Horological Meandering

1/  Some Chronometers had crosshair and not crosshair dials: Geophysic / Constellation, for example, while both being chronometers. So, what is the purpose of the Crosshair?

2/ The era during the appearance of crosshair dials is quite reduced: End Fifties / End Sixties? So, why not before and after?

Tough question....

Best, my friend.

Nicolas

This message has been edited by Dr No on 2014-10-18 13:25:07

No message body

... this crosshair also from the "peripheral little second indication" at six o ' clock on watch dial.

in my feeling it is for a fast(er) (intuitive) decision what the hand/hands indicate.

Also we find it in more modern watches later, for example IWC Porsche Design.

This crosshair perhaps correspond with a inner orientation, that our brain is
aible to work with very fast.

regards

Stephan

I think for marine or astronomy, this has been an explanation. I never saw something factual about watches.

Damn!

Thanks for your help, Stephan,

Nicolas

that it optimized a faster orintation on displays ...

not my BMW Stephan

No message body

...i don't know where from the cockpit instruments are.

i only wanted to show a example, that - in my opinion - it is used generelly on dispays (also a watch dial)
for a faster orientation.

i don't belive in a N, E, S, W compass theorie.

regards

Stephan

This message has been edited by only5402 on 2014-10-19 05:01:37

No message body

...the dials came from VDO.

So for this era, a link with IWC

 

No message body

... with precision nor with the fact a watch is a chronometer, because as you well said, some cross hair dials belong to non chronometer grade watches. I firmly think it is just a cosmetic resource of design.

At least this is the most " cartesian " one. Except if we are missing something.

Un abrazo, Amigo!

Nicolas

No message body

No message body

It makes time reading easier and has a graphic quality of adding something to an empty dial which looks meaningful or look technical. Since it is also rare it will make a watch more “special”. I don’t think there is a solid technical reason. It seems too random in its application.

No message body

It is an explanation in addition of the usual one about the improvement of the legibility.

Fx


This message has been edited by foversta on 2014-10-18 14:54:32

Such as the Tru Beat, for example, why, if this is the meaning of this " distinction ", the GMT Master never received one, while it was announced as a compass Watch?

The Tru Beat and the GMT Master were, for a while, contemporary....

Best,

Nicolas

... just decoration and quarters marking.

I recensed: Omega, Rolex, JLC ( on at least three of their watches! ), Tissot, UG, GP, Longines and Seiko. There must be others!

The strange thing is that the crosshair dial was used, most of all, during what, 10 years?

Best,

Nicolas

I think some of the rotating bezels with "N" and other directions or even degrees make sense with the compass.  So I'm not sure how the crosshair dial would help, unless the cross hair could be rotated.  Along those lines, we could just use a memovox and set the alarm to "N", and have a decent compass.

No message body

For me, this symbol of N-E-S-W is even more obvious on the GP, look at the shape of the indexes:



Don't you have the feeling to see a kind of representation of the cardinal points?

Fx

But it can make you think about that, for sure!

Best,

Nicolas

I'm amazed!

Congrats, my friend. You should be the JLC Moderator, as a true JLC fan you are!

Best,

Nicolas

The International Geophysic Year, when I was a boy and that watch brings me back to those moments.