Donald E. McNamara 
Watches must be precise and legible. These principles underpin the most successful and familiar watch designs in history, but a purer expression exists in a type of watch known as regulator. Today, regulator watches are rare but offer a unique alternative to standard time, both highly functional and rooted in the history of watchmaking.
Before the availability of hyper-precise timekeeping, watchmakers adjusted and tested their watches against a regulating clock. Workshops would have a regulator placed where all watchmakers could easily reference it from their desks, and these are some of the most accurate clocks of their time – as specialist watchmaker tools, they even look a little special compared to traditional clocks.
Regulating clocks (and watches) are immediately identifiable by their unique arrangement: a large hand in the center indicates the minutes, while the hours and seconds are measured on smaller sub-dials. Separating the displays allows for quick and accurate reading, and emphasizing the minutes was especially important for watchmakers setting their watches and clocks.
This design has been reinterpreted on modern wristwatches, and although rare, they remain easy to use and represent a link to the history of watchmaking. They also offer a look and experience that stands out from standard dial layouts without feeling eccentric. Below are some notable modern examples.
Xeric Automatic Regulator Silver Bullet
As a brand focused on retro-themed designs and alternative concepts, it’s no surprise that Xeric has its own take on the regulator watch. It has the separate displays of a traditional regulator, but is characteristic of the brand’s distinctively funky design style and also its affordability.
Diameter: 42mm
Movement: Miyota 82S7 automatic
Price: $ 499
Manufacturer Info: xeric.com
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Hamilton Jazzmaster Auto Regulator
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Hamilton is good at offering classic styles with its own American personality and at reasonable prices. Designed in a generally traditional style, the Regulator Auto doesn’t look too conservative with its separate time displays with the hour and second hands positioned asymmetrically.
Diameter: 42mm
Movement: ETA 2825-2
Price: $ 1,275
Manufacturer Info: hamiltonwatch.com
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Louis Erard Excellence Regulator
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Louis Erard is one of the few brands to have made the regulator a central element of its identity. One of the most notable watches in recent memory was the brand’s collaboration with designer Alain Silberstein on an exceptionally compelling and colorful regulator-style watch (now out of print), but the brand’s wider collection and others. collaborations are among the most interesting.
Diameter:
Movement:
Price: ~ $ 2,500
Manufacturer Info: louiserard.com
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Chronoswiss Classic Regulator
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Chronoswiss is recognized for having pioneered the regulator as a wristwatch, starting in 1988. Today, the majority of their collections remain concept-oriented, and most of them are oriented towards style. technical, modern, daring and sporty. The Classic is a conservative exception to its many colorful and skeletonized models, but it remains representative of Chronoswiss as one of the few watchmakers to have built a brand around the concept of regulator.
Diameter: 37mm
Movement: Chronoswiss C. 295 automatic
Price: $ 4,700
Manufacturer Info: chronoswiss.com
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Sinn 6100 Classic B
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An elegantly styled regulator seems unusual for Sinn, best known for its rugged tool watches, but the German watchmaker can offer a striking interpretation of traditional designs as well. The simply named 6100 Classic B uses a modified pocket watch movement mounted in a 44mm case.
Diameter: 44mm
Movement: Manual Unitas 6498 (basic)
Price: ~ $ 3,000
Manufacturer Info: sinn.de
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Glashütte Original Senator Regulator
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Everything you get from Glashütte Original will offer premium watchmaking with a refined in-house movement, and a GO regulator is no exception. In addition to the separate displays for hours, minutes and seconds, the brand offers a power reserve display as well as its signature “big date” complication.
Diameter: 42mm
Movement: Manuel Glashütte Original 58-04
Price: $ 26,600
Manufacturer Info: glashuette-original.com
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Patek Philippe 5235
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At first glance, the Patek Philippe 5235 looks a bit like a traditional regulator watch, but the brand just doesn’t do typical anything. In addition to its industry-leading level of refinement and finish (the movement is visible through a window at the bottom of the case), the complications of the annual calendar have been tastefully integrated with day, date and month. in subtle counters.
Diameter: 40.5 mm
Movement: Patek Philippe 31-260 REG QA automatic
Price: $ 55,590
Manufacturer Info: patek.com
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