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Joël Pynson
Publication: February 2025
The originality of this chronograph lies in the fact that there is no pusher. If it weren't for the two counters on the dial and the large fixed hand at noon, you wouldn't notice that this watch is perfectly capable of measuring time intervals.
The no-pusher chronograph was launched in 1955. At the time of its launch, the company presented it as follows [1]:
"The watch manufacturer Nicolet Watch S.A., in Tramelan, has succeeded in eliminating the two pushers found on the usual chronograph counter, while retaining the same functions, and therefore the same possibilities of use.
The advantages of this innovation are:
Greatly improved overall appearance (especially for the water-resistant chronograph).
This chronograph can also be adjusted in water-resistant cases, thanks to a new patented sealing system.
The three chronograph functions are controlled by a small rotary movement: backwards to start, forwards to stop, and backwards again to reset.
The basic caliber used for this chronograph is the Landeron 51, without column wheel, modified so that chronograph functions are controlled by rotation of the winding crown. It was then called the Landeron 251.
This chronograph control mechanism was patented by Nicolet Watch in 1950 [2]. However, it was only published 5 years later, in 1955, which is unusually long. This can be explained by prior art identified by the Swiss Federal Office of Intellectual Property, which necessitated modifications to the patent to make it admissible.
Two closely related patents were filed in 1945 by Willi Adolf Büchler, a watchmaker from Thun in the canton of Bern. The first [3] describes a system for resetting chronograph hands to zero by pressing on the winding crown, and the second [4] describes this reset by rotating the same crown.
However, these patents do not seem to describe the possibility of realizing the 3 chronograph functions: start, stop and reset, but only the reset function.
Part of the Nicolet Watch patent may therefore be dependent on a Büchler patent, but Nicolet Watch does have a new invention.
The Nicolet Watch no-pusher chronograph was manufactured for some fifteen years, and several versions were produced.
- a gold version was presented at the 1958 Basel Fair
- in 1960, this chronograph was available in a gold-plated case with a steel back, or an all-steel, water-resistant case.
The water-resistant versions, which are quite rare, may bear the Transmarine trademark, registered by Nicolet Watch in 1962.
Other brands have also been used for this chronograph.
Nastrix was the name of a New York distribution company
For details of how the Nicolet works without a push-button, see also this interesting article by Fratello
See also Nicolet Watch
[1] Journal Suisse d'Horlogerie, 1955, 7-8, p. 290
[2] Patent CH 309 240 filed May 23, 1950 and published August 31, 1955.
[3] Patent CH 254 000
[4] Patent CH 254 001
©Time To Tell, 2025
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