“Complications” Are Good When It Comes to Watches
Generally, we don't like complications. Whether we're dealing with work, school, family, or some other aspect of our lives, we usually want as few complications as possible. But when we're talking about watches, “complications” means extra features of the watch, beyond the basic ability to keep track of hours, minutes, and seconds. These days, watches can have all sorts of complications, which of course make them more attractive to buyers, depending on what features will assist them in their daily lives. Here's a list of some of the most common and most popular complications on watches. Date – Adding the date to the face of a watch is the simplest of complications. The date can be displayed in a number of ways; one of the most popular is in a little window (sometimes called an “aperture”) that shows the digit for the current day of the month. Sometimes dates are actually marked around the outside of the watch, and an extra pointer hand moves very slowly around the face, pointing
to the correct marking each day; this is known as a “bankers' calendar”. The date can also be displayed on a small subdial, or circular section on the watch face with its own little pointer hand. Regardless of how the date is displayed, the watch will usually have to be adjusted using a crown, or small knob on the side of the watch, at the end of months that have fewer than thirty-one days. Some watches display either the day of the week, the current month, the year, or a combination thereof, using various combinations of apertures and subdials and sometimes a bankers' calendar. The rarest and most expensive date complications are the perpetual calendar and the equation of time. The perpetual calendar displays the day, date, month, and year and self-corrects for months of different lengths, including Leap Year (although it will need to be corrected by hand in 2100 when there will not be a Leap Year). The equation of time is a perpetual calendar that also keeps track, in minutes, of the disparity between the “calendar time” we use and actual “solar time.” Chronograph – A chronograph is a stopwatch function, used for measuring short lengths of time. The term is often confused with the similar-sounding “chronometer,” which is not a watch complication at all, but rather a watch that is certified to be exceptionally precise. Chronographs are usually displayed as a subdial on a watch face, and they function in slightly different ways depending on whether they are controlled by one, two, or three buttons. Some very advanced watches also have a tachymeter, an instrument for measuring speed that is usually used in conjunction with a chronograph. Tachymeters units per hour, usually miles or kilometers. Dual Time Zone – Some watches actually have a second movement, or power mechanism, that powers a second clock, and this is not actually considered a complication. But if a watch has one movement that powers two or more different clocks, this is considered a dual time zone complication. Many watches have a subdial that displays the time in a second time zone (chosen and set by the wearer), and some have more than one subdial to cover additional extra time zones. Occasionally, an extra time zone may be marked on a watch face by a second hour hand, rather than a subdial; this represents a fundamental change in the mechanics of the watch. Rarely, one will encounter a world time zone watch, which uses two bezels, or rings around the face, to keep track of the time in a major city in each of the twenty-four time zones. There are many other complications that can be included on a watch, such as moonphase, an indication of how much power is left in the mainspring, and an alarm, just to name a few. At Copeland Jewelers, your source for Austin, Texas, watches, we love to talk about everything that has to do with watches, complications included. Come in today to see our excellent selection and discuss watch complications with us!