The trials became so important for advertising purposes that other manufacturers later established facilities in the canton to qualify for competition. In 1772, the Classe d’Industrie et de Commerce de la Société des Arts commissioned the Observatoire de Genève to administer chronometer trials for Geneva-based manufacturers. In 1766, the Royal Observatory of Greenwich organized the first timing competition on record. The precedent had now been set.įrom that point onward more companies started to submit their calibers for testing to independent authorities, the observatories. Wilsdorf submitted a modified Aegler calibre wristwatch movement to the Biel observatory for testing in 1910 and passed the standards usually reserved for much larger pocket-watch movements. The first chronometer wristwatch movement came in about 1910, and it came courtesy of a certain Hans Wilsdorf and his new company – Rolex. The form of the timekeeping apparatus changed in favor of the wristwatch. The third big step happened in the early 1900’s. Webster Clay Ball in the U.S.A, began by modifying movements from existing manufacturers and establishing testing for accuracy that would become the basis of modern chronometric competitions – measurement of rate and deviation in five different positions, resistance to magnetism, and isochronism of the beat. They were spurred on by the need for accurate timekeeping in the new railway systems to ensure safe operation. (see our article – Found: The Actual Marine Chronometer That Accompanied Charles Darwin at the HMS Beagle on his Journey to the Galapagos Islands) The next big step in the search for accuracy was yet again occurred out of real world necessity.Ĭommercially available pocket watches/chronometers didn’t emerge until the 19 th century. At that time the only “ chronometer” (in terms of performance) was the marine clock, developed by John Harrison between 17 as a way of accurately measuring longitude at sea. It was originally coined in 1714 by Jeremy Thacker and simply meant “ measurer of time”. The term chronometer is a slippery one, a word that has shifted in meaning over the centuries. The need for established accuracy from a mechanical platform born out of real world needs. Outside of high-complications, the building of chronometers is one of the top-tiers of watchmaking that exhibits also any given company’s technical ability and know-how. The chronometer is a finely crafted and highly tuned mechanical watch that exhibits the highest degree of accuracy possible. Where a highly complex watch is a bold and visible display of watchmaking art, the pursuit of absolute precision is the application of vast skill that often goes unnoticed by the consumer. Instead, the Observatory trials focused on the science of Chronometry and the ability to make chronometers measure time precisely. These events were not intended to showcase new products. Therefore, manufacturers and their master watchmakers spent significant amounts of time and resources on preparations for Observatory trials, which were held throughout Europe. Historyĭuring the late 19th and early 20th centuries, before quartz and GPS, nations, industries and armies depended on precise mechanical timepieces. In this article therefore we will try to shed a light to the chronometry competitions and how a chronometer caliber differs from a regular one (In a coming article, we will examine in detail one of the most important chronometer calibers ever created the Zenith cal.135 and also we will inspect a cold war period story). Accuracy is an intangible quality but at the same time a very useful feature for the lovers of mechanical watches. However, Omega is not the only one in this quest Patek Phillipe, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Longines, Seiko, JLC, Chopard and many other companies, including Zenith competed in the past and still by following various standards try to produce an accurate and robust calibre. From the 1948 “Century” model, to the “Constellation” series and then to the “Globemaster” and from various chronometer competitions to COSC and then to METAS standards, we witness that Omega, as any other Swiss watch company, has an obsession with the accuracy of its timepieces. The specific model continues the company’s ever-lasting quest for accuracy squeezed out from a highly tuned mechanical wristwatch platform. A few months ago we reviewed here in Monochrome the new Omega Globemaster introduced in Baselworld this year.
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