Complication guide
Small seconds: how the complication works
A small seconds watch shows the running seconds on a small sub-dial of its own, rather than on a central hand sweeping the whole face.
In the oldest layout the running seconds sit on their own little dial, usually at the bottom of the face, geared directly from the fourth wheel of the train. This is the small seconds, and for centuries it was simply how seconds were shown.
Putting the seconds hand in the centre of the dial, sweeping the whole face, needs an extra pinion and slightly changes the movement's height and hand fittings. That is why a small-seconds and a centre-seconds caliber, even of the same family, are not interchangeable in a case and dial built for one of them.
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