Small Seconds at 12:00?
Image Zeno-Watch Basel Ref. 9558SOS-12Left-A3
I’m curious, but does the Crunch community know of any watch brands/models that put their small seconds complication at 12:00? Why don’t more companies do it?
I guess from a practical standpoint, 12:00 is the most important part of the watch, but I think it would be pretty aesthetically pleasing to have the small seconds there. Show me other watches that do this!
10 comments
Sort by
not Gerald Genta
I am not Gerald Genta. I like to draw watch ideas. They usually suck. #defsnotgenta for more.
Queensland
Member since
Last active: 1 week ago
6.30” / 16.00 cm
I’ll start with the AP Royal Oak Offshore Ref. 26401RO.OO.A002CA.01, but this seems more like a necessity of the chronograph complication rather than an intentional design choice.
When looking at a watch I reckon the eye is first drawn to the area between 12 o'clock and the centre of the watch.
Which is why so many brands put their brand name or logo there.
So logically for symmetry the sub-seconds dial goes between the centre and six o'clock.
That design choice goes back a long way - most 19th century pocket watches have that layout.
This would do my head in. The watch is upside down 🥺
🔥
You'll notice that the Zeno-Watch is for lefties, with the crown on the right. That's because the movement is installed upside down and that's why the seconds dial is at the top of the watch rather than the bottom.
And that's the reason more watch companies don't do it. There are no commercially available movements that support a left-handed crown + a 12 o'clock seconds dial. Either you need to have the crown on the right or you need to custom-build a movement that will support just that one watch model.
There are a few watches out there with the sub-second dial at 9 o'clock. Those tend to use old pocket watch movements where the stem & crown was at 12 and the subdial at 6.
Ignoring chronographs, I have sub seconds at 6, 7, 9 and 10. I've never see one at 12 (even though it is upside down 6). Looking at the examples given by @ayadai I'm not a fan.
Isn't that what I said? Whether you consider the movement to be installed upside down or the watch to be turned upside down, in the end we're both referring to the same idea.
And by the way the watch is not quartz but a manual built on the Unitas 6498.