The watches were tested in five positions, at three temperatures (4☌, 20☌, and 30☌), and eight periods for 40 to 44 days. And those meeting the rigorous standards were eligible for actual competition. Prior to being allowed to compete, entrants were tested. And the certificates won also worked wonderfully as marketing and communications tools for the manufacturers in selling their “regular production” watches. Interestingly, these watches were never meant for sale, the purpose of these trials being both competition and also testing grounds for research on chronometry. Competitions for precision wristwatches ran from 1945 through to 1967 in which manufacturers would submit one or several specially prepared watches for competition. In Switzerland, chronometer competitions began in Neuchâtel in 1866 and Geneva in 1873, ending respectively in 19. However, major brands did not wait until 1925 to compete against one another at observatory trials. In 1925, the Swiss Association for Chronometry defined a chronometer as being, “a watch that has received a certificate from an astronomical observatory.” Since 1973, the term chronometer designates a watch having successfully passed the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (C.O.S.C.) trials. During the nineteenth century it came to generally designate precision timekeepers. It seems that this word was first used in this sense by French watchmaker Pierre Le Roy in 1761.
This is one reason why brands fiercely competed at observatory trials and always proudly announced prizes and results obtained at these contests.Ī chronometer is an object that measures time however, in watch parlance this word designates a precision timepiece. The materials used were not as advanced as those of today, and perfect regulation of a watch was practically equivalent to neurosurgery. Today everyone takes for granted that a watch should keep precise time, but more than 100 years ago, in 1907 when the Chronomètre Royal was first launched, this was far from the case. The race for precision: what is a chronometer?
#Pear note pad serial#
This watch was one of the first attempts at serial production of a precision timepiece. Vacheron Constantin Chronomètre Royal “Batman” Reference 6694 in white gold (photo courtesy Phillips)īehind the delightfully dated name hides perhaps one of horology’s most interesting models: Vacheron Constantin’s Chronomètre Royal (“Royal Chronometer”).
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