A grand complication is a watch that brings together several complications in one piece, rather than just one or two. Grand complications are usually the most costly watches a brand sells.
What counts as a grand complication?
There is no official definition. A common test asks for at least one visible timing function, one astronomical function and one striking function. A similar definition sorts complications into three groups, visual, astronomical and acoustic, and takes at least one from each. A looser test simply asks for three or more complications. These might include a perpetual calendar, a tourbillon, a minute repeater or an equation of time. Brands also set their own rules. Audemars Piguet, for example, requires a minute repeater, among other functions.
Where it comes from
Complicated and even ultra-complicated watches were already appearing in the 16th century. Breguet’s Pocket Watch No. 160, a single piece, brought together 23 complications. It was not finished until 1827. At Patek Philippe, the earliest known grand complication is the Palmer pocket watch. Both the Breguet and the Palmer were pocket watches, not wristwatches.
How many complications can one watch hold?
The Supercomplication that Patek Philippe delivered to Henry Graves Jr. in 1933 has 24 complications. That is one more than Breguet’s No. 160. Patek Philippe’s Calibre 89 has more again. It has 33 complications and is made of 1,728 parts. A typical grand complication pairs a split-seconds flyback chronograph with a perpetual calendar.
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