What is the Difference Between a Stopwatch and Wristwatch?
You’ve probably heard the terms stopwatch and wristwatch before. Some people believe that they are the exact same thing but they are actually not. A stopwatch and a wristwatch are two completely different things (although both are technically used to measure time) and in this article, we will sort out the differences between them.
What is the difference between a stopwatch and a wristwatch in short?
In short, the difference between a stopwatch and a wrist watch is that a wrist watch is worn on the wrist to tell the time. A stopwatch is held in the hand and used to measure the duration of an event. A stopwatch does not indicate the time but rather the elapsed time between the moment you press start and stop. With this said, whilst a wristwatch is always running, a stopwatch only runs between the time you press start and stop.
Let’s look closer at the wristwatch and the stopwatch to better understand their differences:
What is a stopwatch?
Unlike a wristwatch, a stopwatch is not used to tell the time. It is not worn on the wrist either. Instead, a stopwatch is used to measure the duration of a specific event, for example, a person running 100 meters. The traditional stopwatch is mechanical and works similarly to a mechanical wristwatch, with tens or hundreds of small mechanical components working together in harmony to create a fully functioning machine. The traditional mechanical stopwatch is also very similar in design to pocket watches. The key difference most of the time is that the stopwatch has two push buttons (one for start and one for stop) and only one second hand (although some versions may have multiple)
With the development of technology, many new digital tools and gadgets have been invented that works as a stopwatch. Your iPhone, for example, has a stopwatch that begins measuring time when you press start and stops measuring when you press stop. In essence, the purpose of the stopwatch is to measure the elapsed time between two given events.
The bottom line is that a stopwatch doesn’t measure what the time is. Instead, it is used as a timing instrument to measure the duration of a specific event.
Traditional stopwatches are activated by the user pressing the start button. To stop the measuring, the person presses the stop button. To reset the stopwatch to zero, you press once more on the stop button.
As technology has advanced, and the increased need for accurate measuring instruments, modern digital stopwatches that are activated and stopped by sensors have come around. These are crucial in sporting events such as the Olympics when milliseconds matter. These stopwatches are completely digital and do not come in the form of classic, hand-held stopwatches. But.. of course, the exact same thing can be said about traditional wristwatches versus completely digital clocks.
What is a wristwatch?
The purpose of the wristwatch is in the name – wrist watch.
A wristwatch is a watch that is worn on the wrist and used to keep track of the time. The wristwatch indicates what time it is and runs constantly (assuming it has the energy to do so). Wristwatches exist in all kinds of different executions and with different functions and may or may not include additional functions in addition to timekeeping. It may have a day display, a date display, or a chronograph function.
Wristwatches are a very convenient and practical way to tell the time. You just glance at your wrist and you know. Moreover, in recent decades, the wristwatch has turned more and more into a fashion object that people wear as a fashion accessory. The stopwatch, on the other hand, is solely an instrument that cannot be worn – unless the stopwatch functionality is incorporated into the wristwatch, as we’ll discuss below.
Some wristwatches have stopwatch functionality
An interesting thing to point out is that some wristwatches are built with a stopwatch functionality. In practice, this means that the wristwatch has its key functionality of telling the time, but also an additional function to measure the duration of a specific event in the exact same way as a stopwatch. Moreover, there are also chronograph wristwatches that have similar functionality to a stopwatch.
Wristwatch vs Stopwatch: Differences and similarities
Let’s summarize the key differences and similarities between stopwatches and wristwatches:
- A wristwatch is worn on the wrist and a stopwatch is held in the hand
- A wristwatch is used to keep track of the time but a stopwatch does not have timekeeping functionality
- A wristwatch runs at all times but a stopwatch only runs when you press the start button.
- Wristwatches are also fashion objects whereas stopwatches are solely instruments
- Wristwatches exist in many different versions (hand-wound, automatic, digital, etc), whereas stopwatches essentially only exist in two: digital and mechanical.
- Wristwatches can incorporate lots of additional functions whereas stopwatches only tend to include the stopwatch functionality
- A wristwatch can be used as a stopwatch but a stopwatch cannot be used to tell the time
- Wristwatches and stopwatches are used for two different purposes
Wristwatch VS stopwatch definition
To get a better understanding of what they are, let’s look at the definition of stopwatch vs wristwatch:
Stopwatch definition:
“A stopwatch is a timepiece designed to measure the amount of time that elapses between its activation and deactivation.”
Wristwatch definition:
“A small watch that is attached to a bracelet or strap and is worn around the wrist.”
