What time is it? There is more than one answer to that question, as the response also implies knowing the given location. We are so frequently in contact with people and situations outside our own time zones! GMT-type watches and more generally those capable of displaying the time of day at several points on the globe have found therein their very reason for being.
From a single additional time zone to two, three or even four, the multiplication of hands and dials goes hand in hand with the typology of our needs. To find out what time it is anywhere at any given time, Patek Philippe took on Louis Cottier, inventor of a universal time mechanism whose display principle became the benchmark in its field. Yet these displays are as varied as our cultures and indeed our capitals.
NEW TIMES, NEW ERA
Is the pivotal date 1954 or 1925? Was the first watch to show a second time zone a Rolex or a Longines? Some might argue that it doesn’t really matter, in that pocket watches had long since been providing this function, aided and abetted by their comfortable size and their close connection with the world of railways – itself essential to the definition of international time zones in 1884. Dual-time watches have come a long way since then, moving towards increasingly complete and – in the 2000s – truly innovative displays.
The fourth hand in the center or on a subdial is the indispensable GMT. While the world’s reference time is now called UTC, the three letters that inspired the name of our magazine remain the abbreviation synonymous with travel watches – although its limitations have long since inspired more complex creations.
FRESH TAKES ON TIME (ZONES)
More complex displays are popping up all over the place – whether on moving rollers at Jacob & Co., rotating satellites for Hermès, hemispheres from Montblanc or Bovet or hands retractable on demand by Parmigiani Fleurier – pointing to the inherent difficulty of providing a large quantity of information on a less than 60sqmm surface.
The inseparable ties between mechanics, creativity, real needs and graphic representation – embodying the very substance of watchmaking – have always found one of their finest fields of expression in the world of multiple time zones. We are indeed witnessing a proliferation of models featuring independent hours and minutes, which prove essential for keeping track of time in countries with 15-, 40- or 45-minute time zones (including India and its UTC +5:30).
LOCAL COLOR
Watches displaying 24 time zones need to be clear and legible, enlarging their dials and smoothing their typefaces. The choice of reference cities for these time zones is also an interesting commercial exercise. After all, a limited series destined for the Saudi market (UTC +3) has no reason to use Moscow as a reference point. There’s one last option that remains fairly rare, as bezels tend to be occupied by markings, while very few are as yet functional like those from IWC or Rolex.
Upon leaving the confines of their own country, wearers are more than welcome to choose a watch capable of moving beyond its assigned initial setting. Watches showing the time elsewhere no longer hesitate to do just that, traveling in our company beyond their own frontiers.
As a WorldTempus reader, we are delighted to offer you the digital version of this GMT Magazine, that you can download here.
