Watches with Complications

Oct 01, 2006

Chronograph - "Simply Complicated"
Double Chronograph
Perpetual Calendar - the Right Date Even in a Leap Year
Minute Repeater - Enjoy the Time Sounds
Tourbillon - a Unique Mechanism at an Astronomic Price

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The world of watch-making is never at standstill. There constantly appear new compilations, innovative ideas, watches produced from new materials.

This article will introduce you into the most remarkable facts about timekeeping complications of the modern timepieces.

What is a watch complication? If a watch is responsible not only for telling you the time, but also measures elapsed time, indicates the leap year, warns you about an important meeting, it means it is supplied with some additional functions, or complications.

For mechanical watches functions besides timekeeping are called complications, while for quartz watches - just simply functions.

Let us stop at the most popular watch complications of today and their peculiarities.

Chronograph - "Simply Complicated"

Are they popular? Since 1980s the watch market has witnessed a real boom for chronographs. The chronograph function crowns most affordable and wide-spread quartz timepieces, as well as amazingly expensive timekeeping masterpieces produced by the best Swiss watch brands. Chronographs may be considered to be the most popular complication of modern timepieces.

What's the origin? The word "chronograph" comprises two Greek words, meaning time and writing. The first chronographs represented a horizontal clock supplied with a special device that would remind you a pen. The "pen" was filled with ink. When the device was activated, the pen made an ink mark on the dial of the clock to indicate the elapsed time.

How to operate modern chronographs? One may easily get confused by numerous hands and subdials featured by a chronograph watch. However, a chronograph is not so complicated to use as it may seem. It may be simply called a stopwatch, responsible for measuring elapsed time.

There are different ways of operating a chronograph. But some general rules are true about every chronograph watch. The chronograph watch performs a stopwatch function independently of the timekeeping.

• chronographs with the hand in the center : The first variation of a chronograph features the hand in the center of the dial displaying the elapsed time. To start or stop a chronograph hand, all you need to do is to press a button (or a pusher) placed at the case side. Then with the help of another button you will be able to return the hand to the starting position.



• chronographs with subdials: Chronographs of another type are presented through small dials - subdials - on the watch face. The hands of such subdials measure elapsed minutes and in case of some watches also elapsed hours. The hands of all the subdials are back to the starting position when you push the necessary button.
  
  When the position of the central seconds hand is taken by the chronograph hand, most watches have a special subdial for the "usual" seconds hand.



• chronographs in digital watches: In case of digital watches with the LDC display everything is clear and simple. Choose the "chronograph" mode to adjust your timepiece for chronograph function. Just press the pusher to start or stop the chronograph.

What are the chronograph option? With most chronographs you will be able to keep track of the seconds as well as minutes passed since you started the chronograph function. Some chronographs also measure the elapsed hours.

There are even chronographs timing fractions of the second. It is possible with the help of a special dial or a scale at the very edge of the watch's dial. A digital chronograph is able to read the 1/100 of a second, quartz chronograph - 1/10 of a second, and the mechanical - 1/5 of a second.

Chronograph or a chronometer? Even if these two words sound the same to you, they refer to absolutely different things. A chronometer stands for an extremely precise watch officially certified by a Swiss or French testing agency. Some chronometers have a chronograph function.

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Double Chronograph

A double chronograph is a watch that besides the chronograph hand has one additional split-seconds hand. The double chronograph is used to calculate two distinct events of different durations. The split-seconds hand can be situated whether above or below the chronograph hand. Both hands are activated simultaneously.

While the chronograph hand moves the split-seconds hand can be repeatedly stopped. Both hands can be stopped and then reset to zero by activating the "return pusher". Usually the "pusher" and the "return pusher" that activate and stop the double chronograph are situated at 8 or/and 10 o'clock.

The Double chronograph previously was called "Fly-back second". Its invention dates back to the 19th century, and the name of its inventor was Adolphe Nicole. This feature, however, was very rare. The first timepiece with a double chronograph launched into the market was the one created by Patek Philippe in 1922. Nowadays there are chronographs based on the specific companies' in-house movements or based on Valjoux 7750.

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Perpetual Calendar - the Right Date Even in a Leap Year

Why necessary? A perpetual calendar is a very useful complication as you will never have 31 days in a month with 30 days or in February and consequently you will not have to rewind your watch every time the months have switched. You will also be aware of the leap year with 29 days in February. So, a perpetual calendar is the complication that is "aware" how long each month is even if it is a leap year.

Are they really complicated? If you could take a look at a perpetual calendar mechanism, you would make sure it is quite a complicated thing. It usually comprises about 60 parts. There are special wheels for the date, month and sometimes days of the week. There is also a disk that performs a rotation once in four years. It is necessary to add a 29th day to February in the leap year.

Are their quartz watches with a perpetual calendar? Quartz watches have a special integrated circuit responsible for the calendar function. However, in some rare cases the perpetual calendar in a quartz watch is operated by wheel-and-gear systems that would remind you the ones in the mechanical watches.

How long will the perpetual calendar work? At present there are perpetual calendars that are to show the proper date until the year 2100. It is explained by a historical fact. In 1582 the Julian calendar was reformed by removing one day from the year 2100. The same was done with all century years that are impossible to be divided by 400. This was necessary to make the calendar conform to solar time.

How are perpetual calendars displayed? Some watches feature leap-years indicators - they note how long ago the last leap-year was. Other watch models comprise subdials for the day of the week or the season. You will also find watches with moon-phase indicators.

How to reset a perpetual calendar? Usually there are special pushers or correctors placed at the side of the case. These are used for resetting the day, date, month and the moon-phase indicator. However, with some watch models you may reset them with the help of the crown. Just pull it out to the middle position and turn to change the day.

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Minute Repeater - Enjoy the Time Sounds

What's the origin? Being one of the greatest feats of the traditional watchmaking, the minute repeater was invented before the electric lighting. In the past the owners of pocket watches used them not only to see the time but also to hear the time. The watch sounded the hours and quarter-hours with the help of tiny hammers. The hammers produced the sounds by striking a bell or gongs adjusted into the watch movement.

Pocket watches with quarter-repeaters were invented in England back in 1675. They comprised special devices that struck the hours, the half-hour and the quarter-hour. The place of quarter-repeaters was gradually taken over by minute-repeaters that appeared in 1750.

Why popular today? As minute repeaters are actually of little practical use today, they are greatly appreciated as mechanical wonders. It is really difficult to place a minute repeater mechanism in the space limited by the wristwatch case. Mechanical watches with minute repeaters are produced very rarely and the prices for them are amazingly high. To make the watch sound the time, it is necessary to push a lever.

There are mechanical and quartz watches with additional alarm function. The alarm will ring or produce a buzzing sound at the time set by the watch owner.

Any peculiarities? The production of a minute-repeater movement implies a very intricate process. For example, it takes Blancpain's watchmakers over 10 thousand hours to elaborate a perfect minute-repeater watch.

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Tourbillon - a Unique Mechanism at an Astronomic Price

What is it responsible for? A tourbillon is necessary to improve a watch's accuracy. It excludes time errors that appear as the result of the fact that a watch balance vibrates at different speeds depending upon the position. A tourbillon represents a small metal cylindrical cage to comprise the balance and escapement. The tourbillon cage rotates constantly so the balance never remains at error-causing position.

Are they popular? Tourbillon watches are not only highly demanded - they are very prestigious to wear. The prestige of wearing a tourbillon watch explains the tendency of showing them off. It is achieved due to an aperture on the watch's dial. You will also find timepieces with fully transparent face to make possible viewing of the tiny rotating cage.

Is it really a complication? From the technical point of view a tourbillon is not a complication as it is responsible for no other function besides timekeeping. However, a tourbillon is a truly complicated thing. It may comprise over a hundred of tiniest parts, including jewels. That is also proved by the highest price range that starts at about 80 thousand dollars.

One of the essential tourbillon characteristics is its extremely light weight. The light weight is necessary as a tourbillon gets power from the watch's mainspring - so extra power drain would badly affect the movement functioning.

The sturdiness is one more important characteristic of a tourbillon. If a tourbillon lacked this, it would rather cause timing errors than prevent them.

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