Chronograph
A watch with an integrated stopwatch function. Sub-dials track elapsed seconds, minutes and sometimes hours; pushers control start, stop and reset.
A chronograph is a watch with a built-in stopwatch. The base movement keeps regular time on the main dial. Pressing the upper pusher (usually at 2 o'clock) starts a separate sweep hand that measures elapsed time. The lower pusher (usually at 4 o'clock) resets it.
The word comes from Greek roots: chronos (time) plus graph (writing). The first wrist chronograph appeared in 1913 from Longines, though the mechanism dates from the 1820s in pocket watch form.
Sub-dials
Most chronographs have two or three sub-dials displaying:
- Small seconds (running seconds of the main timekeeping).
- 30-minute counter (chronograph minutes).
- 12-hour counter (chronograph hours, on tri-compax layouts).
Some chronographs add a 60-second sub-dial for regular time and a central minute counter, but the two-register or three-register layout is more common.
Variants
- Flyback: a single press resets and restarts the chronograph instantly. No need to stop, reset, restart.
- Rattrapante (split-seconds): two superimposed chronograph hands. The second hand can be stopped to record a split time while the first continues.
- Mono-pusher: a single pusher controls start, stop and reset, often in vintage or dress chronographs.
Famous chronographs
The Rolex Daytona 116500LN, Omega Speedmaster Professional 311.30.42.30.01.005, Patek Philippe 5170, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Chronograph 26331, Zenith El Primero, and TAG Heuer Carrera are all chronographs. The complication is widely produced and price ranges span hundreds to hundreds of thousands of euros.