The History of The Chronograph

By Watches of Switzerland Group | 1 minute read

Did you know the name ‘Chronograph’ is derived from the Greek words khrónos, meaning ‘time’ and gráphō, which means ‘to write’? Join our experts, CEO of The Watches of Switzerland Group, Brian Duffy, Head of Watch Buying, Mark Toulson and Watchmaker from Watches of Switzerland Oxford Street, Lee Reynalds for the latest podcast episode that discusses the vast and intriguing journey of the Chronograph through time.

Starting in the 1800s when French horologist Louis Moinet invented the first modern form of the watch, we follow the timeline through to 1915 when Gaston Breitling was the first to use the central second hand and when Leon Breitling followed suit putting the first pusher at the 2’o clock position in 1923. We then look at 1934 when Breitling put the reset button at 4’ o clock, which, at this point defined the look of the Chronograph we are familiar with today.

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The History of The Chronograph