Getting into chronographs can mean facing a flood of overlapping terminology, inviting equal parts Google searches and confusion for new collectors. As it turns out, complications do in fact make watches more complicated. 

While the meaning of some complications, like date windows and moon phase displays, can be relatively self-explanatory, others are harder to guess by their names alone. This is true enough of those in our own language, let alone those that are not.

Rattrapante

This brings us to "rattrapante" (rah-trah-pont), sometimes referred to as double or split-seconds chronographs. Equally unhelpful names, we know. Simply put, “rattrapante” translates literally from French as "to catch up", and refers to chronographs with two seconds hands superimposed. When activated, they move around the dial together, hiding the lower one from view. By pressing the appropriate pusher, the lower hand stops while the other continues, marking an intermediate time. Press the pusher again, and it immediately catches up to its companion, hence the name. 

This allows the wearer to time two separate intervals simultaneously, without stopping or resetting the main chronograph. It's particularly useful for comparing lap times or recording the finishing times of two runners.

As is often the case with complications, there's a variation called the mono-rattrapante. This is essentially a simplified version of the standard mechanism, featuring only one stop hand. Although this technically makes it impossible for a second hand to “catch up”, and slightly contradicts the entire point of the name, it ultimately serves the same function. 

There are two pushers on the case. The upper one triggers the start-stop function, and the lower stops the hand and reveals the split time. Pressing the lower pusher again makes the hand jump to where it would have been if it hadn’t been stopped. Again, it's basically the same complication, just a little less obvious to follow without two hands to watch. 

Photo Credit: Bulang & Sons

The luxury watch brand “Bovet” made some notable timepieces with the mono-rattrapante throughout the 40s, which remain popular today. On the whole though, you’re more likely to come across the standard split-seconds mechanism. These things are just good to know.

The History of Rattrapante

The roots of the rattrapante go back to the early 19th century. Joseph Thaddäus Winnerl invented the mechanism to stop and start the seconds hand in 1831, and added the second superimposed hand in 1838. Charles Victor Adolphe Nicole improved the speed of the catch-up in 1844, enabling the lower hand to snap back to zero immediately.

Due to the size and complexity of the movements, early rattrapantes were confined to pocket watches. It wasn't until the 1920s that Patek Philippe introduced the first split-seconds chronograph wristwatch. The complication later declined during the quartz crisis, before enjoying a revival in the late 1980s. This was in large part thanks to the calibre Piguet 1181 by Blancpain, which went on to inspire newer split-seconds movements from multiple brands like Breitling, Omega, Audemars Piguet, Ulysse Nardin and IWC. 

Flybacks

If you’re into military watches, then you’ve likely come across the term “flyback” before. Synonyms include: Retour-en-vol (translating literally from French as “to return on flight”), Taylor system, and Permanent zero setting. Flyback is definitely the easiest to remember. 

In a nutshell, the flyback complication allows an ongoing timer to be stopped, reset and restarted instantaneously with a single press of a pusher. The first flyback chronograph was produced by Longines in 1925, housing a calibre 13.33Z. On a conventional chronograph, the same process requires three separate actions: stopping, resetting and restarting the timer manually. The flyback combines all three into one, allowing the user to time successive time intervals more accurately.

The History of Flybacks

This made the flyback particularly useful in early aviation. Pilots of the day navigated using maps, clocks and a good deal of arithmetic, all done at high speeds as aircraft continued to become faster. The cumbersome process of manually operating a conventional chronograph introduced a significant margin of error. According to Wiley Post, a single minute of error could mean a 15-mile error in position at the equator. This inaccuracy often left pilots flying for miles in the wrong direction, and at worst, at the bottom of the ocean, drained of fuel. The flyback complication played an essential part in resolving this issue, which is why they’re commonly found in vintage military pilots’ chronographs.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it: complications made uncomplicated.

While the functions covered here, like most things these days, have converged on to a mobile phone, complications are no less nifty to the average watch collector. Should you find yourself in a situation where you desperately need to time successive intervals, they’re conveniently wearable on the wrist and easily legible. They don't need charging or internet connection either. 

Importantly, they represent a significant horological innovation, considering they once provided one of the only ways their functions could be achieved. In many cases, they saved lives. 

You can find many vintage and modern rattrapante and flyback chronographs today, and now you can confidently say you know exactly what you’re looking at.