One of the greatest joys of owning a watch is that they cater to the individual needs of their owner - whether that’s a dual timezone watch for jetsetters or individuals who like to see the exact day, month and year on their wrist at anyone time.
These complications are the result of painstaking craftsmanship from the world’s best watchmakers. In spite of their name, though, the skill is not in their complexity but in solving a technical problem in the most aesthetically pleasing way possible.
Sometimes the most beautifully simple designs come about as the result of an incredibly intricate piece of watchmaking - that’s what sets these five contenders below apart from the competition.
Arnold & Son Globetrotter Worldtimer
Anglo-Swiss brand Arnold & Son has created a timepiece that centres around a large three-dimensional northern hemisphere design that rotates around its access once every 24 hours. It’s incredibly intricate design mimics the topography of the planet through chemical etching and the. Polishing a round piece of brass, followed by sandblasting the mountainous areas and adding multiple layers of blue lacquer in different hues to achieve the illusion of oceanic depth. It’s simply gorgeous. ablogtowatch.com
Bovet Récital 22 Grand Récital
It’s not every day you come across a watch that centres around a tellurium but, then again, Bovet are creators of anything but watches for the everyday. A tellurium is a type of astronomical complication that shows the relative positions of the Earth, Moon and the Sun - and, here, Bovet does so with astounding attention to detail on a hand-lacquered hemisphere. Do we need such a complication in the world? Perhaps not. But, by God, are we glad that we’ve got it. bovet.com
Cartier Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Day-Night
Cartier’s iconic Mystery Clocks of the early 1900s are the jumping off point for Cartier’s stunning Rotonde de Cartier Mysterious Day & Night - in particular the Comet Clock of 1912 that features the same idiosyncratic day/night indicator found on this new timepiece. The complication dominates the top half of the dial - and displays a golden sun during the day and a gleaming moon during the nighttime. It’s not the most complicated watch in this list, but it is certainly one of the most beautiful. cartier.co.uk
Harry Winston Project Z12
Avant garde design has been at the centre of Harry Winston’s men’s watches from the beginning, but it’s the brand’s Project Z collection where we see the depth of their watchmaking talent. The collection toys with popular complications by finding a totally unique way of displaying the time. Its latest watch, the Z12, is nominally nothing more than a date-only watch on paper but it unusually features two retrograde functions in the form of jumping hours and minutes hands. It’s an appealing complication to watch in action - and one made all the better by the steampunk aesthetic. Tongue-in-cheek watchmaking at its best. harrywinston.com
IWC Tribute to Pallweber
Josef Pallweber may not be a household name these days but he was responsible for some of the most iconic pocket watches of the 19th century. To celebrate 150 years of IWC, the brand has dug deep into its archives to honour Pallweber with a wrist watch version of one of his greatest designs. Its unusual complication - a double jumping display that shows both the hours and minutes digitally - is one of the most striking watches to be released this year. iwc.com
Which watch do you think should win the Complication Award?
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