Circa 1915, Heuer introduced a series of four stopwatches that offered high-frequency timing.  The Mikrographe offered 1/100 second timing and the Mikrographe Dedoublante offered 1/100 second timing, with a rattrapante (split-seconds) feature.  The Semikrographe offered 1/50 second timing and the Semikrographe Dedoublante offered 1/50 second timing, with a rattrapante feature.  The first models did not have the “Heuer” logo or any model name on the dial.

The Mikrographe and these other models were covered by Swiss patents that were granted to Heuer in 1915.

These first versions of Heuer’s high frequency stopwatches were powered by versions of the “Heuer 5” movement, which Heuer had developed for pocket chronographs circa 1887.  These movements, for the pocket chronographs and the stopwatches, incorporated the oscillating pinion, which Heuer had patented in 1887.

In the Mikrograph, when the stopwatch is wound and has been reset to zero, the balance wheel continues to “run”, even though the hands are stopped; the oscillating pinion is used to engage the stopwatch second hand “on the fly” (i.e., with the balance wheel running), to ensure the quickest possible start.  It is only when the stopwatch is stopped that the balance wheel stops running.