High Jump

This year seemed to be the year of the jump hour complication, with several brands showcasing it. We trace its history and the important models that have cemented its popularity.

- Digvijay

A jump hour watch relies on a finely tuned system of gears, springs, and levers that work in unison to make the hour ‘jump’ at precisely the right moment. Power comes from the mainspring, which steadily releases energy to drive the mechanism. At the core of this complication is a rotating disc that displays the hour numerals, and linked to it is a spring-loaded lever that gradually builds tension as the minutes pass. Once the lever is released, the disc snaps forward to reveal the next hour. This precise coordination of parts ensures an instantaneous changeover, delivering a crisp, seamless transition that is both mechanically fascinating and visually striking.

Famously, Cartier created the jumping hour watch, Tank à Guichet (which saw a return this year), in 1928, as trains and automobiles redefined daily life with speed and efficiency. Cartier responded with a timepiece that matched the spirit of the era. To make time instantly readable, the maison replaced traditional hands with two apertures—one displaying the hours, the other the minutes. This Tank model, considered the first Cartier watch with a complication, embodied modernity through both concept and form. Throughout the 1930s, Cartier produced several variations of the Tank à Guichets, each distinct in its execution. The designs experimented with aperture shapes, crown positioning, the interplay of the brancards, the vertical sidebars of the case, the case itself, and diverse materials.

Decades later, in 1997, a platinum edition was unveiled in celebration of Cartier's 150th anniversary, and in 2005, as part of the Collection Privé Cartier Paris, it was offered in a series of 100 rose-gold watches.