Chronograph Watches How to Use Chronographs in Real Life

The chronograph in everyday life

Many people enjoy wearing chronographs as a fashion accessory, but surprisingly few people actually use chronographs in their daily lives.

But chronographs have a lot of very useful features.

Please take full advantage of these functions and feel closer to the chronograph.

Check the karaoke time

Have you ever found yourself losing track of time when you go into a karaoke booth?

When things get exciting, it's common for people to lose track of how many minutes have passed since they entered the store and how many minutes they have left before they need to leave.

Depending on the store, there are some that don't contact you even after a while has passed, and just quietly add the fee to your bill.

In times like these, it would be convenient to be able to accurately measure the time from when you enter the store.

A chronograph comes in handy in such situations.

First, when you enter the store and check in, press the start button on the chronograph.

A chronograph will measure the time from when you entered the store.

This way, you can enjoy singing to your heart's content right up until it's time to leave without having to worry about how many minutes are left.

This feature goes beyond just karaoke.

It will come in handy in a variety of situations, such as during the all-you-can-drink period at an izakaya, or the time before the last order at an all-you-can-eat restaurant.

Parking time measurement

When you go out shopping and think about the luggage you'll have to carry home, it's actually more convenient to go by car than by train.

Depending on the store you use, there may be a dedicated parking lot, but the most common sign in such parking lots is "free for up to two hours."

Two hours is enough for shopping.

Even if you have that in mind while shopping, you might get so engrossed in your shopping that before you know it, two hours have passed and you end up having to pay the extra charge.

Make sure to use the chronograph to ensure you leave your car within your free parking time.

Once you park your car, press the start button on the chronograph.

The chronograph will measure your parking time.

Now you don't have to worry about what time you parked.

The chronograph accurately displays the time since the car was parked.

You can enjoy shopping at your own pace and without any worries.

Instant food measurement

When making instant ramen, a common question that often comes up is, "How many minutes does it take to add hot water?"

It only takes about 3 to 5 minutes for a cup of ramen to be ready.

However, this short period of time is surprisingly difficult to measure.

If you think, "I have three minutes, so I'll use that to do this," and end up doing something else, you might find yourself wondering, "Wait, what minute did I start?"

When you open the lid, you'll be faced with noodles that have completely become soggy.

So, as soon as you pour hot water into the cup ramen, press the start button on the chronograph.

The chronograph will then tell you how long it will take for your cup ramen to be ready.

This is useful when boiling spaghetti noodles or somen noodles.

Now you can say goodbye to the sad experience of slurping down soggy, soggy noodles.

Track and field timing

A chronograph can be used for more than just a timer.

There are many other useful features as well.

That is sports such as athletics.

One of the great features of the chronograph is that it is very useful for measuring things like lap times.

Once the competitor has started, press the start button on the chronograph.

Then, press the stop button when the athlete has completed one lap around the track.

This will stop only one of the two chronograph hands.

The place where you stop will be your time for the first lap.

But the other one is still moving.

We are tracking the times of the runners who are still running.

After recording the time for the first lap, when you restart the watch, the stopped hands will catch up with the moving hands and begin timing again.

This split-second function is said to be a very complicated function even among chronographs, but it is also a very useful feature for people who need to measure times often.

Average speed calculation

Using the chronograph function, it is possible to measure the average speed of a car or calculate the number of products produced per hour.

This is possible thanks to the tachymeter on the chronograph's dial or bezel.

The method for calculating the number of units produced per hour is to first measure the production time per unit.

Let's say it takes 50 seconds to produce one item.

At that moment, the tachymeter hand will reach 70.

This number 70 represents the number of units produced per hour.

Now let's look at how to calculate the average speed.

First, measure the time it takes to run 1km.

The time for this is 40 seconds.

The chronograph second hand will then point to 90 on the tachymeter.

This means that the average speed at this time is 90km/h.

In this way, the tachymeter can be used to calculate a variety of things.

However, please note that in either case, measurements are limited to less than 60 seconds.

Speech Time Measurement

There will be many opportunities to give speeches in various situations, such as at debates and public speaking events.

At that time, you may start to worry about the time limit for your speech.

With any speech, there is a time limit that you must complete.

If you look at the length of the manuscript, it may be well within the time limit, but nervousness or excitement can make it longer, or conversely, you may finish it much earlier than planned.

To avoid such problems, you will need to practice hard.

In that case, a chronograph would be useful.

By pressing the start button when you start your speech, you can see the total duration of your speech.

Having a third party press the start button and then press stop when the time limit is up can also give you an idea of ​​at what point in the manuscript the time will be up.

This function will surely be useful not only for speech contests, but also when practicing presentations for wedding speeches, meetings, etc.

Soccer Timekeeping

In soccer, it is common for the game to be stopped due to an accident that occurs during the match.

In soccer matches, where extra time occurs, this chronograph still functions well.

First, when the match starts, press the start button on the chronograph.

At this point, the chronograph will begin measuring the time of the match.

If the game temporarily stops during the match, such as to allow for a player substitution or time out, please also press the chronograph stop button.

When the match restarts, press the start button to restart the chronograph.

By measuring in this way, it becomes possible to measure just the pure duration of a soccer match.

Call duration measurement

When you're on the phone, the conversation often goes on for a long time, and before you know it, a surprising amount of time has passed.

I want to avoid long phone calls and be careful.

For such people, we recommend a chronograph.

Press the chronograph start button each time you make or receive a call.

This gives you a visual indication of how much time has passed since you started a call.

The duration of a call may be displayed on your cell phone after you hang up, but you won't know until the call is over.

However, by using a chronograph, you can determine how long a call has been going on even while you are on the phone.

In this way, displaying the time in a visible way helps prevent people from making long phone calls.

Absolute time training

I'm sure many of you have heard the term "perfect pitch."

This is the ability to determine the musical scale of a sound just by hearing it, and it seems that there is also such thing as absolute time.

This is the ability to tell how many minutes have passed without looking at the clock.

In fact, it seems possible to acquire absolute time through training.

First, press start on the chronograph.

Then, when you think "one minute has passed!", press the stop button.

You can see how much of a discrepancy there is between what you perceive as "one minute" and the actual time.

At first, the difference will be large, but as you continue training, the difference will gradually decrease.

By gradually extending the measurement time to two minutes, then three minutes, you can thoroughly train your absolute time.

ETA: The driving force behind the chronograph

Valjoux The Valjoux name remains on the chronograph movement

When it comes to mechanical watches, ETA comes to mind.

It would be impossible to talk about modern mechanical watches without the power of ETA.

This is because many of the mechanical watches produced have a deep connection with ETA.

No other company has been involved with so many mechanical watches as ETA.

ETA accounts for 80% of the total supply of Swiss made movements.

It is fair to say that ETA is the foundation of the Swiss watch industry.

So why has ETA come to dominate the market?

A lot happened in the European economy in the 20th century.

Even though the European economy has gone through many twists and turns, ETA had the foresight to overcome them successfully.

ETA is a long-established movement manufacturer founded in 1856.

In 1926, ETA, together with other long-established movement manufacturers Fontainemelon and A-Shield, carried out a reorganization of the proliferation of Swiss movement manufacturers.

They organized the Evoge SA (Union).

At that time, a modern production system was adopted.

The system involved narrowing down the number of caliber types to ensure compatibility on the production line, making it possible to mass-produce uniform production.

Although it experienced the Great Depression and the war, Evoges SA overcame these and grew to become a central player in the Swiss watch industry, with 17 movement manufacturers on board.

Among the 17 companies that came under its umbrella were many manufacturers known for their prestigious reputations.

Venus is an ancient classic that suddenly appeared on the watch world stage with its high-performance chronographs, and is attracting attention again with its models equipped with old movements.

Valjoux is an indispensable presence in the era of Daytona's hand-wound watches.

In the world of masterpiece chronographs, an indispensable manufacturer has joined the ranks of Evoge SA.

However, in the late 1960s, quartz appeared.

The emergence of quartz once again posed a major threat to the Swiss watchmaking industry.

The popularity of quartz watches is on the rise, and mechanical movements are now on the verge of extinction.

There was a time when it was feared that its very existence would disappear.

However, ETA's foresight shines through here as well.

The company had always operated as a union since its founding, but in the late 1970s it was reorganized so that ETA took the sole lead.

Furthermore, it even brought quartz movement manufacturers under its umbrella, and in 1983, Evoges SA was finally integrated under the name ETA.

At the same time, in order to compete with the emerging Japanese manufacturers, the company was organized as the mechanical division of SMH, a consortium of Swiss watch-related companies, and continues to exist to this day.

Since then, ETA has been involved in the revival of mechanical watches.

However, the company is so adept at strategy that it has approximately 600 suppliers, including the quartz division, and its annual production volume reaches 100 million units, giving it the image of being a general-purpose product.

However, it would not be an exaggeration to say that ETA is the company that has made the greatest contribution to preserving mechanical wristwatches and chronographs, which have continued into the 20th century, for future generations.