One of the best (and worst) things about watches is that they're always confounding your BEST efforts to figure 'em out!  (I guess that they're a LOT like "the ladies" in that regard!  :P )

Anyhow, the latest "machination" for me has been the topic of "Rattrapante" - just "what the hey!" IS it and what's it have to do with a "Flyback" ? ... So, as I'm "wont to do", I researched the heck out of this stuff on the web and, to my surprise, I actually became even MORE confused ...
Then, fortune smiled on me ... ...

... and I stumbled across the ONE site that, for me, cleared it all up; i.e.,

http://htexplained.com/watches/Flyback-Rattrapante.htm

Basically, folks, the following explanation is ALL ya' ever need to know about the topic! (Trust me - anything more than this will just confuse ya' even more!) ...

"A flyback is a chrono which works as follows: first push of the chrono button starts the seconds hand. Second push causes the seconds hand to reset to zero and begins. This is opposed to a normal chrono where you push once to start, once more to stop, and another button to return to zero, and once more to begin again. The purpose of the flyback is to begin retiming quickly.

A split seconds or rattrapante (I believe it means catch up in French) or doppelchrono (double chrono in German) has two seconds hands, the first push starts both hands together, the second push stops one hand while the other continues, and another push allows the stopped hand to catchup with the moving seconds."

There was some disagreement about whether the term "flyback" can only be applied to the chronograph function, or whether is applies generally to any function in which the indicator returns to a home position."
____________

HUGE KUDOS to mj@basepath.com and a gentleman named "Feder Haus" (Feather House? :?) for clearing this all up ... at least for me!
____________

Now, let me toss in a few pix of the more "upscale" Rattrapante's "out there in watchland" ...

The Chronoswiss ... (Pic courtesy of http://www.uhren-miquel.de )

Two Great Pix Of Omega's "Rattrapante" ... (Pix courtesy, respectively, http://horlogenieuws.nl and http://www.omega.ch )

 

And Finally, A Couple Of Panerai's - A "Radiomir" and a "1950" ... (Pix from http://www.mundopanerai.com and http://www.horlogerie-suisse.com )

Now THIS is some SERIOUS HOROLOGICAL "Eye Candy" ... AND ...

Man, don'tcha just LOVE watches??? ... :P
____________

NOW ... if I could JUST figure out what a "Quantieme Annuel" is ... (BIG Sigh!) ...

Last edited on Mon Jun 26th, 2006 04:03 am by Doofus