If you’re a serious traveller (and you probably are if you’re reading Secret Trips), a world time wristwatch could be regarded as an essential piece of operational equipment. A “world timer” is exactly that: a watch that’s capable of showing the correct time in multiple locations simultaneously, thanks to a mechanism invented a century ago by a horological genius called Louis Cottier.
Cottier’s design – which enables the watch to be set to “local time” on the main hands so that a ring marked with the names of multiple other locations automatically synchronises with a 24-hour scale – has most famously been used by high-end brands such as Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin.
But high-end inevitably means high price – and Patek’s Reference 5231G World Timer will set you back almost £79,000. If you’d rather spend that sort of cash on travelling to exotic destinations, but still fancy a world timer, don’t despair – because affordable British watch brand Farer is heading to the rescue with its own variation on the Cottier design fitted to three new models called the Roché II, the Markham II and the Foxe.
Farer was founded in 2015 by a group of watch-loving entrepreneurs headed by Paul Sweetenham, the former boss of TJX Europe (parent company of TK Maxx, among other firms), who has used his considerable retail experience to build the brand into a true force to be reckoned with.
Being of an adventurous nature, Sweetenham and co chose the name “Farer” because of its connotations of exploration and discovery (seafarer, wayfarer etc). All its watches are in some way inspired by people or places linked with travel.
The three new World Timers all have the same functionality but come in different finishes and colours. Each features a specially customised Sellita automatic movement that combines a rotating outer city disc with a 24-hour disc in the middle of the dial (marked in two colours to distinguish between night and day).
Our pick of the three is the Foxe, which has a luscious deep green dial printed with a world map in contrasting mint green, and a seconds hand with a vibrant, orange-coloured tip for easy reading.
Simon de Burton is a journalist and author who writes for the FT’s How to Spend It, British GQ and Boat International, among others
