I have been waiting four years for the opportunity to do this topic for the Watch Video Rewind. OK, not really, but I do think that a compilation of videos featuring leaping/jumping hand watches would be apropos, considering we get an extra day in the year tomorrow with the leap year.
The first video is for the Speak Marin Jumping Hour, part of their Mechanical Art Collection. The watch has 4 hour hands, arranged at the quarter hours, and each one jumps to the next hour in turn, every 15 minutes. I don’t know how practical it would be to wear and tell time, but it is certainly a cool complication.
The MeisterSinger Salthora Meta is a bit more conventional, with a jumping hour displayed through a cut out behind the dial. It gives you the look of a single hander, with the functionality of a more traditional watch.
Proving there are some DIYers out there that can get clever, here is a definitely low tech way to get a jumping our complication on your watch, without having to know much about watchmaking.
While a jumping hour is a popular complication, there are other ways to make the hands jump, as with the Grönefeld “One Hertz” dead beat seconds movement.
One of my favorites here is the Arnold & Son Dead Second True Beat. If I were spending an insane amount of money on a watch (that reminds me, I need to check my lottery tickets), one from Arnold & Son would be on the short list of makers, and this one is really, really cool.
I don’t know if anyone has put all three jumping hands in a single watch, but the A. Lane & Söhne Zeitwerk Striking Time combines jumping hour and jumping minute digital displays, along with a little chime for the quarter hour and hour. That is a lot of leaping.
That’s it for this week’s edition of Watch Video Rewind. If you stumble across any interesting watch (or time) related videos out there, drop us a line. If we end up using in the watch video rewind from your suggestion, we’ll be sure to tip our hats (electronically, if not literally) in your general direction.