Fashion Jewelry

Chronograph Watches are Cool PW5ZM5BJE2ES

Early last century, the first wrist watch with a built-in stopwatch was invented. The chronograph watch was born. Soon thereafter, it was destined to gain in popularity. When the Swatch watch company began mass production of affordable and fashionable chrono’s in early 1990, they sold quite well. Nowadays, most all watch companies have a chronograph watch in its collection.

The chronograph was originally invented by a Frenchman, named Rieussec, back in 1821. It wrote on a dial with a small pen attached to the index. The length of the arc of the circle displayed the time that had passed. The index was fixed while the dial turned. The Greek words chronos and graph mean: time and writing. Chronoscope would be a more accurate name for chronographs, since there is no real writing involved anymore.

Chronographs can measure time in different ways. Besides normal timekeeping they can be used for one or more specific time measurements. So, the dial has several sub dials with a scale, from which the measurements can be read. A central second hand can be started and stopped, without interfering with the continuous time.

The development of the chronograph followed the technical innovation of the wrist watch very closely. When manufacturers started producing waterproof watches, this know how was used in the production of chronographs shortly after. In 1933, the firm Universal introduced the first waterproof chronograph to the public under the name ‘Colonial’. And shortly after developers managed to protect the movement of a watch against magnetic influences, the first anti-magnetic chronograph followed.

Although self-winding technology already existed, it would take until 1969 before the first self winding chronograph appears on the market. In that year, two automatic chronographs were introduced on the Basel Watch Fair: the Chronomat and the El Primero. The firms Zenith and Movado called their product ‘El Primero’, because it was the first in it’s kind. Their competitors Breitling, Hamilton-Büren and Heuer-Leonidas -which, one by one, thought that the honours of being the first was theirs- gave their new-comer the name ‘Chrono-matic’.

At the beginning of this century, stopwatches were used mainly by sportsmen and the military because they had to be able to measure the time of certain events accurately, so a chronograph was a practical choice. Stopwatches are still often used witth sports. Nowadays, the difference between Gold and Silver is very often a matter of hundredths of a second. Mechanical watches can’t measure this, so quartz chronographs with their accuracy come in handy.

Today, wearing a chronograph is a matter of taste, rather than a requirement. The chronograph has become a fashion statement.  The real appeal of the chrono is probably the image it bestows. It is worn by astronauts, racing car drivers and pilots. Professions that are known to be adventurous.

Besides those who choose functionality or image, there is a small group of enthusiasts that considers the movement to be the most beautiful part of the watch. If you have ever seen a chronograph opened up, you may agree. Beautiful and complex intricacy exists every where you look. The chronograph can and should be considered a thing of beauty.

Expensive watches

Watches are, well, timeless in their value. Even for the many that now use their mobile phone to check the time, a watch is a thing of beauty and value – if you pick the right one. It shows the significance of a timepiece when people are awarded one at retirement. They can vary from just a dollar or two to extremely expensive. Let’s look at some of the most expensive watches.

Some of the more common expensive watches cost in the 5,000 dollar range, but, if you’re paying so little, why bother? The watches that cost enough to make this list must be in the six figure range. Matthew Morse, editor in chief of WatchTime magazine says: “Then as now, at the most expensive levels wristwatches are status symbols meant for collectors, though some watch companies don’t make a lot of money off of their highest-end watches because of the cost of research and development, they still produce them to give their brand an ambiance of exclusivity. For people who can afford them, they’re about the pleasure of owning something extraordinary, whether or not they ever actually wear them.”

There are so many features with the more expensive watches; you may need to study for a while just to understand what you’re getting. There are chronograph functions for timing laps, moon phase indicators for tracking slices of the lunar pie, and perpetual calendar functions which track days, months and even years for centuries. Some things you get with the ‘Grande Complication’ by Jean Dunand include: a mono-pusher split-second chronograph, split-second hand isolator, minute repeater, tourbillon, bi-retrograde perpetual calendar, and even a see-through sapphire back signed by its creator, Christophe Claret. The makers like to call it ‘one of the five most complicated wrist watches in the world’. We wonder who would want that label. It is certainly one of the most expensive watches ranging from $700,000 to $800,000 depending upon materials used.

When searching for a watch in the more expensive range, you must know about the ‘tourbillon movement’. This is an intricate mechanism that eliminates time-keeping errors caused by minute variations that result from shifts in gravity whenever a watch changes position. It was Invented way back in 1795 by Abraham-Louis Breguet.

Another nice feature of some very nice watches is the ‘minute repeater’. First created in the days before widespread use of electric lighting, repeater watches aid wearers in the dark by chiming or “repeating” the current time at the push of a button. Using bells of different tones, a minute repeater will ring out hours, quarter hours, and the minutes past since the last quarter hour. If you consider this a must have, you’re a real watch enthusiast. It is also quite practical.

One problem with getting the watch you want isn’t the money. There seems no shortage of people with several hundred thousand dollars to spend on their watch. The problem is getting your hands on the limited quantity. Many of the world’s most expensive watches are produced in severely limited quantities–including just one. They frequently have buyers lined up long before they’re finished, often at rates of just a few per year.

Money is still a factor, though. At the high end, in 1999 the most expensive watch ever sold, a 1933 gold Patek Phillipe with 24 complications, was auctioned off at Sotheby’s for $11 million. So if you’re in the market for a rare and exquisite watch, having the big bucks is just the start. Maybe you should start treating your watchmaker or local jeweler to lunch.