Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, IWC and more make our list of the best grand complications. These watches are guaranteed to dazzle and fascinate in equal measure
I remember the first time I encountered the watchmaking term “complication”. It was at the Geneva airport where there was a huge billboard for the watchmaker Franck Muller with the tagline “Master of Complications”. I remember thinking what an awful slogan it was…little did I know back then.
Fast forward to the present day and the term “complication” is music to my ears. The watchmaking complication refers to any indication on a watch in addition to the hours, minutes. This can be everything from the seconds to the date, the positions of the sun and the moon to elapsed time, additional time zones to high tides, and more. There are also “complicated” ways of doing things, like switching out the standard regulating organ for a tourbillon, or making the hours and minutes chime. Basically, the more you can squeeze into the limited space of a watch, the more complicated it is.
This is where the “Grand Complication” comes in. Traditionally, a grand complication could be called “grand” if it featured a perpetual calendar, a minute repeater, a tourbillon, and a chronograph. Nowadays, however, it is accepted that although stacking complications is incredibly impressive, creating something that has never been done before is also pretty “complicated.” Some aficionados will argue that three complications is just a complicated watch, but four—and more certainly five—qualifies for the grand complication nomenclature. These arguments go around and around, like the hands on a watch.
Patek Philippe divides its current collection into complications (world timers, chronographs, and annual calendars) and grand complications (perpetual calendars, tourbillons, chiming watches, and so on). Other brands do it differently, or not at all. There are simply no hard and fast rules, but what constitutes a grand complication is usually pretty obvious, nonetheless. So “complicated,” we could say, has expanded to include all things wonderful in every way and form. Add to this the fact that watchmakers are a very competitive bunch who always try to outdo each other and this makes complicating things even more interesting.
Without further ado—and with my opinion, and that of my editor Allen Farmelo, noted—here are the top 10 grand complication watches created to date.
Patek Philippe Henry Graves Jr. “Supercomplication”
When we think of Grand Complications, one of the first brands that comes to mind is Patek Philippe. The story starts in 1927 with a commission from the famous American banker, Henry Graves Jr., who ordered a pocket watch with 24 complications—including astrological calendars, perpetual calendar, and much more. This “Supercomplication” took two years to design and a further six to create, and it remains the world’s most complicated watch entirely crafted by hand.
Patek Philippe Grand Master Chime
In more recent history, Patek Philippe celebrated its 175th birthday in 2014 with its most complex timepiece to date (this time using modern-day CNC technology). The Grandmaster Chime Ref. 5175 comes loaded with six patents, 20 complications, five chiming modes, two reversible dials, and a movement made up of 1,366 parts. A one-of-a-kind version in stainless steel (reference 6300A-010) was sold at the Christie’s Only Watch charity auction in 2019, fetching US$31 million and becoming the most expensive watch ever sold at auction. Since then Christie’s sold off Sly Stallone’s GMC, which seems to have angered Patek CEO Thierry Stern.
Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers The Berkley Grand Complication
The Berkley Grand Complication holds the current record for the world’s most complicated timepiece, breaking a previous record, also set by Vacheron Constantin with the Ref. 57260. Both watches were commissioned by the same gentleman: William R. Berkley, an insurance mogul based on Connecticuit. This pocket watch took 11 years to make, weighs over two pounds, measures 3.5 inches across by two inches wide, houses an incredible 63 complications (including the first-ever Chinese traditional perpetual calendar), and has a movement composed of 2,877 parts. If ever there was a prize for loving watches, Mr. Berkley would win hands down.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 Quadriptyque
Jaeger-LeCoultre has created numerous extremely complicated timepieces over the last few years under the name Hybris Mechanica, and the Reverso Quadriptyque is one of our favorites. It was released in 2021 for the Reverso’s 90th anniversary and is the most complicated Reverso ever made. It took six years to research and develop, boasts 12 patents, and houses 11 complications that are spread over four different faces. The complications include a tourbillon, perpetual calendar, minute repeater, and a complex celestial and astronomical system that indicates three lunar month displays that include the synodic, draconic, and anomalistic cycles. Jaeger-LeCoultre has not only surpassed itself in terms of complexity, but has made this timepiece extremely wearable.
A. Lange & Söhne Grand Complication
The A. Lange & Söhne Grand Complication is the most complicated timepiece that the brand has ever made, featuring a grand and petite sonnerie, split-seconds chronograph, lightning small seconds (that flies around their subdial every second), and a perpetual calendar with a moon phase. The timepiece was inspired by a vintage grand complication pocket watch (serial no. 42500) that the brand had restored a few years previously. Limited to six pieces, each watch is powered by the L1902 movement (named after the year the original pocket watch was made) which is made up of 876 parts. Each piece takes over a year to produce.
Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Ultra-Complication Universelle (RD#4)
Released in 2023, Audemars Piguet’s Code 11.59 Ultra-Complication Universelle paid tribute to the brand’s L’Universelle pocket watch from 1899. Currently on display in Audemars Piguet’s Musée Atelier, this historic piece was one of the most complicated pieces ever produced by the brand so it was no wonder that the brand wanted to return to it. The modern-day Universelle is even more impressive with 26 functions and a host of complications, including a Grande Sonnerie Carillon, perpetual calendar, split-seconds chronograph, jumping seconds, and deadbeat chronograph seconds to name a few. What also makes this timepiece particularly interesting is that it is only 42mm in diameter. To pack that much into such a small space is a complication in itself. It is also extremely intuitive and user-friendly, another major plus in the world of grand complications.
Marie Antoinette Breguet Pocket Watch No. 1160
The story behind Breguet’s Marie Antoinette No. 1160 pocket watch is full of drama, mystery, and intrigue. It was ordered in secret by one of Marie Antoinette’s secret admirers to try and impress her, but the watch took 44 years to make, long after both Marie Antoinette and Abraham-Louis Breguet had passed away. It was finally finished by Breguet’s son Louis-Antoine in 1827 and was the most complicated watch of its time with close to a dozen complications. The drama would continue throughout the watch’s life, with it being forgotten by one client and then stolen in 1983. When Nicholas G. Hayek bought the Breguet company in 1999, he too fell under the spell of this watch and ordered an exact replica to be constructed from scratch, based on plans in the brand’s archives. Funnily enough, the original resurfaced a year before the reconstruction was finished, adding even more drama to the story.
IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar
The IWC Portuguieser Eternal Calendar technically doesn’t come close to grand complication status with only two complications—a perpetual calendar and a moonphase—but its Eternal Calendar breaks interesting new ground. The current record for the most accurate perpetual calendar is 400 years, while moon phase accuracy currently stands at two million years (both achieved by Andreas Strehler’s Sauterelle à Laune Perpetuelle 2M, in case you were wondering). IWC’s Portugieser Eternal Calendar, however, will keep perfect track of the exact date until the year 3999 and it only stops there because no one knows what is going to happen with leap years in the 40th century! In case that wasn’t enough, it has also taken moon phase accuracy to 45 million years.
Bovet Récital 28 “Prowess 1”
Another watch which is improving complications is the Bovet Récital 28 “Prowess 1”. Daylight Savings Time (DST) has been causing havoc with worldtimer watches since World War I, when the system was first introduced to add more daylight hours (presumably to conserve energy resources). This should not have been a problem as such, but not every country switches DST at the same time, meaning that when 70 countries change to daylight saving time and 125 don’t, 64 per cent of time zone indications will be wrong. For 106 years, it was just one of those irritating things in life, but it infuriated Bovet’s CEO Pascal Raffy so much that he set his team to work on finding a solution. It was no easy task, but they found a way to switch between UTC, American Summertime (AST), Europe and American Summertime (EAS), and European Wintertime (EWT) so all 24 time zones are always correct.
