"For much of the history of the wristwatch, mechanical movements were perfectly content to tick along at 2.5 or 3 Hz, measuring time at a leisurely 18,000 or 21,600 vibrations per hour, respectively. Increasing this frequency would mean adding resolution in the form of ticks (or "beats") per second, making for a more accurate timepiece. The tradeoff, however, would mean more wear and tear on componentry"
"Back in the early 20th century, Longines released a series of stopwatches for the sports timing market powered by high-frequency mechanical movements. Beating at 5 Hz (36,000 vibrations per hour), these pieces allowed for precise timing down to 1/10th of a second - crucial for athletic applications in which tracking every infinitesimally tiny increment of time actually matters. It would still take another several decades, however, before the industry began fitting such movements into wristwatch cases."
Mechanical wristwatch movements historically ran at 2.5–3 Hz (18,000–21,600 vph). Increasing frequency adds timing resolution through more ticks per second, improving accuracy. Higher-frequency operation causes greater wear, increased lubrication demands, shorter service intervals, and reduced power reserve. High-frequency mechanical timing first advanced in stopwatches; Longines produced 5 Hz (36,000 vph) stopwatches for sports timing enabling 1/10th-second precision. Longines introduced a 5 Hz wristwatch movement (Calibre 360) in 1959 and achieved observatory success in 1962. Girard-Perregaux released the Chronometer HF in 1966. Longines’ 1967 Ultra-Chron with automatic Calibre 431 guaranteed accuracy to one minute per month.
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