A watch is one of the most stunning accessories you can wear and can be tailored to your taste; worn as a traditional timepiece or as a delicate piece of jewellery. However, not only do they look fantastic, they can also have multiple uses with all kinds of bells and whistles built in, especially with momentum gradually building with the manufacture of smart watches. In a previous blog we have given you a run down on how to read the time on a SEVENFRIDAY V-Series watch, but this time we’ll explore the tachymeter feature.
What is a tachymeter?
In watches from brands such as Omega and Breitling, you might find a tachymeter, usually located on the outer rim of an analogue watch’s face, which is used to measure speed against travel time once a unit of distance is established, e.g. miles or kilometres. The scale is used to compute the following function: Tachymeter Dial = 3600 / Elapsed Time in Seconds.
This basically means that the dial is used to measure how long it takes for an event to occur using the figure reference of 3600, which is how many seconds there are in an hour. So for example, if it takes 48 seconds to travel one mile, then the average speed is 75 miles per hour, bear in mind that the tachymeter scale only measures things that happen in 60 seconds or less, which also means it can only be used to measure speed greater than 60 miles or kilometres per hour.
How to Use Your Tachymeter
In order to get an accurate reading, you must first start the stopwatch from the moment that event takes place, for example, to mark the beginning of a car race, and you must stop the timer when the car reaches the required distance. Observe the position that the stopwatch hand has stopped at, and you should be able to see the corresponding figure on the tachymeter dial which should give you an accurate reading.
Although because of the scale limitations on a tachymeter, you would need to perform simple calculations in order to determine lower or higher speeds. If a runner took 10 seconds to complete an 100 metre race, for example, then a tachymeter would read their average speed as 360 miles an hour, but because the dial would be measuring in kilometres, then the average speed would need to be divided by 10, which would make the runner’s average speed in fact 36 miles per hour.
Omega’s Speedmaster Moonphase Chronograph Master Chronometer
One of favourite and latest additions to the tachymeter-club is Omega’s Speedmaster Moonphase Chronograph Master Chronometer. With a range of Omega Seamaster timepieces available at Banks Lyon, you can join in the hype ahead of Baselworld; take a close look at the very first Master Chronometer chronograph with its calibre 9904 mechanism, over on our Instagram.
Even if you don’t get full use out of your watch’s tachymeter, it can make for an interesting design feature as opposed to just a plain face. Tachymeters automatically make timepieces look a lot sportier, so if this is the kind of look you’re going for, then Banks Lyon supply a range of chronograph watches with attractive dialled faces to suit all tastes and preferences.
Of course we also stock a variety of timepieces in our store in a range of different brands such as TAG Heuer, Cartier, Dietrich and Breitling, but to name a few. To find the perfect piece for you, feel free to browse our wide selection online or visit us in our Lancaster store and a member of our team will be happy to help. Otherwise you can contact us at 01524 38 10 20, or find us on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google Plus pages.