A compass is a complication that shows the cardinal directions, so the wearer can find their way and orient themselves. On a watch it can be a bezel used with the hour hand and the sun. It can also take the form of an electronic compass sensor.
How does a compass bezel work?
A typical compass bezel carries the four cardinal direction markers. It is kept sparse so it stays easy to read. To use it, hold the watch level and point the hour hand at the sun. Then turn the bezel. In the Northern Hemisphere, the south marker goes halfway between the hour hand and 12 o’clock. The bezel then gives a fair idea of direction. Seiko says its compass bezel works only where the sun can be seen, or where its position is known. The method has limits in some places too. Between the tropics, at low latitudes, it can give wrong bearings at some times of year.
How is a digital compass different?
Casio’s digital compass works differently from a sun-based bezel. It reads magnetic north and south, and shows the direction with an arrow on the screen. Casio began making a range of multi-function watches with digital compasses in the early 1990s. Its CPW-100 of 1993 was among the brand’s first watches with an electronic compass sensor. The ATC-1100 followed in 1994. It was Casio’s first triple-sensor watch.
What was the IWC Compass Watch?
The IWC Porsche Design Compass Watch came out in 1978. It is described as a pioneering piece that joined industrial design with watchmaking. Its designer was Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, who designed the Porsche 911 and founded Porsche Design. The watch paired a magnetic compass with an automatic movement. That raised a problem, because the movement could disturb the compass. IWC’s solution was to fit ruby balls in the rotor instead of ordinary ball bearings.
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