A ‘complication’ is any function a watch performs beyond telling the time. They range from the everyday to the extraordinary — and understanding them makes collecting far more rewarding.
The everyday
The date is the most common complication, sometimes joined by day, month or a day-night indicator. A chronograph adds a stopwatch; a GMT tracks a second time zone — invaluable for travellers.
The refined
An annual calendar knows the length of each month and needs adjusting just once a year. A perpetual calendar goes further, tracking leap years correctly until 2100. A moonphase, purely poetic, follows the lunar cycle.
The grand
At the summit sit the minute repeater, which chimes the time on demand, and the tourbillon, which counters the effect of gravity on the balance. These are watchmaking as art — and the pieces that define a serious collection.