Significant advances in the science of celestial navigation during the early 18th Century produced a need for accurate time keeping aboard sailing vessels, creating the marine chronograph watch.

Tables could be used to calculate the apparent position of the sun, moon and stars from any point on earth, at any time of the year. Using an astrolabe or quadrant, sailors could calculate latitude by measuring the elevation of a given celestial object. Calculating longitude, however, required that the sailor also know the exact moment at which the object passed across the local meridian as compared with that of the same object over a known location. Unfortunately, this method required a far greater degree of time keeping accuracy than the primitive clocks of that era could provide.

The problem became so serious that the English Admiralty set up a "Longitude Committee" in 1714 after a more than 100 mile navigational error resulted in the wreck of its flagship. A prize of 20,000 crowns was offered to the person who invented a clock with a less than two minute margin of error on a return voyage from the West Indies

In 1735, John Harrison, a Yorkshire carpenter, entered the competition with a "portable" clock weighing over 30 kilos. The clock used balance wheels instead of a pendulum to regulate its gears, so it could operate in any position. This fundamental design became the basis of all modern mechanical watch movements. Harrison worked to improve his initial design for thirty years, producing three additional prototypes. The last of these, the Harrison N.4, was so accurate that upon the completion of an 81-day sea voyage it lost only five seconds!

Although Harrison's 4th chronometer was smaller than its predecessors, it was still too large to be worn in a pocket or on a wrist. The pocket watches that evolved over the next 100 years sacrificed precision for miniaturization, so navigational time standards generally remained with heavy, stationary chronometers. Although the 20th Century brought a level of technology that allowed wristwatches to rival their table-bound counterparts in accuracy, security remained a problem. While a ship's chronometer was typically kept in a wooden strongbox safely locked away in a state room, a wristwatch was constantly at the mercy of the elements. Salt sea spray and extreme temperatures made the wristwatch useless for mariners.

In 1926, Rolex created the "Oyster"– a watertight watch that completely cocooned its delicate inner workings from the ravages of the outside world. With a screw-locked crown to seal off its winding stem, the Oyster could operate effectively even when submerged. Many other watch makers soon followed suit with comparable creations. Sailors, however, are not known for their wealth, and even a ship's captain might be hard pressed to afford a high precision, watertight wristwatch.

In 1960, Bulova introduced the "Accutron" electronic watch-an affordable timepiece that boasted a minimum deviation of one minute per month. The Accutron's tuning fork movement was soon eclipsed by the even more accurate quartz movement. With few moving parts, the quartz movement was very inexpensive, yet accurate to within thirty seconds per month.

In 1984, Regatta Time fit an all-metal quartz movement into a forged steel case comparable to that of a fine mechanical wrist chronometer. Following traditional watertight watch case protocols, Regatta developed a quartz timepiece capable of surviving the harsh environment of the ocean, both above and below the waves. The "Regatta Classic" became the world's first affordable marine chronometer watch, costing thousands less than its mechanical counterparts.

Today, celestial navigation is still the preferred manual back-up for GPS or LORAN navigation. Compact, precise sextants have replaced the astrolabes of old and are excellent navigation tools when coupled with quartz chronometers. Among the latter, the forged steel, hermetically sealed Regatta is second to none.