What Is A Chronometer Watch? (And Do They Even Matter?)

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[idahowatchenthusiasts]

T3 you friggin killed it. Hilarious, educational and well put together. Loved this episode! So glad you do what you do the way you do what you do

[blurayauthority]

Took nearly 10 minutes to get my answer. He’s more interested in being a ‘YouTuber’ as opposed to getting you the information you need.

[daniellee]

8:34

Skip to this part, all you need to know.

[travisphillips]

Great answer once we FINALLY got to it. Like 4 times, I forgot why I was watching this video and was lost in the attempts at humor. Very informative, very knowledgeable. Way to long, in my opinion, or I would watch more videos.

[Wilburnator]

I want my automatic watches to keep reasonable time, of course. But if accuracy was the most important issue, I'd wear quartz watches. I could not care less about chronometer certification. I enjoyed the video, though.

[icalexander]

Oh lord Mapquest. I remember printing out Mapquest directions to get to all sorts of places in the early 2000s. Nostalgic

[alecmoriarty]

1. Super informative! I didn’t know anything about the actual marine chronometer.
2. Yes, Chronometer testing definitely matters. Watchfinder did a cool bit about that a few times.
3. Marketing is totally a part of it it, but at the same time that shouldn’t cheapen the value of the certification.

Awesome video, Jory! Thanks

[CtFshd]

THANK YOU for the educational part on why the chronometer was invented in the first place. I own both chronometer certified and non-certified watches. In terms of accuracy? Get a quartz watch if it matters to you. What the certification gets you is the consistency and resilience when it comes to time keeping, it does not mean it is always more accurate. Hell, some people have an skx running at +/- 0.0 spd but the question is how long it will hold that accuracy.

In order to get accuracy, it is dead simple, regulate it. But to get resilience, you need the quality and the precision, and the engineering to ensure that the watch will hold its accuracy in all conditions. I will say this, if you daily drive an automatic and travel to varying temperatures frequently, say a hot desert today and arctic the next and for the whole time? It is worth getting a chronometer certified one as it has been tested to work in such conditions. If not, don't be put off by a watch not being certified, and definitely don't be a snob just because you have one.

And if your life depends on dead accuracy and reliability? Get a DECENT HIGH QUALITY quartz piece.

[Cysubtor_vb]

I never really thought much about accuracy until I unknowingly got a watch with a high frequency quartz movement. I set it, wore it a bit then moved on to some mechanical watches and eventually cycled my way through my collection back to it, only to realize it was still spot on to the second correct months later.

Was briefly super interested in adding more yet ended up shifting focus back and now it's my goto precision watch (it's also a moonphase chronograph) that I can potentially set my others to when I don't want to go load up a website.

As for chronometers, accuracy is nice, but I hear lots of non-certified movements can be just as accurate and even have a basic ETA that was pretty consistent. That doesn't mean I'm against them, but it's not something I just have to have either. A couple of my watches don't even have visible second hands, so, except for the handful of tasks that require spot on timing, it's generally not that big a deal to me.

[CalliopeProject]

Proud of you for getting through that mind-bender, Jory;) "Longitude" by David Sobel, about the invention of said Marine Chrono was pretty entertaining. Recommended.

[discingaround]

Always in a good mood when I'm learning something from T3!

[sylvonlama]

Can anyone recommend a channel that straight out gets to the point and educates?

[tthaas]

I've got a COSC chronometer from Mido (based on a 2824 movement), and it is insanely accurate (using Toolwatch for timing, I've never been more than +/- 2 seconds with it, and it's hit 0.0 several times). That being said, I have several watches that, on wrist at least, run in the -4/+6 range, and cost much less to buy (and, eventually, service, as one is an NH35, and one is a 9015). Does it matter? Well, it means that I might have to reset the time on the chronometer once a month, while I might reset the time on the accurate non-chronometers once every 3 weeks or so? And that's assuming I care about being a minute early or late by my watch.

[loganoftherockies]

OK, Jory, you'll love this...because I have two COSC Chronometers (Mido Ocean Star 600 and Formex Reef), and my PADI Turtle usually keeps better time than both of them:) I definitely value the COSC certification just because there's so much smoke and mirrors around what grade of movements various brands use, and what accuracy to realistically expect beyond factory specs. That said, I'm an even bigger fan of brands like LIV which will just say their automatics are adjusted to +/-5 seconds and they'll stand behind that with two years of warranty! I really wish more brands would just do that, because to me, it's the best of both worlds.

[stephenagypt]

Good episode! I just thought I would give my opinion about your question, NO it doesn't matter because if I need a really accurate watch I use a quartz watch. I don't see a point in paying for their selling point.

[razza]

Fantastic video! Great summary of the history and clear breakdown of the metrics used to certify chronometer watches.

[westend]

Good explanation of the marine chronometer. The one I used was built as you described. It was important to shoot the sun or stars with an accurate time. A few seconds could place you miles off your course. It was key wound every afternoon and synched with the US Atomic clock, every midnight.

[brenmangood]

Great video!!! I'd love to have a chronometer certified watch. Or at least one that I can rely on without having to change the time every 2 weeks. My Orient Mako 2 USA is within manufacturer specs but gets 5 minutes fast every 2-3 weeks. I still like it, but would love an automatic watch that I don't need to worry about setting the time.

[saisamayseva]

Thanks it was helpful to understand what a chronometer watch is.Great .

[combozerofive]

John Harrison, longitude calculating legend.