Teddy Baldassarre
Watch Complications: A Comprehensive Guide
A watch complication, by definition, is any function offered by a timepiece that is in addition to its primary function of keeping the time. Despite the name, watch complications don't really have to be, well, all that complicated: that date display you glance at before signing a check qualifies as a complication even though it's not nearly as complex and dynamic as, say, the split-seconds chronograph you use to time racing laps or the world-time function you consult before making a call home on an international business trip. Here we run down the major watch complications from the simplest to the most mechanically sophisticated, and provide an example of each. Date Complications: Date Window Probably the most common of “small complications,” this is simply a display of the date via a numbered disk that passes under an aperture in the dial, usually positioned at 3 o’clock, 4:30, or 6 o’clock. Unless the watch is an annual or perpetual calendar, this date will need to be manually adjusted forward at the end of any month shorter than 31 days. Some watches, like the Rolex Submariner, enlarge this display by placing a magnifying lens over the window. Large Date This one also goes by “big date” “grande date,” or “panorama date,’ and is essentially just a larger version of the standard date display, though it usually uses two date disks (one for the tens numeral and the other for the ones) rather than one, and a double window, with each numeral appearing in...
