There are countless dual-time models on the market, but things get considerably more complex when it comes to actually placing a city opposite the time somewhere else on the planet. Worldtimer models are a rare breed, but there were more of them than usual at the latest Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva.
The theme had been virtually ‘leaked’ by IWC’s CEO, Georges Kern, through various interviews. Industry observers have been aware for some time that he has acquired the patents of the now defunct Vogard brand. Instead of a complex system of interaction between pushers and crown, the brand had developed a system enabling timezone adjustments via the bezel. IWC has thus applied this formula, while enriching it. The Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Chronograph shows the time in another timezone, and enables the user to adjust it via the bezel (duly equipped with a secure system to prevent any incorrect handling). It also powers a chronograph function by means of a Manufacture-made calibre. One great advantage of this watch is its incredibly compact size despite such a large number of complications, especially for a brand that loves big cases.
This being said, IWC is not the only brand to use this extremely practical principle. Richard Mille has also launched its RM 63-02, which could be viewed as the baby sister of the RM 58-01 Tourbillon Worldtimer Jean Todt, a highly sophisticated tourbillon combined with a bezel-activated worldtime function. The 63-02 is much simpler since it has no tourbillon, ‘just’ a Manufacture Richard Mille movement (there are more and more of them these days) driving a large date. Framed by a 47 mm round titanium case, the blue city ring has a super-sporty look that goes extremely well with the skeleton-type fonts, themselves inspired by the design of the movement components: pure Richard Mille complete with the customary matching user friendliness!
Montblanc also joins the dance with an even more graphic and far more affordable interpretation. Its 2016 collection gravitates around the idea of transatlantic travel and the brand has indeed presented no less than three travel watches. The first is the 4810 Orbis Terrarum, a new version of its model first introduced in 2015. The colour scheme and the case have been revisited, but the concept is the same: depicting the continents as viewed from the North Pole, encircled by the timezone reference cities. The mechanism is activated via a pushpiece and this model is extremely affordable. The reasonable price-point approach is also fairly true of the pocket-watch version, despite its much larger size and more abundant indications. On the other hand, at the upper end of the spectrum, the Tourbillon Cylindrique Pocket Watch 110 Years is a true ‘monster’ of complications and artistic craftsmanship, with its two raised hemispheres and its exquisitely finished tourbillon.
The twin-hemisphere concept has also inspired Bovet. The brand has been working for years on multi-timezone watches and it has naturally also made progress in depicting planet Earth. The Recital 198 Shooting Star is a three-dimensional Grand Complication model. A large tourbillon, an offset jumping-hour dial, a five-day power reserve, a 3D moon as visible in both hemispheres, cities indicated on a twin-faced roller (11 on the first and an area to display 12 others, printed on a second roller arranged concentrically inside the first – a very clever idea!); as well as a ‘constant force’ time-setting system capable of coping with inadvertent handling variations. The model displays its true originality when viewed from the side, with a case featuring a pronounced oblique incline running down along the 12 to 6 o’clock axis: meaning from where the indications are concentrated to where the ultra-pure tourbillon is on show. This was a daring design move and the effect is extremely striking on this additional new release that stands out from existing versions and gives a further dynamic boost to worldtime displays.
