Complications in watches!!!

CoVriGoooU

Active member
Lemme leave this here, pls!


I’ll try to be laconic here, but I’d like to leave this “dictionary“ for the moment when I or you get confused with the watch terminology. The point is that I remember myself when I first entered the replica hobby, the WATCH hobby, to be more specific. I was such an idiot with the whole terminology and complications. Complications were the most complicated part for me to remember. And I think many newbies might be as confused as I was last the beginning. So, to not search for a complication term on the internet each time you find it here in the forum, know that the dictionary will be available here!! Maybe you find it accessible and easy to use and to make everything clear when you don’t understand one or another watch function.
Also, add any other complication, and its description (with NORMAL AND USUAL WORDS, PLS, avoiding high literature here) if you think I must have omitted it. Let the newbies have the clearest explanation just right here.

So, a watch complication is nothing else than any feature integrated into the timepiece that tells something more than just the time, you probably know that.

Moon phase: probably the most loved and wanted complication in watches. And one of the most expensive, by the way. It is as beautiful as complex, from technical point of view; that’s why it’s expensive. It displays a 29 days lunar cycle, plus 12 hours plus 44 min plus 3 secs. So a full cycle from new to another new full moon. So, what you actually see in your watch is the phase of the moon, be it a full, or a quarter, or a half. At this point, NOT ALL THE REPS HAVE A FUNCIONAL MOON PHASE FUNCTION. So, be careful when you buy a rep. You can pay for a functional one, but get an unfunctional one, or as I also call it- a frozen function;

Time zone: this function is mostly specific for aviation watches, but not exclusive to those. Travelers are usually those whom pt for these watches mostly, as they need a tool to adjust according to the new city or town they arrive in. Such watches are usually referred to as GMT pieces. So, when you see such an abbreviation, you should know which is its relevance. Currently, GMT replica watches are as functional as their genuine counterparts. Also, you will need to know how to use such a watch, and how to set it, to be clearer. There’s a lot of info on the internet to show how to do that correctly.

Minute repeater: it took a lot of time for me to understand what’s the purpose of this complication. Finally, I realized it’s a very specific feature; you either get it for fun, or get it because you have a very specific job or activity to perform and need such a tool. Either way, a minute repeater is a function that strikes out hours or minutes, based on your need.
It’s a pretty complicated feature, so not everyone is ready to pay some extra cash for a gen watch with such a feature. As for the reps, I can’t recall having met a rep with a functional minute repeater system. The system is too intricate for the replica manufacturers to reproduce it.

Tourbillon: a pretty frequent complication among both gens and reps. In fact, some call it a complication, and other call it a type of watch. Tourbillons refers to mechanical watches exclusively. This system allows the whole watch mechanism to constantly move and provide an exact time indication. As a result, regardless of the position of the mechanical watch, the watch will show correct timing, excluding the time fluctuations specific for other types of mechanical watches. As you know, for a usual mechanical watch to show correct timing, it needs to be in constant move. Otherwise, you’ll have to correct it by winding and resetting the time. With tourbillons, this issue is canceled by default. Of course, physics can explain much better the specifics of the mechanism. But, the essence sounds like that, more or less;

Date: easy-peasy here. You know what the date function is. Many don’t consider it as a complication, as there is nothing complicated to showing the date. But, in fact, it IS a complication showing exactly what it is supposed to show: the date of the month;

Day: will not get deep here. The day is an additional window to the date one (or separately placed), meant to show the day of the week by the week days main letters. M-is for Monday, T-Tuesday, etc.., Some watches have more expanded abbreviations like Mon for Monday. Choose the one you most like. All replica watches have these functions working. I never met a rep with a frozen date/day complication;

Chronograph:
Also, a highly sought-after complication among seasoned watch enthusiasts. In simplistic terms, an owner of such a watch is easily able to measure certain time intervals without interfering with the normal time-telling function of the timepiece. There are different types of Chronographs, from what I know: the standard one, with 1-2 pushers; flyback chronographs, and ratrapante chronographs. I don’t think it’s the case to go into details with the specifics of these types, but on the whole, the standard one is the most common, at least in the replica industry.


Power reserve: also a feature addressed to mechanical watches. It’s unlikely to see it in mechanical :D
Mechanical watches have a limited amount of power reserve once you wind them fully. The average standard is about 36 and 46 hours. So, the complication is actually the open display showing you how much power there is left until you need to wind the watch again. Also, like the chronographs, there are different types of power reserve indicators like aperture, linear, +/- or pie version.

Most of replica watches featuring this complication have it frozen, actually. At least, all of those that I have ever met. I really don’t recall having seen any single functional complication in reps. It is placed there just for beauty. Or, maybe there exist, but I have somewhat missed them. So, let me know, I’m curious to explore such a rep watch.

Here they are, the most commonly met. Sorry for the long post, but it's better to have them here than surf endlessly on the net to find their meaning.
Hope it's worth for u😉
 

Twirejj4279

Well-known member
good but incomplete, with all due respect)))

I’d also add the Calendar types, which is also a pretty appreciated complication In Watches, and lots of collectors want them IN their watches.
Triple calendar- is actually a combination between the day, date, and month all in one, set in a specific arrangement of apertures. This one can come with or without the moon phase complication that you mentioned.

Annual calendar- is more complex than the previous one and is actually set to be adjusted once a year. It’s pretty amazing to see how it self-adjusts to the 30 and 31 dates of the months, and only for the February-the wearer has to adjust it manually, depending on the leap year.

Perpetual calendar-the most complex of all three options. It has a sort of mechanical memory and is able to display the right time, date, month, etc for many years to come. It also considers the leap years without you to adjust anything and is precise as much as a hundred years in advance (or something like that). Such watches are made one by true House Horlogerie representatives like Patek Philippe
 

chip&dale

Active member
I never could understand HOW is it possible to create calendars for 100 years in advance, considering the leap year!!!! especially, it's amazing how Patek and other big names integrate such constructions into tiny pieces looking fabulous... that's why I love haute horlogerie!
 

ArnoldTHEgreat

Well-known member
I remember myself looking like an idiot at these terms when I first begun getting interested about watch hobby. Wish this piece of info was available some tens of years ago)
the chronograph function is the most adored by me in watches. I like also the perpetual calendars but only in genuine watches. In all the reps I saw, the perpetual calendar looks unnatural, just like a child has painted the function on the dial. so I n ever got a rep with that function. perhaps, no rep factory achieved an acceptable imitation in that regard. or at least, I didn't meet one yet
 

RoyaInk

Well-known member
where was this post a few years ago? 😂😂😂
It was so hard for me to understand all the complications in the watches and I couldn't perceive the purpose of each of them 😂😂😂😂

thanks for the refreshing info!!
 
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