Extremely rare 1940’s pulsometer chronograph watch..

Delivered with vintage buckle and custom made Italian leather strap.

The dial is in very good condition. Watch is running. Service history is unknown.

The pulspmeter - FOR MEASURING HEART RATE. (Source: a Collected Man).

Pulsometer chronograph scale drawn in context with medial drawing around it by Prints Harry for A Collected Man London

The pulsometer and its associated universe

Whilst not as omnipresent as the first scale, the importance or ingenuity of the pulsometer should not be underestimated. To fully understand it, we first to have go back to 1701. It was then that English physician, Sir John Floyer, introduced the idea of measuring a patient’s heart rate as an indicator of their health. Floyer employed the watchmaker, Samuel Watson, to adapt a watch for this purpose. However, this early device cannot really be considered the first example of a pulsometer scale, as it merely helped the measuring of someone’s heart rate.

Indeed, the key distinguishing feature of a pulsometer scale is that it reduces the number of pulsations a doctor has to count in order to take an accurate heart rate reading. In practice, when using a pulsometer, a doctor will start the chronograph function at the first heartbeat and stop it after hearing a certain number. The stopped chronograph hand will then indicate the correct number of heartbeats per minute. The required number of beats is always indicated on the scale itself, usually 15 or 30. Prior to this scale being introduced, the standard practice was to count for a full minute or to count for a smaller amount of time, say 15 seconds, and multiply the result.

Some pocket watches from the late 19th century are known to feature a pulsometer, with the scales later appearing in wristwatches, about two or three decades later. While the purpose of this scale is certainly defunct today, when it was first introduced, it would have been nothing short of vital. There was no longer any need for medical professionals to count pulsations for a full minute or carry out error-prone multiplication in their head, while busy on the ward. This scale helped save time, while also drastically reducing the potential for human error.

Pulsometer chronograph scale poster drawn by Prints Harry for A Collected Man Lonodon

A vintage-inspired poster for the pulsometer

Historically, the text used for the pulsometer is almost always in French, as a result of the watches being produced in Switzerland. That being said, a handful of watches have emerged with English writing on the dial, supposedly due to them being produced for the American market. On rare occasions, you may also see the pulsometer paired with an asthmometric scale that is designed to measure breath rates, another indicator used by doctors to quickly examine a patient’s state. Similarly labelled to the pulsometer, this is a slightly less accurate system of measuring, hence why it is less commonly found than the pulsometer.

Perhaps the most specific and purpose driven of any scale found on vintage watches, the pulsometer can be found on a wide range of vintage chronographs, especially from the ‘40s and ‘50s. During that era, doctors had the dual advantage of being part of a practical profession, whilst at the same time typically being rather economically prosperous. Simultaneously, the scale also appealed to some collectors looking to add an unusual detail to a watch they were commissioning. This combination of elements is precisely why pulsometers can be found on some of the most refined chronographs from the past.

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