1950 Charles Nicolet Chronograph ref. 144, 37mm. case. Tachymeter Telemeter dial with beautiful art deco numbers.

Charles Nicolet was founded in Tramelan Switzerland in 1916. First produced watches under the brand name “Charles Nicolet Tramelan” up until the 1950’s, from that time the name “Nicolet Watch” was found on the dials. The factory was run by his descendants until 1978 when it went to bankruptcy.

A tachymeter scale measures how fast an object is moving. The scale can be found either on the dial or in the bezel. Most tachymeters start at 400 and end at 60, but some models can show different numbers. Its very simple to calculate the speed: just mark a point and push the start button. After the object has moved for one kilometer (or mile), push the stop button. The number indicated by the hand shows the speed of the object. AA telemeter scale measures the distance between the user of the watch and the event seen and heard. It was used extensively to calculate when artillery fired. When you saw the light of the shot of the artillery, you would push the start button and push the stop button when the thunder was heard. The number shown in the scale refers to the distance.

The telemeter scale was an innovation at the time the watch was released. Very useful in combats because it could give the distance an explosion was taking place, for example. By the 1940s, the demand for this watches has increased tremendously.