The famous Swiss manufacture Louis Moinet yesterday held a press conference to announce the discovery that confirms the French watchmaker Louis Moinet was actually the original inventor of the chronograph.
The question about who invented the first ever chronograph is one of the most controversial questions in the history of watchmaking. Until yesterday, Nicolas Mathieu Rieussec was regarded as the inventor of the chronograph, thanks to the watch he created in 1821. Rieussec was even awarded the original patent for the chronograph in 1822. However, the recent discovery of a hitherto unknown timepiece is rewriting the history of watch development. The production of this epic chronograph was started in 1815, and completed the following year. Louis Moinet, however, didn’t called it a chronograph but a “compteur de tierces,” which translates as a “counter of thirds.” The term “chronograph” was coined much later, but Moinet’s computer de tierces had all that qualifies it as a chronograph: the central hand and two pushers to control the stop, start and reset functions.
The early chronographs, such as Rieussec’s “ink chronograph”, were very simple and they even used a small pen, attached to the index, to write on the dial. The length of the pen mark would point out to how much time has elapsed. Some argue that the inventor of the chronograph was the English watchmaker George Graham who, supposedly, made a watch that could start and stop time with 1/16th of a second precision. However, there are no solid proofs for this claim, and Nicolas Rieussec is widely regarded as the true inventor. Another prominent figure in the history of chronograph is Adolphe Nicole, who upgraded the early versions of the chronograph to include the resetting function, allowing for the successive measurements of time. This notable breakthrough occurred in 1844, but it seems that Louis Moinet’s chronograph included the return-to-zero function back in 1815!
The Compteur de tierces is described by Louis Moinet in his Nouveau traité général élémentaire, pratique et théorique d'horlogerie, where he states that he invented this device to improve his astronomical observations. The compteur was actually a counter in the shape of a watch, displaying 60ths of a second. The watch had a jeweled high-frequency escapement, which allowed for an unusually high level of precision, superior to any other time-telling instrument of the time. The general level of precision, back in 1820’s, was time measurement to the tenth of a second, but Moinet’s chronograph was able to measure time six times more precisely than any standard timepiece. The Compteur de tierces was beating at at 216,000 vibrations per hour, or at the frequency of 30Hz. This is even more superior to the usual balance frequency in a modern wristwatch, which is typically 28,800 v/h or 4Hz.
The question remains: how come that such a great invention has remained undiscovered for so long. To understand this we must remember that Louis Moinet was not a businessman in pursuit of profit, but an academic, scientist and a passionate researcher. Until last year - when the watch was found and purchased by Louis Moinet from Christie’s in Geneva for about 60,000 CHF - the piece was in a property of “northern European royal family.” Louis Moinet took the time to research the history of the piece, which it presents in this interesting 17-minutes long video:
The Louis Moinet Chronograph Technical Information:
Silver case with a rim around the bezel and caseback. Bezel with a bayonet fixture, hinged dust cover with four hallmarks: 1. Association des Orfèvres de Paris (goldsmith’s guild); 2. Master’s mark; 3. Second rooster (Ag 900); 4. Guarantee No 815.
Slivered and frosted metal dial signed by Louis Moinet with three sub dials: 60-minute counter, 60-second counter, 24-hour counter. Centre hand for the 60ths of a second, two identical hands for hours and minutes. Hands in blued steel.
Movement made from gilt and frosted brass. Full plates between four pillars, barrel and fuse. Ruby and steel cylinder escapement. Foliot balance with platinum adjustment weights, 30-tooth escape-wheel, balance spring with seven coils, six pierced ruby bearings with endstones making a total of 13 jewels with the ruby cylinder.
The movement beats at 216,000 vibrations an hour, 30Hz and provides more than 30 hours of power reserve. State of wind indicator visible through an aperture in the dust cover. The upper plate signed: Louis Moinet.
Author: Marina Milojevic
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