WATCH COMPLICATIONS
In watchmaking, “complication” typically refers to any mechanism or information that adds to those intended for displaying time (hours, minutes, and seconds). They can be purely indicative or contribute to improving the watch’s performance and accuracy.
On this page, complications are divided into several major categories. For each complication, there is a detailed description of its origin, history, variants, manufacturing process, and how it functions.
ASTRONOMICAL COMPLICATIONS
Astronomical complications are all functions or indications that depend on celestial bodies and their positions. The information from a simple or complex calendar, moon phases, or even a precise star chart are all considered astronomical complications.
TIME MEASUREMENT
Watch complications may include the display of the measurement of differentiated time, such as the chronograph.
TIME ZONES
The planet is divided into 24 time zones. This is so that the mean solar time of each time zone is in accordance with the true solar time.
STRIKING MECHANISMS
The ringing mechanisms first appeared on wall clocks before the appearance of wristwatches, pocket watches and other portable timepieces. Their function was mainly to ring the time during the night to avoid having to light a candle with the risk of fire that went with it. Then came the timepieces that sounded time on demand, called repeaters.
OTHER COMPLICATIONS
Watch complications that are not directly related to astronomical information, time zones, time measurement and sound signals.
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