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| The Rolex Daytona is both a chronograph and a chronometer watch |
Here are two different definitions that will help you understand the difference between chronograph and chronometer watches:
A chronograph is a watch with hands that display hours, minutes and seconds, together with a mechanism for measuring elapsed time by means of a central chronograph hand, which records seconds, and totalisers for the minutes and hours (not mandatory).
A chronometer is a watch whose movement has obtained an official rate certificate from the COSC (Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute) after having passed precision tests in different positions and at different temperatures. These tests are conducted over a 15-day period.
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A chronograph is a specific type of watch that is used as a stopwatch combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has an independent sweep second hand; it can be started, stopped, and returned to zero by successive pressure on the stem. Less simple chronographs use additional complications and can have more than one independent hands to measure seconds, minutes, hours and even tenths of a second. In addition, many modern chronographs use moveable bezels as tachymeters for rapid calculations of speed or distance. Louis Moinet invented the chronograph in 1816 for use in tracking astronomical objects. Chronographs were also used heavily in artillery fire in the mid to late 1800s. More modern uses of chronographs involve piloting airplanes, car racing, diving and submarine maneuvering.
The term chronometer is a specific type of timepiece tested and certified to meet certain precision standards. In Switzerland, only timepieces certified by the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC)may use the word 'Chronometer' on them. Outside Switzerland, the term is controlled only by the scruples of watchmakers.
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