Round-UpAs The World Turns: Seven Wonderful World-Timer Watches
A complication meant to display not just the time in secondary or multiple time zones, the world timer is meant to facilitate the reading of time in every (major) time zone, at a glance. In a world continuing to grow smaller, this complication has never been more useful. Here are seven timepieces that will show you time across every zone
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In the last year or so, most of us have been confined to our homes, with our entire world on our screens. While Zoom meetings may have become the norm, the need for video conferencing has also opened up a number of opportunities for people to interact like it wouldn’t have occurred to them in the past. Those who couldn’t or wouldn’t be expected to travel for in-person gatherings—for business or pleasure—have been included in sessions that have now become the primary means of meeting one another. And this is across countries, across time zones. Now more than ever, travel is far from being the only reason to keep track of time in different zones. Offices often have rows of wall clocks, each displaying the time in different cities for this very reason, and world clocks on our smartphones give us just that. However, how many devices can give you the time in all 24 major time zones at a glance at any time, without having to tap here and click there? Most world timers in fine watches give us just that. And this is why they are often called the most useful complications in this day and age.
Yes, there are GMT watches as well that allow us to see the time in an additional time zone. Very often, GMT watches also have rotatable bezels that can be moved around to show us more time zones without adjusting or correcting the GMT or UTC hand. However, that’s as much as they are limited to. A world timer, on the other hand, usually displays time across all 24 major time zones, generally by way of a ring featuring names of cities that are representative of each zone. Some might have the time zones indicated for easy reference or a convenient switch, without simultaneously indicating the time in all zones. Some interpretations of the world timer do get a little more creative with their visual presentation, and are appreciated more as expressions of innovation in mechanical watchmaking. However, they still offer value as pieces of haute horlogerie. We present some of the most wonderful world timer watches you can find today.
Girard-Perregaux 1966 WW.TC
The Girard-Perregaux WW.TC series was first launched in 2000, and was instantly recognised as one of the most convenient world timers out there. Short for World-Wide Time Control, the WW.TC was initially a special standalone series that was presented along with a chronograph complication. Subsequently, there were a number of special editions that highlighted special time zones of interest to certain people, such as time zones of major international stock exchanges, or those of shopping districts. The complication and its renditions were such a success that the brand soon introduced it in their other collections. Today, the WW.TC is no longer a collection on its own, but it has become a mainstay in more than one of Girard-Perregaux’s pillars. Its rendition in the 1966 collection—the brand’s line of classical watches—is the most pared-down and easy to use. All you need to do is set the time at the centre to the time in your zone using the crown on the right-hand side, and then use the crown on the left to align your time zone to the 12 o’clock position. That would be between Karachi and Dhaka for us in India. Et voila! You’ll see that the time on the 24-hour ring corresponds to your zone, as do all the other hours on the ring, with all the other cities representing all the other time zones. While the 24-ring has a day-and-night indicator, the only other element of this display is the sub-dial as six o’clock for the running seconds. This watch comes in a very agreeable size of 40mm in steel and it runs on an automatic movement that can be seen through the transparent caseback. Affixed to it is a black leather strap or a steel bracelet.
Breitling Aviator 8 B35 Automatic Unitime 43
Following the codes of aviation timepieces, this Breitling Aviator 8 is apt for the jet-setter in more ways than one. The 24-hour and city rings here are almost reminiscent of the slide-rule bezel on Breitling’s other aviation watch, the Navitimer. However, the large Arabic numeral hour markers make this quite distinctly an Aviator. With its central three-hand timekeeping, the dial also has a date display, which becomes crucial when changing time zones. To do so, one must rotate the city ring in order to bring one’s time zone to the 12 o’clock position. Adjustable via the crown itself, this must be done via the shortest possible rotation, without going back past midnight, which will change the date as well. Once this time setting is done, the am or pm will be clear for one’s own time zone as well, owing to the 24-hour scale, which will also have the time corresponding to the rest of the time zones. In addition to these functions, there’s also a rotatable bezel with a marker that can act as a timer. You can turn the bezel to have the marker meet the hour or minute hand to mark a time for this purpose. The mechanical functions of the watch run on the automatic manufacture calibre B35, which can store an impressive power reserve of 70 hours. It comes encased in 43mm steel that is water-resistant to 100m. The dial is in black with a blue section on the 24-hour ring to indicate daytime hours, or in a steel hue that makes for a monochromatic look with the case and bracelet. The black dial version also comes with a black leather strap.
Frederique Constant Highlife Worldtimer
The Worldtimer was added to Frederique Constant’s Highlife collection of steel sport watches in 2021. Known for integrated straps, this fairly new collection was not the first to feature the Worldtimer complication of the brand. Their world-timer calibre FC-718 was earlier seen in their Classics Worldtimer Manufacture watches, which have been bestsellers. Here, the world-time feature is presented aptly on a dial that has a motif of the Earth’s latitudes and longitudes. With three central hands for the local time zone, there’s also an analogue date display towards six o’clock. Around all this is a 24-hour ring presenting 24 cities representative of the main time zones of the world. Once the local time is set at the centre, the city representing this time should be brought to the 12 o’clock position, which is also aligned with the time on the 24-hour ring that you see at the centre. All other zones will also be correctly aligned with their correct times on the 24-hour ring—featuring light and dark sections, approximately indicating daytime and night time. The biggest highlight is that the Frederique Constant in-house calibre FC-718 allows for everything to be adjustable by just the one time-setting crown. While the first version of the Highlife Worldtimer featured a blue dial, the watch was subsequently released in green as well. Each variant comes in a 41mm steel case, integrated with a steel bracelet. You can easily interchange this bracelet with extra complimentary straps—including rubber—that these watches come with.
Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Worldtimer
With Omega, using the world-timer complication has been flipped around a little. Instead of moving the city ring, which corresponds to the 24 main time zones of the world, it’s the 24-hour ring that needs to be brought to the city. So if you want to track time in London—where it’s, let’s say, 9:00pm—you’ll need to use the time-setting crown at three o’clock to rotate the 24-hour ring, and bring 2100h to London. This already then positions all the zones aligned with their correct time. And you can also separately adjust the central timekeeping hands to have them tell your local time. An interesting little indication here is the different colouring of the zone cities. London in red, of course, represents UTC or GMT, while the cities in white are those zones for which you have to add an hour in the summer, to account for daylight saving time. The ones in blue represent zones for which no such correction is required. While these colours are primarily seen in the steel editions, with blue dials, the colouring is slightly different on the largely white dial of the version in Sedna gold—Omega’s proprietary 18-karat gold alloy. The dials themselves present a teak-plank pattern that represents ship decks—a trait of the Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra Worldtimer Watch as a whole. However, here, they’re aptly curved to look like longitudes, which literally define time zones. Within this part is the 24-hour ring in hesalite crystal, coloured for an approximate indication of daytime and night time around the world. And within this ring is the pièce de résistance, which showcases the fine craftsmanship of Omega. It depicts the Earth’s map, engraved on a grade-5 titanium plate, to mimic the terrain of the land, while the ocean parts are laser-ablated. This creates relief and contrast, and looks absolutely splendid. All this comes in a 43mm case, water-resistant to 150m. It also houses Omega’s Master Chronometer calibre 8938 or 8939, each offering a power reserve of 60 hours.
Rado Captain Cook Over-Pole World Time
In 2022, Rado watches have revived an old world-timer of theirs from 1962, called the Over-Pole. The modern-day rendition features updates such as more refined finishing, more attention to the details, an exhibition caseback, and a very modern gradient-coloured dial that goes from silver in the centre to grey around the periphery. The three-hand timekeeping and date at three o’clock run on the manual-winding calibre R862, which offers a significant 80-hour power reserve. It’s all very compact in a 37mm steel case, water-resistant to 100m. However, the hero of the watch is definitely the world-time function, which might be the easiest world-timer to use. It has a 24-hour scale, and a bidirectional-rotating world-time bezel corresponding to the 24-hour scale. You only need to set your home time on the central hands, and rotate the bezel so as to bring your zone to the set home time on the 24-hour scale. All zones then align with their correct times. And for us in India, the best part is that it comes with Mumbai on the bezel, along with the half-hour points on the 24-hour scale, which makes this directly relevant to us. With this watch, we don’t have to count 30 minutes ahead of Karachi or 30 minutes behind Dhaka. This wonderful new revival is limited to 1,962 pieces.
Arnold & Son Globetrotter
The Arnold & Son Globetrotter is a perfect example of a world timer that is more of an artistic interpretation of the complication. That’s not to say that this watch doesn’t tell the time at all the major zones. Instead of a ring of cities though, seen here is a depiction of the world, quite literally, in the form of a section of the globe. The centerpiece of Arnold & Son Globetrotter Collection is this terrestrial dome that shows the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth. Made from a rounded piece of brass, the dome is etched upon with chemicals, forming the layers that depict the oceans and the continents. With the upper surfaces polished, the mountainous regions of the continents are sandblasted for visual depth, while the oceans are lacquered to give them that fluid look. With translucent lacquer all over it, the dome is finally polished. Holding it together is the bridge that goes all across the dial.
It’s pretty as a picture, and a fascinating rendition of world time, especially considering that this is still a functioning display, with a 24-hour ring that corresponds to various time zones on the globe. Even if you’re very good with geography, it might not be all that easy to pin point the time zone that you might be looking for. So you might say that it’s more of a statement piece. Still, it’s a brand bestseller, so people surely like the statement it makes. The Globetrotter comes in two versions—one depicting daytime and a darker Night edition. The updated versions released in 2021—in steel and in gold—have a sleeker design, slimmer central bridge across the face, holding the globe, full blue dials, and various other upgades. Sized at 45mm, each version is housed in a case water-resistant to 30m, and runs on the automatic calibre A&S6022 that offers a power reserve of 45 hours.
Bremont ALT1 WT-Blue
As part of Bremont’s partnership with the Williams Racing Formula One team, this watch combines a chronograph with a world timer, the former being a complication most closely associated with motor racing. Interestingly, Bremont, who have close ties with the field of aviation, have some experience in creating world timers. These British watchmakers were once commissioned to produce a unique global timer chronometer for the crew of a military C-17 Globemaster—a Boeing aircraft that is able to airlift cargo close to a battle area. A successor of the world timer they created thereafter for the civilian market is this Bremont ALT1 WT-Blue Watch. The functionality here is more of a regular GMT watch with a rotatable 24-hour scale on the inner rotating bezel—adjustable via the crown at eight o’clock—and a central GMT or UTC hand. However, the marking of the 24 major time zones elevates its functionality, as a quick reference point for the time difference that you might need to consider while switching to the secondary time zone. It can get confusing though to have the UTC hand pointing at not just the hour, but also at a time zone, so using this watch can take some getting used to. On the dial, you’ll also see the date display at three o’clock, and the 30-minute and 12-hour chronograph counters, and the small seconds sub-dial, at 12, six and nine, respectively. The movement running this piece is an automatic COSC-certified chronometer calibre. Fitted to the 43mm steel case, water-resistant to 100m, is a steel bracelet.
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Girard-Perregaux 1966
49557-11-132-BB6C
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Girard-Perregaux 1966
49557-11-132-11A
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Breitling Navitimer
AB3521U41B1P1
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Breitling Navitimer
AB3521U41B1A1
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Breitling Navitimer
AB3521U01G1A1
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Frederique Constant Highlife
FC-718N4NH6B
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Frederique Constant Highlife
FC-718GR4NH6B
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Omega Seamaster
220.10.43.22.03.001
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Omega Seamaster
220.12.43.22.03.001
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Omega Seamaster
220.53.43.22.02.001
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Arnold & Son Globetrotter
1.WTAS.S01C.C155A
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Arnold & Son Globetrotter
1WTAS.B01A.C121S
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Arnold & Son Globetrotter
1WTAR.U01C.C153A
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Bremont Altitude
ALT1-WT-BL-B
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