No watch has ever aroused collectors' interest more than the chronograph. There are definitely many reasons, but it is worth highlighting that for no other type of watch does aesthetics play such a key role, so much so that it has become a parameter that affects the market price of a watch, often in spite of its brand and the economic value of the item itself.

Chronographs display different, extremely varied designs, and their success is based on the balance between essential and mixed components that make up their DNA, for example: the pushers on the side of the case, the subdials, and the scales comparing time measurement in different units. Briefly reviewing the history of the chronograph will help appreciate it best.

The first chronograph in the world was a pocket watch produced by Louis Moinet in 1816, which was able to measure time to the sixtieth of a second.

1822 was another crucial year, when Mathieu Rieussec patented a tool that would pour a small ink drop on the dial at the beginning and at the end of each measurement; the system had obvious drawbacks, but it was in use for a
surprisingly long time, used by a society eager to measure time due to the increasing prevalence of sports events, especially horse races.

1844 marked a turning point in the modern history of chronographs; Adolphe Nicole invented the heart-shaped cam-actuated lever, a component still used today in modern watches, which allows for the three fundamental functions of every chronograph: start, stop and reset to zero after showing the elapsed time.

From then onwards chronograph history took a breath, and after the frivolous racetracks, the brutal trenches of World War 1 would bring about the evolution of these watches. Soldiers realised the inconvenience of wearing pocket watches among the cumbersome military equipment, establishing that they needed tools able to be read quickly, on their wrist.

The first wrist chronographs were nothing but modified pocket watches, with lugs welded to the case. In 1910 Moeris developed the first small-sized calibers, meant for small-sized cases, and other manufacturers such as Lemania, Universal Genève and Eberhard immediately followed, contributing to the development of the first wrist chronographs.

We are talking about mechanisms activated by a single pusher that sequentially controlled the start, stop and reset functions. In 1933 Breitling patented the first chronograph with two pushers, creating the prototype of the watches we know well. 1936 marked the last large-scale innovation. Longines launched the first chronograph capable of resetting to zero and restarting the chronograph seconds hand while the watch was still functioning, called the flyback
mechanism.

The chronograph’s technical evolution reached its peak and standard by then, paving the way for unprecedented experimentation which would bring a huge number of varied models into production. Some of them would become iconic, universally recognised pieces, while some others would be appreciated mainly by niche groups of collectors with a keen interest in specific brands and in unique design features.

Considering such variety, when it comes to collecting chronographs, it is almost impossible to draw well-defined guidelines. We suggest choosing the pieces according to our own aesthetic interpretation, looking beyond the trends and any kind of financial speculation. Collecting chronographs may turn out to be a fulfilling search to understand the developments of such a beloved object, as well as the history of the watchmaking itself.

In the upcoming auction on 8 April, we will present chronographs from different periods made by the manufacturers that contributed to create the legend of the chronograph, in particular between the mid ‘40s and late ‘60s. Among them, there is an Eberhard Pre Extra-Fort with a rare sector dial, a virtually unworn Universal Genève Uni-Compax and iconic, timeless design models such as an Omega SpeedmasterPre-Moon 105.012 and two Rolex Daytonas, reference 6240 and 6263. (by Alessio Coccioli)

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