The name is occupational in origin, especially so, when it serves as an element in a compound. Heumaier would refer to the officer who oversaw the delivery of the hay harvest. ...
introduced a model with a rotating bezel tachymeter for more complex calculations. Chronographs were very popular with aviators as they allowed them to make rapid calculations and conduct precise timing. The demand for chronographs grew along with the aviation industry in the early part of the 20th century. As the US exploration of outer space initially involved only test pilots, by order of President
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
, chronographs were on the wrists of many early astronauts. Chronograph usage followed a similar trajectory for many fields that involve very precise and/or repeated timing around increasingly more complicated high performance machinery, automobile racing and naval submarine navigation being two examples. As different uses for the chronograph were discovered, the industry responded with different models introducing such features as the
flyback The term flyback may refer to: *Flyback chronograph, a single-push-button clock for stopping, resetting and restarting time measurement *Flyback converter, a type of DC to DC converter *Flyback diode, also known as a “freewheel diode”, a used t ...
(where the second hand could be rapidly reset to zero), minute and hour timers, Rattrapante (or multiple second hands one of which can be stopped and started independently) and waterproof models for divers and swimmers. Although self winding watches and clockwork have been around since the late 1700s, the automatic (self winding) chronograph was not invented until the late 1960s. In 1969, the watch companies Heuer, Breitling,
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...
, and movement specialist Dubois Dépraz, developed the first automatic chronograph in partnership. They developed this technology secretly in an effort to prevent other watchmaking houses from releasing an automatic chronograph first, namely their competition
Zenith The zenith (, ) is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction (plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The zenith is the "highest" ...
and
Seiko , commonly known as Seiko ( , ), is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, semiconductors, jewelry, and optical products. Founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced one of the first quartz watches and the ...
. It was in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
and in New York that this partnership shared the first automatic chronograph with the world on March 3, 1969. These first automatic chronographs were labelled "Chrono-matic". "Chronometer". Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2011) Stein, Jeffrey M. (2008), Project 99 – The Race to Develop the First Automatic Chronograph Many companies sell their own styles of chronographs. While today most chronographs are in the form of wristwatches, in the early 20th century pocket chronographs were very popular.So what is a Chronograph and why is a Chronometer?
chronograph.org.uk Accessed 25 MAR 2012.


Uses

The term chronograph is often confused with the term
chronometer A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and th ...
. Where "Chronograph" refers to the function of a watch, chronometer is a measure of how well a given mechanical timepiece performs: in order to be labeled a chronometer the timepiece must be certified by the COSC, the official Swiss Chronometer testing institute, after undergoing a series of rigorous tests for robustness, accuracy and precision under adverse conditions (though these requirements fall far short of the accuracy achieved by even the cheapest modern quartz watch). A simple mechanical watch, without the stopwatch functionality, can be certified a chronometer, as can a clock, for example a ship's clock be used for navigation. The terms are not mutually exclusive either, for instance the Omega Seamaster 300M Chronograph GMT Co-Axial is also a COSC certified chronometer Originally the term chronograph was mainly used in connection with
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
and the velocity of missiles. The Chronograph's main function is to allow a comparison of observation between a time base and, before the electronic stopwatch was invented, a permanent recording of the observer's findings. For example, one of the first applications of the chronograph was to record the time elapsed during horse races. Some more important uses of the chronograph include the Langley Chronograph, which is used by the US Navy to record, calculate, and analyse data given off by aeroplane launching catapults. Another famous usage of the chronograph was during all of NASA's
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
missions to the moon, each astronaut was equipped with a fully functioning chronograph, the
Omega Speedmaster Omega Speedmaster is a line of chronograph wristwatches produced by Omega SA. While chronographs have been around since the late 1800s, Omega first introduced this line of chronographs in 1957. Since then, many different chronograph movements h ...
. Chronographs are routinely used to record heart beats within hospitals, calculate speed and/or distance on athletic fields, or even as simple timers in kitchen.


Function

Chronographs can be extremely complicated devices, but they all have the basic function of telling time, as they are watches, and of displaying elapsed time. Rieussec's chronograph was fairly simple. It was composed of two faces, a top and bottom face. The bottom face held a pool of ink, while the upper had a pen-like needle attached to it. When activated, the upper face pushed down on the lower face, while revolving around a central axis, which pulled the needle. This dragged the ink, in a circular fashion, recording the time elapsed by the line of ink that the motion created. There was room left for improvement, because Rieussec's chronograph was not easily ready for multiple uses. This paved the way for the hundreds of patents that have been handed out to people for updating and upgrading this device. Automatic, non-digital chronographs do not require a battery, because the arm or wrist of the wearer creates
kinetic energy In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion. It is defined as the work needed to accelerate a body of a given mass from rest to its stated velocity. Having gained this energy during its accele ...
, which results in the total energy source needed for this device to work. Throughout the day, while the wearer of the watch is walking, the swinging motion of his arm forces a semicircular
rotor Rotor may refer to: Science and technology Engineering *Rotor (electric), the non-stationary part of an alternator or electric motor, operating with a stationary element so called the stator * Helicopter rotor, the rotary wing(s) of a rotorcraft ...
to turn on a pivot within the watch. The rotor is attached to a
ratchet Ratchet may refer to: Devices * Ratchet (device), a mechanical device that allows movement in only one direction * Ratchet, metonomic name for a socket wrench incorporating a ratcheting device * Ratchet (instrument), a music instrument and a ...
that winds the mainspring in the watch, so that it is ready for use at all times. Mond, Robert L., and Meyer Wilderman. "A New Improved Type of Chronograph". Philosophical Magazine Series 6 (2003). Taylor and Francis, 16 Apr. 2009. The modern day chronograph works by pushing a start button, normally located at the two o'clock position, to begin recording time, and by pushing the same button to stop the recording. When the button is pushed to start the recording, a series of three (in more complicated and more precise chronographs there are more wheels) train wheels start turning. The smallest has a revolution time of one second, the next sixty seconds, and the final one has a revolution time of sixty minutes. The three train wheels interact with one another and record how long it has been since the start button has been activated. In addition to the start button, it also features a reset button normally located at the four o'clock position. When the reset button is pushed the chronograph hand will reset back to zero. Tachymeter bezels are a complication that allows rapid calculations of speed or distance. Rotating bezels allow for more complex calculations or repeated calculations without requiring a reset of the timer.


Types

The original chronographs that Rieussec invented were called tape chronographs. They consisted of a tape that was constantly being dragged along at a controlled speed. When activated, a pen would be pushed onto the tape and begin recording until deactivated. Specialized chronographs are used by
deep sea The deep sea is broadly defined as the ocean depth where light begins to fade, at an approximate depth of 200 metres (656 feet) or the point of transition from continental shelves to continental slopes. Conditions within the deep sea are a combin ...
and
scuba Scuba may refer to: * Scuba diving ** Scuba set, the equipment used for scuba (Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) diving * Scuba, an in-memory database developed by Facebook * Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array, either of two in ...
divers. While basic functionality is the same as other chronographs, diving models have longer and more practical straps to wear over equipment, are made to be waterproof to deeper depths, have more rounded corners to prevent catching and luminous dials for reading in the murky depths. Also divers chronographs are fitted with large bezels that have at least one luminous marking: at the start of a dive the bezel is rotated to place the marking at the extent of time allowed by the air supply giving the ability to very quickly determine how much time remains for safe diving. Surface supplied divers can use the same to make quick calculations of distance traveled over time. Metered bezels: Many chronographs have a bezel, that is either fixed or can rotate, around the outside of the dial that is marked to specific scales to allow rapid calculations. While any wristwatch can have a bezel, the chronograph stop start feature, as well as the rotation of the bezel, allows more complex calculations or repeated measurements for a series of calculations. The most popular meter is for Tachymeter readings: a simple scale that allows rapid calculations of speed. Other bezels feature
Telemeter Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', "remote", and ' ...
scale, for distance. The watchmaking company Breitling offers a model with a rotating bezel, in conjunction with another, fixed, meter on the dial, scaled for use as a slide rule for more complex calculations.
Flyback chronograph A flyback chronograph is a watch complication, in which the user can use the reset function without the need to first stop the chronograph. In regular chronographs, the user must stop, reset, and restart the chronograph in order to time an event ...
s have a timing hand that can be rapidly reset, or ''flyback'', to zero. Ordinarily the sweep second hand is stopped to record the time and started again at that spot on the dial, or reset by spinning the second hand all the way to zero again, clockwise. The flyback allows a reading and a quick reset—a counterclockwise flyback—for the next measurement to start at zero. A '' rattrapante'', sometimes called a ''double chronograph'', has multiple second hands, at least one of which can be stopped and started independently. When not activated, the second hands travel together, one under the other, to appear as just one second hand. A ''
tourbillon In horology, a tourbillon (; "whirlwind") is an addition to the mechanics of a watch escapement to increase accuracy. It was developed around 1795 and patented by the Swiss-French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet on June 26, 1801. In a tourbill ...
'', although not strictly limited to chronographs, is an
escapement An escapement is a mechanical linkage in mechanical watches and clocks that gives impulses to the timekeeping element and periodically releases the gear train to move forward, advancing the clock's hands. The impulse action transfers energy to ...
set in a cage and placed in a rotating balance in order to minimize the effects of gravity on the escapement and increase precision. Because chronograph escapements are generally larger and connect with more complications, a tourbillion in a chronograph will differ from a tourbillion in a more simple timepiece. Other types of modern-day chronographs are the ''automatic chronograph'' and the ''digital chronograph''. The automatic chronograph depends solely on kinetic energy as its power source, while the digital chronograph is much like the common stopwatch and uses a battery to gain power, as well as quartz for timing. Other, more specific, types of chronographs include split second chronographs, tide chronographs, and asthometer chronographs. Each of these chronographs has an added feature that sets them apart.
Chronograph Functions
Chronomaster Mechanical Watches. Accessed 25 March 2012.


Telemeter

The ''telemeter chronograph'' allows the user to approximately measure the distance to an event that can be both seen and heard (e.g. a lightning bolt or a torpedo strike) using the speed of sound. The user starts the chronograph (stopwatch) at the instant the event is seen, and stops timing at the instant the event is heard. The seconds hand will point to the distance measured on a scale, usually around the edge of the face. The scale can be defined in any unit of distance, but miles or kilometers are most practical and commonplace.


See also

*
Gun chronograph A ballistic chronograph or gun chronograph is a measuring instrument used to measure the velocity of a projectile in flight, typically fired from a gun. History Benjamin Robins (1707–1751) invented the ballistic pendulum that measures the moment ...
*
Marine chronometer A marine chronometer is a precision timepiece that is carried on a ship and employed in the determination of the ship's position by celestial navigation. It is used to determine longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or in the modern ...
* Poljot Strela


References


External links


Chronograph watches
Keulen, Robert. 1996. Accessed 25 MAR 2012
Patek Philippe Chronograph Comparison
Gray & Sons NOV 2014
A technical perspective, the chronograph
''Monochrome-watches, Xavier Markl'', February 2016
TAG Heuer’s 01 chronograph watch movement explained with videos
WatchTime June 2016
Cronosurf - The online chronograph
{{Authority control Measuring instruments Watches Timers