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Your Favorite Complications? Most Useful?


stang

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I'm curious what are everyone's favorite complications are and why? Also, what do you think the most useful complications are? Finally, what are your favorite watch features (WR, bezels, casebacks, lights, straps, etc).

My personal favorites are the chronographs ... probably because they look *SO* cool (to be perfectly honest). As far as utility, admittedly, they aren't very practical for everyday use. Ironically, I actually do use my chrono since I'm a scientist and often have to time various events.

Of the various "complications" I've owned, the alarms were probably the most useful and utilized most often. I think perpetual calenders are extremely useful on a daily basis as well (though I've never owned one myself).

As for features, I insist on a very water resistant watch for sports activities. I prefer diver models because of the W.R. and the timing bezel (which I find useful for timing in general). A dream watch would have tritium illumination or Superluminova as a 2nd choice. I also like the look of polished steel w/ perhaps a bit of gold-plated "bling".

BTW, if I ever do spend $2000 on a watch, it will probably be the Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Chronograph. A toughness engineering masterpiece. ETA 7750, 7500g shock resistant, 12,000 A/m antimagnetic, 300M water res, -40oC temp range & 30 Tritium GTLS. Soooo Coooolll!!

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Chrono with day date like in IWC GST is my daily choice. I use the chrono to time various things such as when to collect my laundry, etc... The day date is important as these are basic necessities to keep myself aware of time.

I am spoiled by sweeping second hands too... So most quartz watches just don't make a cut anymore. The watch should be at least has 28,800 bph to ensure smooth sweeping second :p

Hell... even my desk clock are mechanical 8 days clock.

Talking about complications, adding at least 7 days power reserve, a GMT hand, alarm, perpetual calendar and moonphase won't do any harm too...

Sonerie is not yet my type (maybe wait till I'm in my 40s or 50s).

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Hmmmm,

Very interesting. Seems like the minute repeater takes the most votes. In response to jdkno's question, I believe a minute repeater is a watch which "chimes" out the current time whenever a button/lever is activated. First, the # of hours is chimed, then the 1/4 hour (i.e. 0-14 min = 1st qtr, 15-29 min = 2nd qtr, etc.) and finally the # minutes past the 1/4 hour. So, basically three sets of chimes in a row (w/ pauses in between or different tones I suppose). If I got this wrong, please correct me.

I believe the minute repeater was an early attempt to tell the time in the dark (before radium, tritium, superluminova, etc). Now it's basically a very fancy, very complicated, very cool type of movement.

I'm curious if there are any replicas w/ minute repeater capability. I know I've seen some tourbillons and some perpetual calenders (quartz probably) as reps, but not any MRs.

As for the GMT, I like the way you can use it as a compass. Actually, you can use any watch as a compass by mental calculation of where the GMT hand *would be* if the watch had one ... but it's not a quick thought.

I think my next watch will be a perpetual calender (w/ day, date, month, year, LY) + alarm in a "diver" version. If I can find one that is. Thanks for the feedback!

Jeff

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Might sound like an idiot here but what is a minute repeater?

A minute repeater is a mechanical watch that uses a series of chimes to announce the time of day when a button is pushed. Quote from wikipedia

" The minute repeater works like the quarter-repeater. The main difference is that the minutes that have passed after the last quarter are struck rapidly with the help of a high-tone bell. If, for example, the time is 11:58 then the minute repeater will signal 11 low tones followed by 3 series of high-and-low tones and 13 fast high tones."

Obviously, a complication left over from before luminous hands and hour markers.

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