Hi all. I'm struggling to get my head around world timers , how they work with DST and or BST etc and how this will be impacted by the abolishing of DST in the EU. Does anyone have a link where this is discussed in depth. I really want a world timer and even have a practical need for same, but I'm not convinced a world timer can meet these needs. Thanks
The problem with world time watches is the various cities are 'hard coded' into the watch via a bezel or apertures or by some other means. But jurisdictions can, and do, sometimes change the rules as to how they observe DST which can throw a monkey wrench into the accuracy. I like world time watches but never really rely on them, they are almost more for show than go. And with more and more countries dumping the whole concept of DST the accuracy of these watches will be in flux for awhile. Besides, it is easy to get the correct time in any place in the world via our smartphones. I don't recall this ever discussed in depth because the problem is due to politicians and they often (usually?) don't make decisions based on common sense.
They are a pretty but never particularly good solution for your exact reason. Esp since the US goes on DST on a different date then Europe and many countries don’t have DST. I prefer 12 hour bezels or a 24 hour hand with 24 hour bezel. Very useful if you travel.
I wrote a post on this here: https://omegaforums.net/threads/world-timers-decorative-or-functional.77449/. If they abolish DST everywhere, worldtimers can be correct again, but as long as it exists, they're going to be inaccurate most or all of the time.
My old JLC Master Compressor Geographic was awesome. You could actually change the time diff between cities. So, easily adjusted for DST.
Thanks for all the replies, aligns with what I had figured out. Now just need to decide if I want practical vs pretty. GMTs is what I'm using at the moment, with the Glycine airman probably being the most efficient given the ability to track 3 tzs at a time. Fidel I see also had discovered the short comings of worldtimers ;-)
I love the concept of world timers / GMTs / whatever as I frequently communicate across timezones. I know we have apps and other means to get the same job done, but there is something romantically old school about the dual time zone watch I just can’t seem to let go of. Here a picture of my matched b&p airman signed ‘73 on the docs, going to the spa for a treatment.