Right now, I?m on a flight and trying to figure out what time is it in my office in Bangkok, my destination in France, and at our upcoming hotel in India. I look at my watch but realise it is set for the city in Europe I?ve just left. What?s a traveller to do? I pull out my iPhone (in airplane mode) and bring up the world clock. All is clear and I?ll be on time for my next meeting. I set my watch for Paris and a reminder in my iPhone to add a multi-time zone watch to my collection.
So while we business travellers can just as easily look at a hyper-accurate digital watch, an iPhone, or our laptop, most of us still prefer a mechanical timepiece. There are a few remarkable watches for the global traveller.
My two favourite watchmakers are Patek Philippe and Breguet. Patek Philippe popularised the modern wristwatch along with many features or ?complications? that are now more common, such as perpetual calendars. Purveyor of watches to royalty for hundreds of years, these watches are known as a significant investment for fans of haute horology. For a multi-time zone watch, consider their world time, which features two rows of 12 cities, one reference for each time zone. For a watch that can simultaneously display the time in 24 global cities, this beauty still maintains Patek Phillipe?s elegant but understated aesthetic.
Contrast that with Breguet?s bolder offerings Breguet was founded in 1775 and has been the choice of notable figures from Napolean to Winston Churchill and beyond. A Breguet was one of my first ?real? watches and I appreciate the daring design, especially the exposed tourbillon. It also produces an amazing multi-time zone watch. The Classique 5717 Hora Mundi is a masterpiece of both watchmaking prowess and luxury design.
If you?re after a simpler look and don?t always need to know the time in Caracas or Hong Kong, consider a Rolex. The Rolex GMT Master lacks the amazing complications of the Patek Philippe or Breguet but if you want a classic watch to view two or three time zones and you?re willing to set the bezel before take-off, this might be the timeless timepiece for you.
None of the mentioned features themselves are worth the price you?ll pay for these watches. You can gather all of that information and more from your phone or laptop. But if you travel very frequently and appreciate the art of complex movement, a multi-time zone luxury watch can be a great addition. And if you prefer a single time-zone watch, just remember to set it when you land. You can get the local time from your iPhone.
Deepak Ohri is CEO of lebua Hotels & Resorts. He can be reached at deepak@lebua.com