The world on your wrist

In today's jet-setting world, travelling across two or sometimes even three time zones is something that happens regularly, especially if your business demands it.

More often than not one gets off a plane all groggy and tired and in that state of mind it takes a while to set one's watch accordingly.

Also once that is done, one can't help but wonder what time it is back home, especially if you need to keep in touch with office.

It's at times like these that worldtimers come in handy and Porsche Design, has just the thing for you.

Not only does the Porsche Design Worldtimer P'6750 display the time in two different time zones simultaneously, but an additional crown with an integrated button also makes the world time settings easy to change.

Watch producer Eterna, the licensee partner of Porsche Design, has designed and built a special movement module that extends the movement of this watch by the addition of an intelligent GMT function. The three hands in the centre of the watch display the time in the time zone in which the wearer is currently. By means of discs rotating behind the dial, the movement additionally displays, via two dial apertures, a reference location and the present time in the corresponding time zone. The second time zone runs in synchrony with the main watch time.

The setting of the reference location can be corrected by means of the crown at the two o'clock position. Transfer of the time at the reference location to the hands is permitted by the button integrated in the crown at two o'clock.

While the time zone function of the watch is being adjusted, the automatic movement continues to run and not one single second of the original setting is lost when the time zone is changed.

Patrick Kury, chief technical officer, at Eterna, told Emirates Business: "This watch was designed at the Porsche Design Studio which is situated in the scenic lakeside winter ski resort Zell am See in Austria. The functional timepiece is equipped with a world time mechanism that is unique to date.

"When changing time zones, the mechanical-digital reference time is transferred to the central hands simply by pressing a button, without losing a second."

Not just this, so user-friendly is this watch that the self-explanatory three-letter abbreviations that are used to designate the reference cities are explained by an engraving on the back of the watch case.

The crown at the four o'clock position is used to adjust the minutes and the hour hand in the centre. In addition, this crown can be used to wind the watch.

Another example of its user-friendliness is the fact that the "Clous de Paris" decoration of the crowns is not just for aesthetic reasons, it also makes for a better grip on the crown.

The design of the watch that has been priced at around Dh60,000 and is available at the Porsche Design store in Dubai, is typified by the usual under-statement.

Simple cylindrical forms shape the watch case, which is made of the typical Porsche Design material, titanium. The typography, styling and colours of the dials emphasise the functional character of the watch.

In addition to the case in matte titanium, another version in titanium with a black PVD coating is also available. Both versions are fitted with a black caoutchouc strap with a latitude and longitude pattern in profile on the inside. This makes for enhanced wearer comfort as air penetrates between the skin and strap. The folding clasp of the strap is also made of titanium.

"Our intention was a new interpretation of the world time function that is unique to date and we have done it," Kury said.

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