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Time zone
The world is divided into uniform time zones, and watches often include functionality for displaying the time in different zones.
Time Zone Watches
There are three common multi-time watch complications
- GMT watches were developed first, designed with a special display of GMT time for use by pilots, the military, or frequent travelers
- Today, many dual-timezone watches are looser in their display, still showing two timezones but no longer assuming GMT
- Worldtimers show many or all timezones at once
Time Zone Display
Most GMT and dual timezone watches do not include a display of the selected timezone. Rather, they simply allow two timezones to be displayed at once. But some dual timezone watches and most worldtimers include labels for different timezones.
Selecting which label to display has become an interesting and telling aspect of watch design, with many options possible for each location. These reflect heritage alternatives (Paris, Berlin, or Geneva for GMT+1) and market forces (Hong Kong vs. Beijing or Shanghai for GMT+8).
For example, here are the timezone labels selected by some notable manufacturers