7 watches that are beyond three hands and a dial – from Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin to Longines and Parmigiani Fleurier – plus a 1970s’ throwback … it’s digital
- Look, no hands! Saint Laurent’s collab with Girard-Perregaux brings back the spirit of the 70s with the Rive Droite Casquette 2.0 digital watch – press a button to get the time in a red LED display
- Jumping hours, TV-shaped cases and retrograde minute arches have been hallmarks of Hautlence – its Sphere Series 1 adds a ball jutting out from the display
As watch buyers become more sophisticated, so has visibility and demand for pieces that give you the time in new and unexpected ways. After all, why settle for three hands rotating around a circular dial? Here are some of our favourite pieces with complications like the retrograde where hands snap back to reality, or where time literally jumps back and forth with wandering or jumping hours. Some have alternative calendars, and there is – yes – a high horology, high fashion digital watch.
1. Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface
A retrograde is an indication where the hand makes only a part, instead of a full, revolution of a dial before it jumps back to the starting point. A pioneer in the field, Vacheron Constantin has made watches with such indications for a century and its latest Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface sees the hand following an arch spanning 9 o’clock to 3 o’clock.
2. Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Starwheel
There’s also an arch in the Code 11.59by Audemars Piguet Starwheel. This is a reintroduction of the 1990s Starwheel Wandering Hours complication inspired by 17th-century clocks. The hours appear on three circulating and rotating discs, with the current hour shown at the top of the watch at the correct angle, and a discreet arrow showing minutes along the top of the dial.
3. Hautlence Sphere Series 1
Ever since its inception in 2004, jumping hours, TV-shaped cases and retrograde minute arches have been hallmarks of Hautlence. With the Sphere Series 1, another dimension is added – literally – thanks to the jumping hours being located on a ball jutting out from the display.