Calibre record · Automatic chronograph (modular)

Calibre 11 (Chronomatic)

Documented

One of the first three automatic chronograph movements, launched on 3 March 1969 by Heuer, Breitling and Hamilton-Büren: a Büren micro-rotor movement with a Dubois-Dépraz chronograph module, its crown on the left.

Manufacturer: Chronomatic group: Heuer-Leonidas, Breitling, Hamilton-Büren and Dubois-Dépraz
Type: Automatic chronograph (modular)
Winding: Automatic (micro-rotor)
Production: 1969–c. 1973 (Calibre 12 from 1971)
Country: Switzerland
Diameter: 31 mm (13¾ lignes)
Height: 7.7 mm
Jewels: 17
Frequency: 19,800 vph (2.75 Hz)
Power reserve: c. 42 h
Oscillator / escapement: Detached lever escapement
Complications: Cam-switched chronograph with 30-minute and 12-hour counters; date

Figures are those commonly published for the standard version; individual versions and grades differ. “Undocumented here” means the value has not yet been confirmed for this record.

How it is built

A modular construction. The base is Büren's thin automatic (calibre 1281), wound by a micro-rotor set into the movement rather than on top of it; a Dubois-Dépraz chronograph module mounted on the back of the movement adds the chronograph, switched by cams rather than a column wheel. Keeping the rotor inside the movement held the height to about 7.7 mm.

The movement's layout puts the crown on the left-hand side of the case, at 9 o'clock, with the two chronograph pushers on the right — the quickest way to recognise a Calibre 11 watch across a room.

Its sub-dials record 30 minutes and 12 hours; there is no running small-seconds hand.

History

Code-named Project 99, the calibre was a joint venture of Heuer-Leonidas, Breitling, Hamilton-Büren and the chronograph specialist Dubois-Dépraz. Rather than design a new integrated movement, the group combined Büren's thin micro-rotor automatic (calibre 1281) with a Dubois-Dépraz chronograph module. Heuer, Breitling and Hamilton announced their 'Chronomatic' watches at simultaneous press conferences in Geneva and New York on 3 March 1969 and showed about 100 samples at the Basel fair in April. Zenith had shown its El Primero prototype in January, and Seiko's 6139 was being made in Japan the same spring, so which was 'first' depends on the definition. The improved Calibre 12 followed in 1971.

Watches fitted with it

Heuer Monaco ref. 1133, Autavia ref. 1163 and Carrera ref. 1153
Breitling Navitimer Chrono-Matic ref. 1806 and Chrono-Matic ref. 2110
Hamilton Chrono-matic and Büren chronographs

The numbers explained

19,800 vibrations per hour means the balance makes 5.5 beats (ticks) every second — 2.75 complete back-and-forth oscillations, or 2.75 Hz.
A sweeping seconds hand therefore advances in 5.5 small steps per second.
That is 475,200 beats a day. A watch that gains one second a day is out by about 1 part in 86,400 — roughly 11.6 parts per million.
Faster balances resist knocks and changes of position better but wear their pivots and need fresh oil sooner.

Convert beat rates and daily error with the Atlas tools · See a balance and escapement in the lab

How to recognise it

Crown on the left, pushers on the right, and two sub-dials (minutes and hours) with no small seconds.
'Chrono-matic' or 'Chronomatic' on early Heuer, Breitling and Hamilton dials; 'Automatic Chronograph' on later ones.
Movement marked CAL. 11 (or 12) on the chronograph bridge, as in the photograph here.

For collectors

The calibre is closely tied to the Heuer Monaco worn by Steve McQueen in the 1971 film Le Mans, which keeps prices high. Early Calibre 11 movements had faults that the later 11-1 and 12 corrected, so ask which version the movement is and when it was last serviced by someone who knows modular chronographs.

Versions and derivatives

Versions and derivatives of the Calibre 11 (Chronomatic)
Calibre	Difference
Calibre 12	The improved successor introduced in 1971.
Calibre 14	Adds a 24-hour hand for a second time zone (GMT).

Compared with related calibres

Specifications of the Calibre 11 (Chronomatic) beside related calibres
Calibre	Type	Frequency	Jewels	Power reserve	Diameter	Production
Calibre 11 (Chronomatic)	Automatic chronograph (modular)	19,800 vph (2.75 Hz)	17	c. 42 h	31 mm (13¾ lignes)	1969–c. 1973 (Calibre 12 from 1971)
Zenith El Primero 3019 PHC	Automatic chronograph (integrated)	36,000 vph (5 Hz)	31	c. 50 h	30 mm (13 lignes)	1969–present (later versions)
Seiko calibre 6139	Automatic chronograph	21,600 vph (3 Hz)	21 (some versions 17)	Undocumented here	Undocumented here	1969–late 1970s
Valjoux 7750	Automatic chronograph	28,800 vph (4 Hz)	25	c. 42–48 h	30 mm (13¼ lignes)	1974–present

Mechanisms in this calibre

Chronograph

Self-winding (automatic) mechanism

Detached lever escapement

Related calibres

Zenith El Primero 3019 PHC

Automatic chronograph (integrated) · 1969–present (later versions)

Seiko calibre 6139

Automatic chronograph · 1969–late 1970s

Valjoux 7750

Automatic chronograph · 1974–present

Related records in the catalogue

Records whose titles name this calibre or a model family that used it. Earlier or later examples of a model may contain a different calibre, so check each record's description for the movement actually fitted.