what is a chronograph watch

A chronograph watch is a traditional timepiece fitted with an extra complication to act as a stopwatch. It is a type of wristwatch with a specific focus on recording time in varying amounts, achieved through smaller time-tracking dials that sit within the overall span of the watch face, called sub-dials. A chronograph watch can come with one, usually two, and even as much as three chronographs at once, which will be used to measure time (in real-time and relatively) to different levels of accuracy. The length of time chronograph watches can record varies, but most watches go up to 30 or 60 minutes. Chronographs can be visually distinguished by their two or three sub-dials and two pushers, which start and stop the chronograph function without interfering with the watch. Some common uses of chronograph watches today include precision timekeeping and speed or distance computations. Pilots commonly wear chronographs, as it offers them a way to make speed and distance calculations on the fly, while healthcare workers use them to measure patient heartbeats. When activated, a chronograph acts like a stopwatch, making it a particularly attractive timepiece if you enjoy sporting or motoring activities, as you’re able to keep an accurate record of the time elapsed for your own purposes. What makes a chronograph so desirable is the fact that the main time-telling features aren’t disturbed once you activate the chronograph, so you can still see the same time information you’d expect to find on a regular dress watch while the chronograph “stopwatch” feature is running.