STORY LESLEY KAISER (1674 - 1751) BRITISH watchmaker, George Graham, has long been acknowledged as the first to create the functioning chronograph as we know it today. Born in 1674 in the little village of Cumbreland, he became an apprentice watchmaker to Henry Aske in 1688 and seven years later, entered the service of another great English watchmaker, Thomas Tompion. At that time, Graham was admitted to the Company of Clockmakers, where he also trained under other masters of their time, such as Thomas Mudge, John Shelton and John Bird.
George Graham was awarded the title of 'Master' before taking over the business of Thomas Tompion in 1713. In 1715, he invented the anchor escapement. Some of the other inventions for which Graham is given credit include the deadbeat escapement, the mercury compensation pendulum, the minute repeater with damper, and the first chronograph!
A chronograph, essentially a watch that features stopwatch functions, is one of the most popular timepiece functions on the market today, as it is more than a basic watch to tell time. Though chronograph watches can also tell time, they can do much more; for example, some chronographs feature a hand that measures seconds. Others are more complex and can time longer or shorter periods, or elapsed time. Chronographs can also determine speed or distance, or time more than one event simultaneously.
The earlier version of the chronograph were relatively simple, but they were significant for that time period.
Around 1720, George Graham built the first clock which was able to measure the duration of an event - it was said to have a 1/16 second accuracy, a feat that was very remarkable for that era.
Graham is also responsible for several improvements made to Tompion's cylinder escapement. In each case, however, Graham refused to patent these inventions because he felt that they should be used by other watchmakers. This was quite a pity because by the time he died, he was penniless.
During his life, Graham's research resulted in innovations that are still in use today. The Foudroyante, for instance, is the most complicated chronograph ever made, and is available for watch collectors today under the name of the creator itself, Graham. In addition to the split-second chronograph, the main addition to the Foudroyante lies in a hand that rotates a full 360 degrees every second. As a symbol of their quality, the British Master's symbol is engraved on the back of all Graham watches.
As was the case with his mentor, Parliament allowed Graham's burial in Westminster Abbey when he died in 1751. Sadly, not much is known about his own personal life, children and non-horological legacies; only that he died penniless, even though what he had created and given to the watch world is priceless and lives on today. S
