Watches offer all types of features and enhancements to their mechanical movements. Each additional feature of a watch, beyond telling time, is known as a complication. Every complication requires expert levels of skill and craftsmanship from the watchmaker. Watches with multiple complications have become highly desired among collectors. As a reference we are listing some of the complications (features) that can be added to a watch:
PERPETUAL CALENDAR
Calendar indications can display the date, weekday and month, but they need resetting at the start of certain months. A perpetual calendar has been built to account for short months and leap years. It will automatically adjust to the first day of the new month, no matter whether the last month had 28, 29, 30 or 31 days.
MINUTE REPEATING
A watch that acoustically strikes the hours, quarters and minutes. often activated either by a sliding piece or push button in the band, it acoustically indicates the correct time by means of hammer(s) striking one or several gongs.
TOURBILLON
The tourbillon was invented by A. L. breguet in 1801 to eliminate errors of rate due to gravity distorting the clockwork more in one direction than any other – as watches on the wrist tend to spend most of the time with either 12 or 3 pointing downwards. A tourbillon is a cage that carries all the parts of the escapement. The cage rotates once per minute around its centre, annulling errors of rate in the vertical positions.
CHRONOGRAPH
A timepiece allowing its wearer to measure time intervals without influencing or pausing the main time indication. Usually, a chronograph is activated with a button and stopped with the same button or another. most commonly, chronographs measuring the seconds are mounted in the centre of the dial. In order to register time intervals with duration over 1 minute, chronographs are also often equipped with minute and hour registers.
SPLIT-SECOND CHRONOGRAPH
A chronograph allowing its wearer to simultaneously measure several different events that start at the same time using an additional, superimposed, second hand. Pressing the split-second button stops the lower hand, while the upper hand continues to rotate around the dial. After taking a reading from the paused hand, pressing the button again snaps this “rattrapante” hand (rattraper = to catch up) back to join the upper hand. This can be repeated indefinitely. After the last measurement the two hands can be stopped together and returned to zero.
POWER RESERVE INDICATION
This provides a visual indication of the remaining energy in the main spring, constantly informing its wearer of the available power, and ensuring that they can re-wind the watch in good time.
The Most Complicated Watches in History
Pocket Watches
Watch manufacturer Patek Philippe claims the three most complicated watches in the world are all pocket watches made by them.
The Patek Philippe Calibre 89 has 33 complications, using a total of 1728 parts. It was released in 1989 commemorating the 150th anniversary of Patek Philippe. The complications include the date of Easter, sidereal time, and a 2800-star celestial chart.
The Super-complication built for Henry Graves, Jr. in 1933 has 24 complications. The watch was reportedly the result of a watch race between Graves and automobile manufacturer James Ward Packard. The Super-complication took three years to design and five to build, and includes a star chart of the nighttime sky at Graves' home in New York. When it was auctioned off for USD $11-million in 1999 it was the world's most expensive watch.
The Star Caliber 2000 has 21 complications. They include sunrise and sunset times and the lunar orbit, and it is capable of playing the melody of Westminster quarters (from the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament in London).
Wristwatch
The Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4 is the world's most complicated wristwatch. It has 36 complications, 25 of them visible, 1483 components, 99 Jewels and 1000-year calendar.
The Hybris Mechanica Grande Sonnerie is the world's second most complicated wristwatch. Powered by the Jaeger LeCoultre Calibre 182 movement, with 27 complications and over 1300 parts. The movement is housed in a 44mm by 15mm 18k white gold case
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