The word “rattrapante” describes the split-seconds mechanism on a chronograph, which catches up with the primary chronograph hand. Unlike a standard chronograph, the split-seconds chronograph has two hands that start simultaneously. The rattrappante or split-seconds hand, which is superimposed on the stopwatch hand, can be stopped independently using a third button at “10 o’clock”, while the stopwatch hand continues to run. This permits the user to record two separate times, exact to the second, within any given minute. If the third button is pushed again, the split-seconds hand instantaneously catches up and is synchronized with the other hand. The process can be repeated as often as desired.
