The World Time Complication
By its very nature, the world time or heure universelle complication is one imbued in the romance of travel and adventure in varied, exciting locations. Invented in the 1930s watchmaker Louis Cottier, a world time displays real time in key cities across the planet’s twenty-four time zones. Cottier’s ingenious mechanism - adopted by Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe amongst others – has laid the foundation for world time watches ever since. In 1959, Patek Philippe obtained a patent for Cottier's device, with the manufacture having since become well-known for their World Time watches.
This Heure Universelle clock, produced by Arthur IMHOF SA in La Chaux-de-Fonds, builds on the established tradition of world time pieces. Founded in 1924, Arthur IMHOF SA was known for the manufacture of elegant desk and table clocks during the mid-20th century. An advertisement from an Italian magazine from the ‘50s, describes the brand as a maker of “pendulettes d’art”, which roughly translates to "artistic table clocks".
A Distinctive Design
With world timers usually rendered in blue, this IMHOF Worldtime is especially distinctive thanks to its black and gold aesthetics. The large mineral crystal covering the dial remains clear, allowing the details of the map to shine through. Whilst the ocean of the map is rendered in silver, which subtly complements the general aesthetic of the piece, the continents are exhibited in contrasting, brushed gold, with the black lettering and outlining remaining satisfyingly crisp and highly legible.
The matte-black outer ring features applied golden-toned numerals, which have lightly oxidised over time, bringing warmth and a distinctly vintage feel to the piece. Additionally, there are “IMHOF SWISS” and "U.S. PATENT" signatures placed unobtrusively beside the six o’clock marker.
The World Time Approach
For their interpretation of the World Time Clock, IMHOF chose to focus the movement and visual representation on the South Pole, whereas most other systems tend to focus on the North Pole. Holding both Swiss and American patents for this approach, this simple modification allows for instantaneous reading of the time, without the need for a special mechanism or correction.
The dial consists of a rotating central GMT disc on which the four continents and their respective twenty-four time zones are represented. This central disc makes a full rotation every twelve hours, and has a small arrow as an hour hand that can be set according to your preferred timezone. A second mobile dial indicates the respective time of each region, making one rotation every twenty-four hours, letting one know whether it is day or night in a specific location. The 15-jewel movement features an eight-day power reserve.
It should be noted that the mechanism should be delicately handled, as the central disc with the twenty-four time zones can only be set when the hands and outer ring are both set to twelve o’clock. Mishandling it can cause damage to the mechanism.
If sold within the United Kingdom, this IMHOF World Time Clock will be subject to 20% VAT.
