Horological Meandering

ThomasM
[PuristS]
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"wandering hour/minute" vs "jump hour/minute"

Hi, Graham, Monsieur PoyFR

"officially" (what the heck does that mean anyway?) a "digital display" is one that displays the digit rather than an "analog" (an indicator that points to a position in a relative position scale; thus, the crescent  fly backs are analog even if not a complete circle)  The digit can be arabic, roman, whatever "digital" symbol, and need not be in a window ("guichet") - but the LOCATION of the read digit needs to be stationary (think the newish faddish three unit displays with the center date being the "current" date, IWC Fliegerchrono as one specimen example)

It can be a jump hour/minute, or a wandering hour/minute, the "digital display" terminology doesn't specify and doesn't require.

A jump hour or jump minute, as Graham rightly points out, doesn't "wander" but changes (nearly) instantaneously, and technically can be digital OR analog. Consider chronographs and their wandering, semi-instantaneous, or instantaneous "classification" for the minute and hour analog indicators. (do marketing departments actually try to make a big deal out of this?!? yep...oi!)

But typically and by conventional usage, jump hour or minutes usually are used for digital instant jump displays.

Thus, an analogue jump hour indicator is not technically an incorrect usage of the term (in fact, it is technically correct) but conventionally it is considered an "extended" (read: loose) use of the term.

AP produced a jump hour wrist watch as early as the early 20th century (c. 1921) upon which this piece was based (the original, which has a similar case, was a jump hour / wandering minute design. The later model, released in c. 1992, shown, added a repeater complication) -