Every Watch Complication Ranked (Some are Useless)

Ranking criteria

The reviewer ranks complications by purchase and servicing affordability, everyday usefulness and practicality (including their effect on case size), popularity and serviceability, and subjective “cool factor.” A qualifying complication must involve the movement and provide some inherent utility. The rankings are explicitly personal.

Complications ranked

F tier

• Tourbillon: Originally intended to improve accuracy, but the reviewer says modern certifications have made that purpose largely obsolete. Today, it is mainly an expensive display of watchmaking and wealth, with difficult, costly servicing. Affordable examples exist, but most are very expensive.
• Planetarium: One of the reviewer’s favorite-looking but least practical complications. It has little real-world use, needs regular winding, and some planets move so slowly—the reviewer notes that Neptune takes 165 years to orbit—that their motion is barely observable. It is extremely expensive and can be serviced by very few watchmakers. Examples are associated with Christian Van der Klaauw and some microbrands.

E tier

• Chiming complications: Hour chimes can offer some utility by marking the passage of time, and the reviewer finds them impressive and cool. However, they are generally found in extremely expensive watches. More accessible exceptions include the Bell Canto and Lucky Harvey’s Sound of Nature, but even these do not make chiming watches practical for most people.
• Tide indicator: A specialized, moon-phase-style display that runs on a 12-hour, 25-minute cycle. It is useful mainly for surfers or people living near the coast; otherwise, it is an aesthetic feature. It can be fiddly to set, needs frequent winding, and may be difficult to service, especially on watches from niche brands.

D tier

• AM/PM indicator: Common on quartz chronographs, often as a subdial. The reviewer finds it largely unnecessary because people usually know whether it is morning or evening. It is inexpensive, adds little size or complexity, and can be attractive—for example, on the Orient Sun and Moon. It can be more meaningful when paired with a GMT or world timer.
• Perpetual, annual, and triple calendars: Day and date can be useful, but month and year are usually information the wearer already knows. Mechanical calendars also need regular winding to avoid tedious resetting, and servicing can be expensive. The reviewer admires their engineering and appearance, citing JLC’s Master Control Calendars and IWC’s calendar innovation that lasts over 400 years, but considers them costly embellishments for most owners.
• Regatta/yacht timer: A specialized chronograph- or alarm-like device for the niche activity of yacht racing. The reviewer likes the five-circle aesthetic and the engineering in examples such as the Rolex Yacht-Master, but finds it too specific for general use. It can also add thickness and size.
• Depth gauge: Some models, such as the Oris Aquis depth gauge, use Boyle’s law to measure depth through the relationship between pressure and gas. The mechanism is interesting, but dive computers have made the feature less relevant, and most dive-watch owners do not dive deeply—or at all. The reviewer notes it might have ranked higher 50 years ago.

C tier

• Moon phase: Mostly decorative, with little practical value, but affordable, relatively easy to service, and not very thick. It is a classic dress-watch feature that the reviewer thinks looks good, such as on the Christopher Ward C1 Moon Phase.
• Mechanical alarm: Once much more useful, before smartphones and digital quartz watches, but now nearly obsolete. The reviewer still expects owners to use one and values its historical interest. It is surprisingly affordable to buy, but can be thick and costly to service; servicing a Seiko Bell-Matic may cost about as much as the watch.
• World timer: Displays all time zones at once, unlike a simple 24-hour indicator, and has genuine use for some lifestyles, similar to a GMT. It is not excessively expensive or thick, but its busy, distinctive display can be polarizing and is unnecessary for many people.
• Power-reserve indicator: Especially useful for collectors with multiple watches, as it shows how much power remains. It is often added as a secondary complication, making it versatile, and the reviewer likes its automotive feel. Some dislike the way it disrupts symmetry, including on Grand Seiko Spring Drives; it is less valuable in a small collection. The reviewer considers it the best of the enthusiast-focused complications, but not among the overall top choices.

B tier

• Hacking seconds: Lets the wearer stop the seconds hand while setting the watch, helping with accurate time-setting. It is common in modern watches, adds no meaningful size or servicing complexity, and is a useful refinement—particularly for someone with a small collection. Exceptions include older low-end Seiko 7S26 movements and some higher-end movements, including certain Pateks.
• Day display: Adds the day of the week to a date display. The reviewer says it is not especially useful because people usually know the day, but it has little downside and can enhance a watch’s look, as on the Rolex Day-Date. It is widely available through affordable Seiko movements such as the 7S26 and 4R36, and the Swiss ETA 2834.
• GMT: Essential for travelers and people who need another time zone, but potentially just an unnecessary fourth hand for others. It is popular, often has an iconic two-tone bezel aesthetic, and is relatively affordable and practical. Some models, including Tudor examples, remain thick. Its value depends heavily on the wearer, so it lands in the middle.

A tier

• Center seconds: Technically a complication, while small seconds is the movement’s traditional default. It enables second-accurate reading and can act as a basic timer. It is exceptionally common and affordable; its absence is notable enough to affect how a watch is described.
• Chronograph: One of the most useful complications, with everyday applications such as cooking, laundry, and timing gym rest periods. The reviewer also likes its classic three-subdial layout, pushers, and tactile start/stop interaction. It is a personal favorite and highly popular, but costs more to buy and service than many common complications and often makes a watch larger and thicker. Those drawbacks keep it out of S tier.

S tier

• Rotating bezel: The reviewer considers it more versatile than a chronograph. A dive bezel provides a simple timer with satisfying tactile feedback, while a GMT bezel can track another time zone. Because it is external to the movement, it avoids much of the manufacturing and servicing complexity of an internal complication, helping keep it affordable. It is available across many price ranges and has contributed to the popularity of dive watches. Downsides include increasing a watch’s diameter and tending to suit sports watches rather than more formal styles.
• Date: The reviewer’s top visual complication: practical, common, affordable, and versatile on almost any type of watch. It adds useful information with little downside and can complement a design, though some enthusiasts object to its asymmetry. The reviewer sometimes consults the date more than the time. Its ubiquity is reflected in “ghost dates” on some smaller-brand watches using movements such as the ETA 2824.
• Automatic winding rotor: The reviewer’s top non-visual complication. It uses wrist movement to power a mechanical watch and works whenever the watch is worn. The reviewer sees it as highly functional, widely available, affordable, and straightforward to service. Thickness is its main potential drawback, which can be addressed through design.

Digital-watch comparison

The reviewer says the rankings would look very different if digital quartz watches were included: functions that are impractical and expensive mechanically can be inexpensive and convenient digitally.

The rare Casio Cosmo Phase CGW-50 is highlighted as a digital alternative to costly mechanical astronomical watches. It displays planetary positions, Halley’s Comet locations, and other information for dates from 1901 to 2200. It also includes a 24-hour display, perpetual calendar, chronograph, countdown timer, alarm, and hourly chime. It packs roughly half of the video’s complications into a 37 mm by 12 mm case.

Its drawback is rarity: produced only from the late 1980s to early 1990s, it can sell for over $1,000. That is expensive for an old Casio, but still far cheaper than mechanical astronomical watches.

Overall verdict

The reviewer’s top picks are the date, automatic winding, and rotating bezel, with the chronograph a close favorite held back by cost, servicing, and size. The broader conclusion is that mechanical watches are not the most efficient way to access these functions—smartphones can provide nearly all of them—but people often value complications for their design, history, mechanical interest, or emotional appeal as much as for their utility.

Speakers

A single narrator provides the rankings and opinions; no other speakers offer separate views.