As I expand my watch collection, I have managed to collect watches across a spectrum of categories. Dress watches. Calendar watches. Diver watches. Soviet watches. Pilot watches. Racing watches.  One category remained conspicuously empty.     The vintage chronograph. It's a no-brainer. As a millennial hipster-ish yuppie,  i should be buying them up! The history, heritage and aesthetic of the vintage chronograph appeals to me. But of course, as a millennial hipster-ish yuppie, I can't justify collecting multiple old chronos. The major Swiss brand chronos go above GBP1,000. Under that price, you can find loads of beautiful chronographs  from less well known/defunct Swiss brands. Even then, you still have to consider the potential servicing costs.  As such, I decided to stick to reps and cheap Soviet vintages. For now.  A vintage chronograph is something I want to work towards to, doing the research, taking my time etc. I barely even thought about split seconds chronographs!   Split Seconds Chronograph I learnt of these beauties was when I was jerking off browsing the Lange website. I came across (phrasing!) one of their rattrapante watches. The fact that watchmakers could create a mechanical double chrono was mind-blowing! That got me excited. This could be a grail watch!          Let's have a look at the price.              6 digits.                  Ok let's close the browser now.   Hodinkee has a great article on the history of split second chronographs: https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/a-detailed-survey-of-the-split-seconds-chronograph-and-its-cousins First, definitions. Rattrapante is a funny word. It sound more like rodents scurrying around in your underwear rather than a very expensive movement. It is derived from the French word "rattraper" which means "to catch up". The split-seconds mechanism allows you to track intermediate events. Activating the chronograph starts both sweep hands in tandem. When the first event happens, you push a button to stop one hand, while the other continues moving. You record the time, push the button again to make the stopped hand "catch up" to the running hand, and repeat as necessary. The seconds hands are superimposed, and then appear to split when you stop one – hence the name.  But what sort of intermediate events are we talking about?  Say you're timing a horse race, you can use the chrono to time the overall race, but you can use the split second function to record the time for a lap, while the other hand continues to record the time of the overall race. Or maybe you're stuck in a foxhole in 1944 and see two artillery muzzle flashes. So you start your rattrapante and use it to record the time taken for both projectiles to hit your hole, that way you can figure out how far apart were those artillery positions that killed you.  The possibilities are endless! The first split-second chrono was produced in 1923 by Patek. These watches, new or old, belong in their own price bracket! The very complicated movements drive up the price, rendering it inaccessible for most people. But of course the free market will find a way to drive down prices     The Watch Enter Dubey & Schaldenbrand. A brief excerpt on the origin of the brand and the watch, copied from here: http://www.oocities.org/thomasm178/watch/wadsimanalysisver2.html The origin of the Index Mobile rattrapante system goes back to 1946. In that year, Rene Schaldenbrand, Head of Production, Complicated Watches, had developed an economical flyback seconds chronograph design. Together with Georges Dubey, who at the time was also a professor of complicated horology at Technicum in La Chaux de Fonds, Schaldenbrand formed the Dubey and Schaldenbrand Company to produce and market the design, which they called the Index Mobile. Patents were subequently applied for, and in 1948 Swiss and French patent rights were granted; US patent rights followed in 1951. A partial description of the design from the US patent filing follows: "...chronographs with two co-axial long seconds-hands, one of which is a fly-back hand. An important feature of the invention resides in that the movable elements of the two seconds-hands are connected with each other by means of a spiral spring and that one of the said hands carries a stop adapted to engage the other seconds-hands." The original prototypes and early working models were based on the Valjoux 77 base chronograph caliber. Subsequent models used either Venus or Landeron 248 movements as the base movement. Rene Schaldenbrand managed to mod the base movements to possess a split-second function. Parts were added to the movement and some are visible on the dial. A better explanation can be found here: https://horologium.com.au/2013/10/07/dubey-schaldenbrand-the-index-mobile-split-second-chronograph/ They did this by putting some of the inside, outside – an extra shaft holding the ‘split’ second-hand placed through the centre of the watch, and kept in place directly underneath the chronograph’s primary seconds-hand by a hairspring which connects the two hands and is fully visible to the eye. So, how does it work? When the chronograph function is activated, both the seconds hands move simultaneously. During this, split-second function is activated when the button in the middle of the crown is depressed. By pressing it, the user stops the split-second (index) hand, which applies a brake to the wheel turning the hand. When the button is released, this second hand, which has stopped, will ‘catch up’ with the other seconds hand which has continued running throughout the period being timed. The hand that stops while the other continues to run can be held to time a secondary event for up to 58 seconds, returning instantly to meet the other hand as the button is released. D&S produced these watches in the 1950s-1960s. They also made these watches for a few other brands too with a similar dial design. In the 1990s, the revived brand re-issued limited edition versions from their Landeron NOS. But since then, they have not made any new Index-Mobiles. But they do have a Heritage line with heavy Art Deco inspirations. More info on the 1990s NOS Reissue: http://ninanet.net/watches/others04/Mediums/mDSim.html Before I go any further, I have to admit I learnt about this watch from watching The Urban Gentry on Youtube. It was one of those moments when I was watching TGV "ironically" and he blindsided me with this elegant watch on his wristwatch check. He made a video review of the watch. By the end of it, I knew I had to find the watch. Somehow. The model represents an interesting turn in the development of split-second chronos. At the same time, I was trying to find the watch to buy with my first (proper) paycheck. This fit the bill perfectly! After monitoring listings on chrono24 and eBay, I gathered that there were a few of them out there, so no hurry. The average pricing was about USD2,000-3,000. Following negotiations, I was able to knock nearly 500 Euros from the price. Bargain!  The days after that were torture. I stalked the parcel from Austria to the UK.  After 12 painful days, this arrived: Forgive me for my excitement as I shamelessly tag in some of the worse influences on my habit. This is where I have ended up 5 months in, what have you done!? @Glaude @McGilli @Luxuracer @Logixa @RussP @GingerBlubba   Dimensions After multiple measurements. Case Diameter: 37mm Case Height: 13.5mm Lug-to-Lug: 45mm Lug Width: 18mm   At 37mm diameter, this small watch sits perfectly on my tiny wrist! Even better!   Dial The dial colour is very dependent on lighting. In bright light, it looks like a vintage off-white colour; in darker rooms, it has a champagne dial look. The overall vintage look is just too good. It is a busy dial but not overwhelming. Any more numbers and it would be too much, any less and it would look like something is missing. Lap up that beautiful font! The blue and red lines go well together! Up close you can see how the printing is not as precise as modern pieces. If this were a rep, I would be shitting all over the review,  but here it just adds to the charm of this vintage piece. The 3 o'clock subdial is a minute counter, love the snail trails! I am also a fan of the Art Deco-ish font used for the hour indices. There is a slight chip on the "Swiss Made" print. The numbers all around the dial are just mesmerising... The 9 o'clock subdial is the actual seconds. Standard. The domed glass causes a distortion effect on the hands. Here you can have a good view of the split-second hands:  one superimposed by the other. From above, it looks like there is only one second hand. Nice close-up of the dial-side spring that allows for the catch-up of the second hand. Very unusual aesthetic, this outside spring embodies the quirky nature of this watch.     Movement As most of the Index Mobiles produced used a base Landeron 248 movement, I'm assuming that is the case for this one. Let's have a look shall we? I'm stumped by this snap-on caseback. If this were any other watch, I would have gone straight to snapping it open. Knowing my luck I might fuck this one up and damage the case, so... ... you guys will just have to settle for a photo lifted from one of the above articles. The reissue edition has display casebacks.   Case As the poor man's rattrapante, it would not do to have a solid gold case. To keep with that vibe, this is  yellow gold plating on stainless steel.  Will need to keep a careful eye on the case! The chrono pushers are slightly different. Pressing the 2 o'clock pusher starts the chrono, pressing the 4 o'clock pusher stops it. Pushing it again resets the chrono. The split second function is done by pressing on the additional pusher on the crown. The curves on this watch  Lug porn   Strap & Buckle The strap is definitely not the original strap. Not sure about the buckle though. Can't complain about the strap though, it is comfortable and supple! Its rich brown/maroon colour complements the yellow gold well. Worried that this might be from Aliexpress, I gave it a quick google. A lot of German came up, it might be an Austrian company. The buckle doing its job.   Functions The split second function has its limitations. It can only record the interval for 58 seconds. Here's a video of me fumbling with the split second function.   Accuracy Look at that dial! Who the fuck gives a flying fuck about fucking accuracy??!!?? No need to be accurate when you're lit af.   Overall It was never realistic to put a rattrapante as a grail watch. Thankfully, this poor man's rattrapante exists! This watch is a great addition to my collection. It is the watch bought with my first paycheck. It features as an interesting side note in horological history. It is beautiful. Where do I go from here? This watch has made crave for more vintage style chronos. What will be next?       Cheeky wristie   Watch this space!