Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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The Hamilton GMT is water resistant, making it a versatile timepiece for travel. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF CRAWFORD/BIG TOP STUDIO; STYLING BY TERRY LEWIS W hether traveling for business or pleasure, across the country or around the world, or even virtually via smart phones and the Internet, busy Bostonians must be mindful of timing on a global scale. Thanks to the ingenuity of today's watchmakers, horological complications that display the time in other locations have taken center stage in this fast-paced world. The most prevalent designs are GMT watches and world timers. A GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) watch offers a second time zone, usually via a 24-hour indication. World time watches typically display 24 different world time zones, with each zone referenced by a key international city—to allow for instantaneous viewing of the time in any zone the wearer chooses. "We are seeing more and more interest in GMT and world timer watches, especially Hamilton," says Joshua Gann, owner of Joseph Gann Jewelers. "Despite the multitude of smart phones and other electronic devices, Bostonians who are traveling abroad for both business and pleasure find it important to have access to multiple time zones on a mechanical timepiece." Not only do these timepieces provide a vast amount of information, they do it with the latest easy-to-use technology. This month's Smart Travel Technology Show (which takes place here in Boston October 22 –23), speaks to the need for the information these watches offer, such as quick- or instant-set buttons to allow for ease of changing time zones (whether going backward or forward in time). Thus, knowing the time from Boston to Bangkok or elsewhere around the world has become almost as simple as a flick of the wrist. In 1884 the International Meridian Conference was held in Washington DC to establish international guidelines for consistent time zones. It was decided to divide the earth into 24 time zones according to longitude, with the Greenwich Meridian as the international standard for zero degrees longitude—hence the term Greenwich Mean Time. Each zone differs from the preceding and following zone by one hour. By referring to a map and making minimal calculations, travelers could determine time differences. Many things have changed since 1884 when the standard took effect, including the number of zones in the world. Although the original 24 zones are what most people refer to today, more than 35 different time zones exist. Some locales—like Nepal and Canada's maritime islands—have zones based on 15-minute (Nepal) or 30-minute The Hamilton stainless steel GMT ($1,325) offers a second time zone via a red hand on the GMT indicator. The 42mm watch houses an automatic movement. Joseph Gann Jewelers, 387 Washington St, 617-426-4932; hamiltonwatch.com From Montblanc, the TimeWalker Northern Hemisphere watch ($4,900) features world time indication on the dial and has a caseback with the 24 "Bostonians who travel abroad for business or pleasure want access to multiple time zones on a mechanical timepiece."—JOSHUA GANN (Newfoundland) differentials. These are known as Offset Time Zones. Many of today's world timers operate via disks that list the world's key cities in a window aperture, or via outer chapter rings or bezels that indicate this information. Over the past few years, several top brands have unveiled watches that display as many as 35 time zones to encompass the Offset Time Zones. Today's GMT watches incorporate a variety of designs for alternative time indication, depending on the manufacturer. Generally either a 24-hour hand is used to indicate the second time zone (the wearer needs to understand the use of 24-hour military time for this), or a 12-hour subdial is used with a corresponding AM / PM indicator. "There are more GMT watches on the market than world timers, but top brands are releasing new world time watches," says Steven Leed, who is co-president of Royal Jewelers and has a particular passion for this category of timepieces due to his own frequent travel. "The point of these watches is to make life when traveling easier. Math isn't needed to calculate the time differences; it's just a look at the wrist." For more watch features and expanded coverage go to bostoncommon-magazine.com/watches. BC time zones of the southern hemisphere engraved on it. Montblanc, Copley Place, 617-267-8700; montblanc.com This Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean, Good Planet 600 M Omega Co-axial GMT watch ($8,100) is a COSC-certified chronometer with a bright orange aluminum GMT hand for tracking time in another zone. Natick Mall, 508-545-2398; omegawatches.com BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM 108-111_BC_F_Watches_LateFall13.indd 111 111 9/16/13 6:40 PM