THRILLER

As layered as a le Carré or Grisham, the “complicated” watch tells more of a tale than time alone. But whodunnit? These watchmakers, for a start…

CHRISTOPHER WARD C1 GRAND MALVERN JUMPING HOUR £1,395 Christopher Ward states that the movement in its C1 model makes it the most accurate jumping hour on the market. It might have a clean face, but its inner workings match the intrigue of a Stieg Larsson.

ZENITH DEFY ZERO G POA Fans of Patrick O’brian’s naval romps will appreciate this as much as any mystery fan, since the gyroscopic assembly harbours a vivid maritime connection, mimicking the gimbals on which 19th-century marine chronometers were mounted, keeping the timepiece perfectly flat.

IWC PORTUGIESER PERPETUAL CALENDAR 150 YEARS £32,950 IWC’S genius at large Kurt Klaus (an Agatha Christie character in himself) is famed for his perpetual calendar of 1985, mechanically programmed for 500 years. It’s still ticking strong in this, IWC’S 150th anniversary year.

BLANCPAIN FLYING TOURBILLON JUMP HOURS £108,600 The mark of a master watchmaker is the ability to craft a tourbillon: tumbling the ticking balance assembly by 360 degrees every minute demands near-alchemical technical abilities. In this case, combined with a jumping hour indication, it’s poetry in hypnotic motion.

GLASHÜTTE ORIGINAL SENATOR COSMOPOLITE £16,400 The dial markings here seem as mysterious as an astrologer’s chart. But it’s more scientific than that, with the two windows at eight o’clock indicating your global destination in both daylight saving and standard time.