Pulsations Scale Chronograph for a Cyborg

Ok, this post needs a bit of background. An interesting fact about me is that I have a mechanical aortic heart valve. I was born with a leaky one, and at age 20 underwent open heart surgery to replace the valve. My doctors and I decided that based on my age, a mechanical valve would be the better option than a biological (pig) valve. 

The valve's leaflets are made of pyrolitic carbon, a dense, graphite-like material. With each heartbeat, the closing of the leaflets to re-seal the valve emits a clicking or ticking sound that very much resembles a quartz watch. If the room is quiet, anyone standing next to me can just barely hear it. Because it's inside of me, I can hear it extremely clearly. It certainly was maddening at first, but thankfully the brain is a magnificent thing, and after a few months I had gotten to the point where about 90% of the time I'm able to naturally tune it out to the point of not noticing it at all. It's kind of like how you don't notice that you're breathing unless you think about it. 

An idea I had at the time was to one day celebrate my successful open heart surgery with a mechanical chronograph that featured a pulsations scale. For those who aren't aware, watchmakers have long utilized the pulsations scale to assist in the measurement of the pulse for medical purposes. The history of sphygmology, the study of the pulse, and its intersections with horology is a fascinating one, expertly explored in this article by physician and watch collector @t_swiss_t, published on the wonderful blog Watches by SJX: https://watchesbysjx.com/2020/08/history-pulsations-pulsometer-chronograph-watch.html 

The whole article truly deserves a thorough read, but I'll quote a few excerpts here. First, how does a pulsations scale chronograph work?  

Simply put, you find someone’s pulse, start the chronograph, count the number of heartbeats mentioned on the scale — “base 15” for 15 beats and “base 30” for 30 beats — and stop the chronograph to find their heart rate. The scale essentially multiplies the number of beats for you to produce the heart rate without measuring for an entire minute. And the use of the 15- and 30-based scales are useful because they save time, are relatively accurate, and allow the physiologic range of human heart rates (roughly 30-220 beats per minute) to be displayed on the dial.

Pretty neat, eh? Most popular chronographs will have a tachymeter scale; how common are pulsations scales, and how expensive are the watches? 

Almost every iconic brand and model of chronograph can be found with variant having a pulsations bezel, including the “pre-Moon” Omega Speedmaster Professional, Universal Geneve “Nina Rindt”, Heuer Carrera, Longines 13ZN, and the multi-million dollar Patek Philippe ref. 2499. Even the “4-digit” Rolex Daytona chronographs could be ordered with a pulsation bezel when they were sold new, and were, with the pulsometer bezel known to have at least five different iterations. But the pulsometer variants of these watches were uncommon and, in several cases, produced upon request. In the world of vintage watches, that means they sell for a substantial premium. Take for example, the Daytona with pulsations dial. A ref. 6239 sold for 1.085 million Swiss francs at Phillips’ Start-Stop-Reset auction in 2016, 20 times the price of a standard ref. 6239 at the time.

Rolex Cosmograph “The Doctor” ref. 6239, c. 1966. Image – Phillips

So, join me back in the world of a freshly graduated then-21 year old watch collector with a modest budget. I obviously couldn't afford some of the super rare vintage references, nor the modern boutique-exclusive limited editions. I did come across some affordable options from the likes of Seiko and Longines, but for aesthetic or ergonomic reasons nothing really spoke to me. That is, until I was shown the watch that I ultimately ended up choosing. 

I ended up purchasing this beautiful Omega Speedmaster Reduced Olympic Games Collection Torino 2006 Limited Edition, Ref. 3538.30.00, at Wanna Buy a Watch?, one of the best vintage watch stores in Los Angeles. Expect a full review in the future, wherein I'll go into fine detail about why I love this reference so much. In the meantime I'll give you a sneak peak into the unique way that the pulsations scale interacts with my own augmented anatomy. 

Remember how I mentioned that my mechanical heart valve ticks with every heartbeat? That means that I don't ever have to feel for a pulse in order to count out the 30 pulsations required to generate a BPM reading. Folks with any medical or first aid training will know that finding a pulse can be fiddly sometimes. Rather, I just activate the chronograph with the top pusher, tune into the sound frequency of my valve's ticking (this is doable even in a loud room or outside), count to 30, stop the chronograph, and observe where the chronograph lands on the pulsations scale. 

There isn't  really a pressing medical reason for me to check my heart rate, but I do want to explore meditation and practice some breathing exercises. It would be interesting to see if I can lower my heart rate. 

As you can imagine, a short version of this story gets told often when I wear the Speedy Reduced Pulsations (Ha! I just caught the potential humor of that naming while proofreading) to watch meetups and tell the story behind it. I sometimes get asked if I wear an Apple Watch or other activity trackers. I owned a FitBit for a hot minute in college, but I can't say I'm a huge fan. @t_swiss_t shares some interesting thoughts about wearable medical devices in the final few paragraphs of his article, which again I urge you to read in its entirety. Here's the link again: https://watchesbysjx.com/2020/08/history-pulsations-pulsometer-chronograph-watch.html

Do you have any experience with pulsations scale chronographs or other medically-inspired watches? Feel free to share them!