A flyback chronograph is a complication

Complication (horology)

In horology , complication refers to any feature in a timepiece beyond the simple display of hours, minutes, and seconds.A timepiece indicating only hours, minutes, and seconds is otherwise known as a simple movement...

 watch

Watch

A watch is a small timepiece, typically worn either on the wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket, with wristwatches being the most common type of watch used today. They evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were...

, which uses a single push of the button for stopping, resetting and restarting the chronograph

Chronograph

A chronograph is a timepiece or watch with both timekeeping and stopwatch functions as well as other functions. Pocket watch chronographs were produced as early as the 18th century but did not become popular until the 1820s...

 function of the watch.

Other names

The flyback function has also some other names:

• Retour-en-vol
• Taylor system
• Permanent zero setting

Overview

The flyback function is a complication inspired by everyday life, just as some other complications: world time, universal time

Universal Time

Universal Time is a time scale based on the rotation of the Earth. It is a modern continuation of Greenwich Mean Time , i.e., the mean solar time on the Prime Meridian at Greenwich, and GMT is sometimes used loosely as a synonym for UTC...

, power reserve

Power reserve

Power Reserve Indicator is a complication of the watch, which is designed to show the amount of remaining stored energy. The power reserve indicator indicates the tension on the mainspring at any particular moment.-Overview:...

.

Most flyback chronographs are constructed with the usual crown at 3 o'clock and 2 pushpieces at 2 and 4 o'clock. Usually the flyback function is controlled by the button at 4 o'clock whereas the one at 2 o'clock is used to stop the chronograph.

Many chronographs are equipped with the flyback function, especially watches meant for pilots. It is much easier from the point of view of time saving, to instantly restart the chronograph with one push of the button

Button

In modern clothing and fashion design, a button is a small fastener, most commonly made of plastic, but also frequently of seashell, which secures two pieces of fabric together. In archaeology, a button can be a significant artifact. In the applied arts and in craft, a button can be an example of...

, instead of three.

History

The appearance of the flyback function was catalyzed by the first watch with a separate chronograph button (the stop and reset functions were previously controlled by the winding-crown). This watch appeared in 1923 and was developed by Breitling

Breitling

Breitling is a luxury brand of Swiss watches produced by Breitling SA, a private company headquartered in Grenchen, Canton of Solothurn . The company exclusively offered Certified Chronometers in all models since 2000...

.

The chronographs have afterwards gained the form which they retained until today. In 1934 the Breitling chronographs received the second chronograph button with the function of returning the seconds hand to zero. Thus it became possible to measure short intervals of time using the add function. However the patent of the flyback chronograph belongs to Longines

Longines

Longines is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. The company was originally founded by Auguste Agassiz in 1832 and it currently holds the oldest registered logo for a watch company . Longines is currently owned by the Swatch Group.Longines is known for its 'Aviators' watches...

with its first flyback chronograph dating back to 1936.