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The Chronograph: Evolution and Revolutions

Olivier Müller5 Min ReadMay 24 2021

Dating back to 1816, the chronograph is one of the oldest complications in the world. After all that time, is there any room left for innovation?

Chronographs are used to measure limited periods of time. The complication in question is probably the most widespread in watchmaking. Is there anything new left to be squeezed out of it? Not much, one might think. The only possible scope for progress lies in its precision – an area in which Louis Moinet established himself as the pioneering genius in 1816, achieving 30 Hz. It took more than a century of work to get anywhere near such a high frequency again. The twentieth century did so in abundance, chiefly with chronographs from Zenith, followed by TAG Heuer.

Playground of Independents

Alongside this race for precision, some brands have taken a different path, with refreshing ingenuity. For instance, there’s De Bethune’s DB28 Maxichrono (2014), a composition sporting a central display and patented clutch.

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Then there’s the AgenGraph, a minor revolution in the form of a ‘doughnut’ movement featuring peripheral hands, used by Singer in particular. Both De Bethune’s display with central hands and the AgenGraph’s peripheral alternative virtually amount to a complete overhaul of the chronograph complication as popularized by cult movements such as the ETA 7750.

Zoom InSinger AgenGraph Articulated Movement

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Louis Moinet is another independent player. In an astute move, the unassuming atelier based in St Blaise, Neuchâtel, simply opted to move all the chronograph components onto the dial, demoting the ‘time’ aspect of the movement to the rear. Dubbed Memoris, this clever aesthetic composition is a vibrant tribute by Ateliers Louis Moinet to their namesake, who invented the chronograph in 1816.

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TAG Heuer, King of Chronographs

‘High frequency’ and dividing the seconds display into base 10 were to become recurring themes in the work of Guy Sémon, the architect of the TAG Heuer chronograph in the twenty-first century. In 2009, he laid the foundations of the dual chain which was to become his technical signature. Dispensing with the clutch, he fitted his watches with two complete going trains. The first chain counts hours, minutes, and seconds, and operates at a frequency of 4 Hz. The second is dedicated to the chronograph, with a frequency of 50 Hz. And thus was the Mikrograph born: a single watch with two independent movements. The chronograph movement features a large seconds hand that completes one dial rotation every second, giving a direct reading in hundredths of a second.

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The Mikrograph was followed by the Mikrotimer Flying 1000 in 2011. From high frequency (50 Hz), TAG Heuer and Guy Sémon moved on to very high frequency: 500 Hz, with the timepiece measuring thousandths of a second. And in the following year, Sémon went further still: from 500 Hz to 1000 Hz with the Mikrogyrder. Once again, the timepiece used the dual chain principle – this time, with a frequency of 1000 Hz, allowing the chronograph to measure intervals of just five ten-thousandths of a second. To achieve this, the traditional Swiss escapement with balance wheel and anchor no longer sufficed; instead, Guy Sémon adopted a vibrating beam system.

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In 2012, Guy Sémon also turned his attention to the balance wheel. His Mikrotourbillon S was still based on a dual chain – now fitted with two semi-flying tourbillons. The first one, for time, beats at 4 Hz, while the second (for the chronograph) has a frequency of 50 Hz. It was the first time a tourbillon with such a high frequency had been produced, beating at 360,000 vibrations per hour: a dizzying rotation speed of 5 seconds per revolution, or 12 revolutions per minute.

Ultra-Slim Chronographs

So much for technical aspects; style counts, too. Bulgari set the cat among the pigeons with its Octo Finissimo, and more especially with its Octo Finissimo GMT chronograph, the slimmest automatic winding chronograph watch in the world – although it’s only fair to point out that Piaget was the first to produce ultra-slim watches. In 2015, the Piaget Altiplano Chrono applied the “aesthetic complication” of ultra-slimness to the chronograph, whist maintaining a minimalist, timeless design that paid homage to the principles of Fine Watchmaking. Its movement is just 4.65 millimetres high.

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Tomorrow’s world

One might think that the chronograph, invented over two hundred years ago, has come as far as it can. Nothing could be further from the truth. It continues to be a source of fascination – and to be the focus of both evolution and revolutions. What might tomorrow bring? De Bethune has been busy in the field of resonance, offering promising new developments in the escapement. Parmigiani has returned to the principle of the grasshopper escapement, and is designing power reserves lasting dozens of days. Greubel Forsey is making progress on its nanomechanics, also a promising source of outstanding power reserves, as well as completely new calibers. Hublot, meanwhile, is working on new gear trains, whilst the AgenGraph is still only in its early stages. Montblanc is preparing its Metamorphosis II, with the chronograph located on a lifting platform located beneath the time dial. Clearly, the chronograph has plenty of stories left to tell.

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