While dual-time watches were rendered a tad immaterial given the circumstances we lived in the past couple of years, their functionality is reverted to the forefront as travel is back on people's agenda once again. Put simply, a dual-time complication displays two time zones. (home and local) simultaneously that can be set independently. Of course, horology never settles for simplicity and so there are competing visions. Berner's Illustrated Dictionary of Horology shows this perfectly, with two definitions for the dual-time complication:
1. A device permitting display of the time of day in time zones of several selected locations.
2. A device makes it possible to move the hour hand in jumps of one whole hour without interfering with the display of minutes and seconds.
The distinctions here are subtle, but they are quite real. Nevertheless, the multi-time zone watch is highly practical and purposeful for globetrotters and frequent travellers alike. However, it would be most unwise to think of the dual-time complication solely as a tool for them. There are, after all, many reasons one might want to know the time in another time zone at a glance.
Business remains global, and we have all seen how the supply chain is impacted by how interconnected we are. This is especially true in Singapore, a nation that traffics in global trade. Wherever you are though, you must be able to liaise effectively with your foreign counterparts. On the more casual side of things, Asian sports fans probably want to know (precisely) the broadcast times of say, the NBA Championships or UEFA Champions League in their home time zones.
This brings us to another detail that adds unnecessary complexity to dual-time watches: the concept of home time and local time. To clarify, home time is your own time zone, while local time is the time in your current location. With that said, the two time zones can be whatever you wish to be.
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