Glossary · Complication
Wandering hours
A display in which the current hour numeral travels along an arc, indicating the minutes as it passes a fixed marker.
Explanation
The wandering-hours display carries hour numerals on satellites that travel along a minute arc, the current hour pointing at the minutes as it passes. The arrangement descends from 17th-century 'wandering hour' clocks and night clocks made for the papal court, revived in modern independent watchmaking. It reads intuitively once understood: the number at the arc is the hour, its position the minutes.
In the object catalogue
Catalogued objects whose own source record mentions “Wandering hours”. The quoted line shows where; it is the seller’s or museum’s wording, not independent verification.
