Wandering hours is a way of showing the time without the usual hands. An hour indicator travels across a curved scale marked in minutes, so one moving number gives both the hour and the minutes. The idea began in a clock made for the Pope in the 1600s and returned in a watch in 1991.
How do wandering hours work?
The watch carries the current hour on a disc. The disc moves slowly across a curved scale marked in minutes. Its position along the scale tells you how many minutes have passed in that hour. The discs are usually mounted on a central rotating cross with three or four arms. As the cross turns, each arm brings its hour across the scale in turn. On a three-arm system the minute scale covers 120 degrees of the dial. On a four-arm system it covers 90 degrees. In Audemars Piguet’s three-disc version, the discs sit on a central rotor that turns once every three hours.
Where it comes from
The Campani brothers are credited with inventing the wandering hour in the 1600s. They built it into a clock made for the Pope. Legend says the request came from Pope Alexander VII, who suffered from insomnia. He reportedly wanted a clock that made no ticking sound and could be read easily at night. In short, the clock had to be quiet and easy to read in the dark.
Who makes wandering hours watches?
Audemars Piguet revived the system in 1991 after months of development. Its Star Wheel of that year is credited as the first watch with the display to be sold. The brand made Star Wheel models until 2003. Urwerk has built its watches around the idea since its first UR-101 models in 1997. It also made a wandering hour watch for Harry Winston, the Opus V of 2005. Parmigiani uses its own version in the Toric Capitole and calls it a sector time display.
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