In the worldtimer category there are two possible approaches, visually speaking. The first displays all the time zones simultaneously. This demands a certain spirit of inquiry, and you need to know where to look. The other, rarer variation, has the same universal capabilities but focuses on one city and one time zone in particular. The difference in the two lies in the dial, which in the former case is busy with indications, and in the latter, has a window that zooms in on a small slice of information.
The idea underpinning the second approach is that we aren’t all men of the world – in the jet-setting sense (and, needless to say, in terms of moral ambivalence!) Most jobs, and most family situations, require us to keep an eye on just one different time zone, in one other city – the city where the branch office, headquarters, or absent relative is located. The second time zone is a place with which we have an intimate connection. It’s the place we travel to more than any other. This dimension of practical travel, of a well-trodden path, has no parallels in the watch industry, except where Breguet is concerned.
Breguet has designed a watch that facilitates travel between two points on the globe, and two time zones. Hora Mundi is its name, and the brand has just launched a new iteration. The reference 5727 has a pusher at 7 o’clock. Once unscrewed, it adjusts the reference city for the second time zone, displayed at 6 o’clock, and the corresponding time, at 12. When the pusher is pressed, the local time, shown in the centre, and the second time displayed in the windows are switched, making it possible to pass instantaneously and automatically from one place to another, at will. The calibre 77F0 that governs this function is unique in its ability to add an intelligent and practical element to the traditional universal hour complication. The most surprising thing is that there’s nothing on the Breguet website (or even in the watch’s operating manual) that really draws attention to the secret of this watch.
The other good news is that this watch is now also more discreet. The Hora Mundi 5717, which was launched in 2011, had a colourful dial sporting an engraved world map centred on Europe, Asia or the Americas as desired. The dial of the latest generation, ref. 5727, features a variety of guilloché motifs, the most prominent of which is Clous de Paris. The day/night indicator at 3 o’clock has exchanged the symbolic engraved sun and moon of previous models for a simple hand. All this gives the watch a pleasing air of understatement, further enhanced by the unassuming universal hour apertures. Elegance and intelligence combined. What could be more appealing?
