Complications are adverse in everyday life, not so in the world of watches. Here, an additional function is intended to offer the wearer added value. However, it complicates the movement, and the number of components increases. How practical or valuable are complications? Often their fascination does not lie in the pure use of the function but in the fact that human hands can implement a mechanical solution in such a small space. The chronograph function, i.e., the ability to stop a time, is the most prevalent complication of the wristwatch, apart from the ubiquitous date display.
The Measuring Accuracy Of The Timepiece
The timepiece’s measuring accuracy depends on the movement’s balance frequency. The El Primero caliber from Zenith is one of the so-called “high-speed oscillators” (36,000 balance wheel vibrations per hour or 5 Hertz) and can measure to a tenth of a second. You can find out more about the El Primero caliber here.
A frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hertz) results in one-eighth of a second accuracy. At 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hertz), the stopping time can be measured to a sixth of a second, and at 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hertz), it is still a fifth of a second.
The single-pusher chronograph can be started, stopped, and reset with just one pusher. Early clocks had a push-piece integrated into the crown. Breitling separated this from the crown for the first time in 1915 and positioned it higher up on the case.
Wherever the handle was located: it could only string together the functions starting, stopping, and zeroing. A so-called addition contains, i.e., the interruption and continuation of timing were not possible. Breitling achieved this in turn in 1934 with the first two-button chronograph. Although a single pusher limits the function, many brands take up this historic construction again today.
Automatic Or Manual Chronograph?
Minor matter, comfort issue, the question of faith: the winding of a watch has a different meaning for everyone. What is certain is that an automatic watch requires less attention than a hand-wound timepiece. The mechanical watch uses the kinetic energy of its wearer to tension the mainspring – it winds up automatically. The hand-wound watch requires energy to be supplied via the winding crown. Automatic chronographs came onto the market relatively late: in 1969, the Heuer brand presented the Carrera wristwatch, its first automatic chronograph. You can find out more about the history of the TAG Heuer Carrera here. Click here to see Rolex price (Rolex ราคา which is the term in Thai)
