The former is more common, simpler and slimmer, while the latter - generally a staple in higher-end chronograph movements - provides a more seamless connection between the chronograph and the main clockwork.Ĭoulisse lever: On many lower-cost mechanical chronographs (notably the ubiquitous Valjoux 775), the Coulisse lever (also called “cam lever”) is the lever-and-cam system that moves to operate the chronograph function when the pusher is activated. There are two orientations for the clutch: horizontal and vertical. For more definitions on basic timekeeping terminology, reference our comprehensive guide here.Ĭlutch: Much like the connection between transmission and engine in a car, this is the coupling that connects the chronograph function to the main timekeeping gear train. Note: The following terms pertain specifically to chronographs. The winner is still contested: Zenith was the first to announce the development, the consortium was the first to bring it to market worldwide, and Seiko was the first to sell its watch to the public, though only in Japan. Up to this point, the stop, start and reset functions were all handled by one pusher, but very quickly, Breitling’s new configuration becomes the standard.ġ969: Zenith, Seiko and a consortium of watchmakers (Heuer/Breitling/Hamilton-Buren/Dubois-Depraz) all race to create the first automatic-winding chronograph. Previously considered the first chronograph until the discovery of Louis Moinet’s chronograph.ġ844: Adolphe Nicole introduces the reset feature, allowing different times to be taken in succession.ġ913: Longines produces the 13.33Z, considered to be the very first wrist-worn chronograph watch.ġ923: Gaston Breitling produces the first chronograph with two pushers.
It was created at the request of King Louis XVIII, who liked to watch horse racing. It was only discovered in 2013 to be the first chronograph ever made.ġ821: Nicolas Mathieu Rieussec builds his chronograph mechanism, a box filled with clockwork driving two ink styluses recording elapsed time. But if you love of watches, the complication is an essential piece to collect.ġ816: Louis Moinet creates what is considered the first chronograph, a pocket watch design with one pusher. As such, they’re generally expensive to acquire. The other part is, of course, the fact that they’re incredibly complex pieces of machinery, in which hundreds of tiny parts must operate in perfect synchrony. Today modern, digital-timing systems have basically rendered the mechanical chronograph obsolete, but their associations with sports, auto racing, aviation and other exciting facets of life are in part why we love chronographs. Each press of the pusher is a tactile experience otherwise missing from watches, and the utility of being able to record the length of events on the fly was certainly not lost on the racers, referees, doctors, pilots and astronauts that used them throughout the 20th century. Once the event you want to record is complete, you press that same pusher again, take note of the time, then press a second pusher and the mechanism resets to zero. To use a chronograph, you depress one of the pushers on the side of the case, engaging the function to get the second hand moving. (It even has the column wheel and vertical clutch technical features that enthusiasts tend to value.) On top of it all, little touches like applied indices and a box-style domed sapphire crystal lend it a refined feel. Further, it features an interesting movement from Seiko that isn’t all that common outside of watches from the Japanese brand itself. With its classic vintage looks, reverse-panda dial, 39mm size and solid specs, the French brand Yema’s Speedgraf presents an attractive package.
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