I remember the first time I came across the term “complication” in watchmaking. A huge billboard for the watchmaker hung at Geneva airport Franck Müller with the slogan ‘Master of Complications’. I remember thinking what a terrible slogan it was…I knew very little at the time.
Fast forward to the present and the term “complication” is music to my ears. The complication in watchmaking involves any indication on a watch besides the hours and minutes. This can be anything from the seconds to the date, the positions of the sun and moon to the elapsed time, additional time zones to high tide, and more. There are also ‘complicated’ ways to do things, such as replacing the standard regulator with a tourbillon, or chiming the hours and minutes. Basically, the more you can squeeze into the limited space of a watch, the more complicated it is.
This is where the “Great Complication” comes into play. Traditionally, a major complication could be called “grand” if it contained a perpetual calendar, a minute repeater, a tourbillon, and a chronograph. However, nowadays it is accepted that while stacking complications is incredibly impressive, creating something that has never been done before is also quite ‘complicated’. Some enthusiasts will argue that three complications are just a complicated watch, but four (and certainly five) qualify for the nomenclature of major complications. These arguments go round and round, like the hands of a watch.
Patek Philippe divides its current collection into complications (world timers, chronographs and annual calendars) and major complications (perpetual calendars, tourbillons, chimes, etc.). Other brands do it differently, or not at all. There are simply no hard and fast rules, but what constitutes a major complication is usually quite clear. So ‘complicated’, we might say, is extensive and encompasses all wonderful things in all respects and forms. Add to that the fact that watchmakers are a highly competitive group always trying to outdo each other, and this makes things even more interesting.
Without further ado – and with my opinion, and that of my editor Allen Farmo, noted – here are the top 10 major complication watches made to date.
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Patek Philippe Henry Graves Jr. “Super complication”
Image credits: Christie’s
When we think of Grand Complications, Patek Philippe is one of the first brands that comes to mind. The story begins in 1927 with a commission from the famous American banker Henry Graves Jr., who ordered a pocket watch with 24 complications, including astrological calendars, perpetual calendar and much more. This “super complication” took two years to design and another six years to create, and it remains the world’s most complicated watch made entirely by hand.
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Patek Philippe Grandmaster Gong
Image credits: Patek Philippe
In more recent history, Patek Philippe celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2014 with its most complex timepiece to date (this time using modern CNC technology). The Grandmaster Chime Ref. 5175 comes with six patents, twenty complications, five bell modes, two reversible dials, and a movement composed of 1,366 parts. A unique version in stainless steel (reference 6300A-010) was sold at Christie’s Only Watch charity auction in 2019, raising $31 million and becoming the most expensive watch ever sold at auction. Christie’s has since sold out Sly Stallone’s GMCwhat seems to have angered Patek CEO Thierry Stern.
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Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Berkley’s great complication
Image credits: Vacheron Constantin
The Berkley Grand Complication holds the current record for the world’s most complicated timepiece, breaking a previous record also set by Vacheron Constantin with the Ref. 57260. Both watches were commissioned by the same gentleman: William R. Berkley, an insurance magnate based in Connecticuit. This pocket watch took 11 years to make, weighs more than two pounds, measures 3.5 inches wide by 2 inches wide, houses a whopping 63 complications (including the very first Chinese traditional perpetual calendar), and has a movement made up of 2,877 parts . If there ever was an award for loving watches, Mr. Berkley would win hands down. You can read
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Jaeger-LeCoultre Hybris Mechanica Caliber 185 Quadriptyque
Image credit: Jaeger-LeCoultre
Jaeger-LeCoultre has made numerous extremely complicated timepieces under the Hybris Mechanica name over the years, and the Reverso Quadriptyque is one of our favorites. Released in 2021 to celebrate the Reverso’s 90th anniversary, it is the most complicated Reverso ever made. It took six years to research and develop, boasts 12 patents and houses 11 complications spread across four different faces. The complications include a tourbillon, perpetual calendar, minute repeater and a complex celestial and astronomical system indicating three lunar months, including the synodic, draconic and anomalistic cycles. Jaeger-LeCoultre has not only outdone itself in terms of complexity, but has also made this timepiece extremely portable.
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A. Lange & Söhne Major complication
Image credits: A. Lange & Söhne
The A. Lange & Söhne Grand Complication is the most complicated timepiece the brand has ever made, with a large and small sonnerie, a chronograph with split seconds, lightning seconds (which fly around the sub-dial every second) and a perpetual calendar with a moon phase. The timepiece was inspired by a vintage grand complication pocket watch (serial no. 42500) that the brand had restored a few years earlier. Limited to six pieces, each watch is powered by the L1902 movement (named after the year the original pocket watch was made), which consists of 876 parts. Each piece takes more than a year to produce.
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Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Ultra-Complication Universelle (RD#4)
Image credits: Audemars Piguet
Released in 2023, Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Ultra Complication Universal a tribute to the brand’s L’Universelle pocket watch from 1899. This historic piece, currently on display at the Musée Atelier of Audemars Piguet, was one of the most complicated pieces ever produced by the brand, so it was no wonder that the brand wanted to return to it. The modern Universelle is even more impressive with 26 functions and a host of complications, including a Grande Sonnerie Carillon, perpetual calendar, split-seconds chronograph, jumping seconds and deadbeat chronograph seconds to name a few. What also makes this timepiece particularly interesting is that it is only 42 mm in diameter. To pack so much into such a small space is a complication in itself. It’s also extremely intuitive and easy to use, another major plus in the world of major complications.
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Marie Antoinette Breguet pocket watch no. 1160
Image credits: Courtesy of Breguet
The story behind Breguet’s Marie Antoinette No. 1160 pocket watch is full of drama, mystery and intrigue. It was secretly ordered by one of Marie Antoinette’s secret admirers to impress her, but the watch took 44 years to make, long after both Marie Antoinette and Abraham-Louis Breguet had passed away. It was finally completed in 1827 by Breguet’s son Louis-Antoine and was the most complicated watch of its time with almost a dozen complications. The drama would continue throughout the life of the watch, with it being forgotten by one customer and then stolen in 1983. When Nicholas G. Hayek bought the Breguet company in 1999, he too was captivated by this watch and ordered an exact replica. built from scratch, based on plans in the brand’s archives. Funnily enough, the original resurfaced a year before the reconstruction was completed, adding even more drama to the story.
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IWC Portugieser perpetual calendar
Image credit: IWC
The IWC Portuguieser Eternal Calendar doesn’t technically come close to major complication status with only two complications – a perpetual calendar and a moon phase – but the Eternal Calendar is entering interesting new territory. The current record for the most accurate perpetual calendar is 400 years, while the moon phase accuracy currently stands at 2 million years (both achieved by Andreas Strehler’s Sauterelle à Laune Perpetuelle 2M, in case you were wondering). However, IWC’s Portuguese Eternal Calendar keeps perfect date until the year 3999 and it only stops there because no one knows what will happen with leap years in the 40th century! In case that wasn’t enough, the accuracy of the moon phase is now even 45 million years.
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Top consideration 28 “Prowess 1”
Image credits: Courtesy of Bovet
Another watch that improves on the complications is the Bovet Récital 28 “Prowess 1”. Daylight saving time (DST) has been wreaking havoc on worldtimer watches since World War I, when the system was first introduced to add more hours of daylight (presumably to conserve energy resources). This in itself should not be a problem, but not every country switches to daylight saving time at the same time, meaning that if 70 countries switch to daylight saving time and 125 do not, 64% of the time zone indications will be wrong. For 106 years it was just one of those annoying things in life, but it so enraged Bovet CEO Pascal Raffy that he put his team to work to find a solution. It wasn’t an easy task, but they found a way to switch between UTC, American Summer Time (AST), European and American Summer Time (EAS), and European Winter Time (EWT) so that all 24 time zones are always correct. This watch also took Robb ReportThe Best of the Best for Watches this year.
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The Bethune Some kind of major complication
Image credits: De Bethune
We end with a contemporary view of the major complication. The De Bethune Kind of Grand Complication combines the technical and aesthetic achievements of the brand’s 22-year history. Eight functions, including jumping seconds, an ultra-light 30-inch titanium tourbillon, perpetual calendar, leap year indication, spherical moon phase, age of the moon and end of power reserve meter are displayed on two completely different dials: one classic, the other contemporaries – that can be turned back thanks to De Bethune’s ingenious case rotation system. The timepiece comes in a 43.3mm titanium case and – especially compared to the rest of the watches on our list – is beautifully simple in all its grandeur!
Authors
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Allen Farmel
Allen is Robb Report’s digital watch editor. His writing and photography have appeared in Fortune, Hodinkee, WatchTime, International Watch, and many others. When he’s not obsessed with vintage…
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