As you flock to warmer climes for the winter, a world-time watch will keep you on time — no matter where you go.
Planning to travel the world? Or at least to a destination not in your time zone? You could reach for a dual- or triple-time-zone watch, or you could opt for a world-time machine, which will tell you the time in any of the key 24 zones around the globe with a simple glance at your wrist.
Generally, surrounding the watch dial, a world-time watch boasts an internal bezel displaying the zones. It also features a 24-hour ring that tracks day and night in each zone. World-timers are among the most complex watches depending on the movement inside, the way it tracks time, and how it enables its user to set the watch. Often adorned with a map, world-time watches are not only alluring to look at, they will also keep you on time while you’re jet-setting or making business calls around the world.
A. Lange & Söhne – $57,800
German watch brand A. Lange & Söhne has mastered the art of world-time watches with a clean and sophisticated design typical of the brand’s Bauhaus style. The 41.9-millimeter Lange 1 Time Zone is crafted in 18-karat pink gold and powered by a manually wound movement with 72 hours of power reserve. It is fitted with a sapphire case back, revealing a magnificently finished movement.
IWC Schaffhausen – $17,400
One of the most user-friendly world-timers on the market, the Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Top Gun Ceratanium houses a patented system for indicating global time. The brand’s proprietary automatic self-winding movement (caliber 82760) powers the 46-millimeter timepiece, which features complex Pellaton winding and 60 hours of power reserve, one of the highest for world-timers). Just 500 pieces will be made annually due to the complexity of the watch.
Montblanc – $7,000
The newest version of the Montblanc Star Legacy Orbis Terrarum clocks in at 43 millimeters. It’s stainless steel with a black-and-gray dial that boasts a rose-colored map of the continents in the center with gold-accented meridians. The multilevel dial provides depth and dimension. It is powered by an automatic movement with a Manufacture world-time complication and has 42 hours of power reserve.
This article appeared in our February 2023 issue.