Never be late for any appointment, anywhere in the world, with these worldtime watches

The beauty of horology is that it reminds us of just how inconvenient life was before modern technology, and how ingenious people were in solving basic problems like telling the time in the dark (minute repeaters) and timing horse races (chronographs). And when international travel and global communication took off in the early 20th century, the world needed a way to track time across borders. In 1931, Swiss watchmaker Louis Cottier devised the solution: The first worldtime watch.

Worldtimers display the time in major cities (usually 24) simultaneously, using a city ring and a 24-hour scale. Once you’ve set the local time and aligned your city of choice to the 12 o’clock position, the rotating 24-hour ring automatically adjusts to reflect the correct hour in every other zone. As time passes, the ring rotates accordingly, keeping everything in sync. Many modern worldtimers also feature a pusher that advances both the hour hand and the city ring together for greater convenience.

Worldtime watches, with their need for precise synchronisation of many moving parts, are obviously challenging to assemble, but some have gone above and beyond. Vacheron Constantin was the first to release a worldtimer to display all 37 time zones (which means those with half- and quarter-hour offsets like in India and Iran are included) in its Patrimony Traditionelle World Time in 2011. While that reference has been discontinued, its know-how lives on in the Overseas World Time.

More recently, the Bovet Recital 28 Prowess 1 became the first to solve the issue of Daylight Savings Time (DST) by using 24 rollers (one for each time zone), each with four positions to reflect DST changes. It rightfully earned the Mechanical Exception Prize at 2024’s Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve (GPHG).

Practical and pretty, worldtimers have a lot to offer the cosmopolitan collector. Here, the latest releases designed to keep you on time, anywhere on Earth.

JAEGER-LECOULTRE REVERSO TRIBUTE GEOGRAPHIC

For a collection that’s been around for nearly a century, the Reverso has evolved considerably. To mark its 95th anniversary, Jaeger-LeCoultre has released a slew of new takes on its iconic flippable watch, including the Reverso Tribute Geographic. Not to be confused with the Reverso Geographique from 1998, which was a dual-time watch that bears very little resemblance to contemporary Reveros, this is a full-fledged worldtimer.

As in many Reverso watches, the front dial of the Reverso Tribute Geographic keeps things classic, offering a crisp view of the time and outsized date, the latter equipped with a patented 2021 mechanism that allows both date discs to sit flush on the same plane. (Watchmaking at this level is about fine-tuning details you never knew you cared about until they’re improved.)

The visual drama, as is often the case for complicated Reversos, is on the other side. A laser-ablated world map, complete with engraved meridian lines and 141 tiny hollows filled with lacquer to represent the oceans, takes centre stage. Encircling the map is a 24-hour ring followed by a fixed ring of engraved city names. Most worldtimers rotate the city ring, but the Reverso Tribute Geographic instead lets you jump the 24-hour disc forward by one-hour increments using a hidden pusher at the top of the case.

Available in stainless steel or as a 150-piece limited edition in 18k pink gold, both versions measure a substantial 49.4mm by 29.9mm — the same size as the Reverso Tribute Chronograph — which should aid reading of the tiny city names. Inside is the new hand-wound Calibre 834, running at 4Hz with a 42-hour power reserve. Each watch comes with two interchangeable straps by Casa Fagliano, the Argentine bootmaker and longtime Reverso strap collaborator.

MING 29.01 MIDNIGHT

The arrival of the all-black Ming 29.01 Midnight, successor to the titanium original from two years ago, perhaps signals to the current mood of the zeitgeist: Sombre, quiet, and craving more simplicity. But whatever the impetus behind the Midnight, it sure looks good.

The case remains 40mm by 11.8mm in grade 5 titanium but now comes dressed in a sleek black DLC coating to match the brooding dial. Beneath the surface, a rotating metallic 24-hour disc forms the base layer, while city names are printed across two additional sapphire layers, giving the dial a lightness and depth that belies its stealthy aesthetic. It’s almost monochrome by day, but by night, the watch glows to life, its hands and all dial markings (except the 24-hour scale) filled with HyCeram and Super-LumiNova X1.

Equally stunning is the Ming-exclusive Schwarz-Etienne calibre ASE222. It features a bi-directional micro-rotor and a skeletonised barrel for better view of the power reserve’s current state (offering 86 hours on a full wind.) With diamond-cut anglage and bridges and plates coated in 5N rose gold, it’s a radiant contrast against the black case and rubber strap. Don’t sit on this one for too long, as there are only 25 examples made.

OMEGA SEAMASTER PLANET OCEAN WORLDTIMER

You may have noticed its anniversary season in the watch world, and birthdays usually come with fun surprises. For the Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean, which turns 20 this year, the gift is a complication it’s never had before: A worldtimer.

The Planet Ocean line has evolved considerably since its 2005 debut as a hefty dive watch. Over the years, it has welcomed complications like the date, GMT, and depth ratings that defy reason — the Ultra Deep Professional is the current record-holder for deepest diving watch when it reached 10,928m in 2019.

Now it joins the worldtime club — a complication previously associated with the Seamaster Aqua Terra. This new reference retains the Planet Ocean’s tool-watch identity with a brushed black ceramic case, laser-ablated diving scale, and a hulking 45.5mm by 18.99mm profile. The titanium dial features a laser-ablated world map surrounded by the familiar 24-hour ring and city disc, with the date discreetly placed at 6 o’clock. What’s cute though, is that Omega has replaced Paris with Bienne for Central Europe Time (GMT+1) as a nod to its hometown.

It uses the same METAS-certified Calibre 8938 as its Aqua Terra sibling, which means it has a 60-hour power reserve, 3.5Hz frequency, silicon balance spring, free-sprung balance, and Omega’s Co-Axial escapement. Two versions are available: One with crisp white and turquoise accents, the other with subtle grey detailing. Either one offers a compelling blend of function, presence, and modern style.

MONTBLANC 1858 GEOSPHERE 0 OXYGEN MOUNT VISON LIMITED EDITION

When Montblanc launched the 1858 Geosphere in 2018, it was in tribute to the spirit of mountain exploration — specifically, the Seven Summits challenge. Fittingly, its take on the worldtimer uses two rotating globes, one for each hemisphere, that complete a full spin in opposite directions every 24 hours. There’s no city ring here, so you’ll need some geographic savvy to read the time elsewhere.

Still, it does make for an eye-catching dial. And when combined with Montblanc’s Zero Oxygen technology — where oxygen is purged during final assembly to prevent dial fogging in extreme temperature shifts — the watch feels built for real adventure.

This year’s edition honours Montblanc ambassador Reinhold Messner and his 1986 ascent of Mount Vinson in Antarctica, the final leg of his Seven Summits quest. Limited to 986 pieces, the 43.5mm by 13mm case is crafted largely from titanium, with a grey anodised aluminium bezel insert. But the mid-case is what stands out: A composite of quartz fibres, aluminised basalt fibres, calcium carbonate, and pale blue resin, designed to evoke glacial crystal formations. On the left side of the case is an outline of Mount Vinson — cleverly treated to glow blue in the dark.

BOVET RECITAL 30

The Recital 28 Prowess 1 was a groundbreaking innovation, and so it made sense to maximise its grandiosity by throwing in a perpetual calendar and a flying tourbillon for good measure. Impressive, certainly, but not exactly something you’d feel safe actually travelling with.

And so Bovet has released a much more scaled down version in the Recital 30, removing the calendar and tourbillon (and a whole digit from the price tag) and spotlighting only the worldtime complication. It still uses the roller system to display 25 time zones during the four time periods of the year: Coordinated Universal Time, American Summer Time, European and American Summer Time, and European Winter Time. That additional time zone is for New Delhi, with its 30-minute offset, and features prominently on the left of the dial.

The pebble-style titanium or 18k rose gold case — made in-house for the first time — measures a much more wearable 42mm by 12.9mm compared to the Recital 28’s 46.3mm by 17.85mm dimensions. And customers can customise their watch by changing the city names and the colours of the 24-hour dial and minute track. Here’s more good news: The Recital 30 won’t be a limited edition, but only 30 will be made for 2025.

NOMOS GLASHUTTE CLUB SPORT NEOMATIK WORLDTIMER

Despite its name, this isn’t technically a worldtimer. It’s a dual-time watch with a city ring — but we’re bending the rules because it looks too good to leave out.

The Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer avoids the sort of overt seriousness that is sometimes synonymous with information-heavy complications. A red marker at 12 o’clock highlights the current city, which can be changed via the pusher at 2 o’clock, advancing the hour hand in one-hour increments. A recessed pusher at 8 o’clock resets the 24-hour subdial at 3 o’clock.