As a hub of international finance, Cayman is one of the places in the world where knowing the time in London, New York or Tokyo could well be more than just a passing fancy.

Of course, just memorising the time difference is possible, but not all that convenient. Rather than having to reach for the Google search bar, what about just turning the bezel on your watch?

“Everybody has seen a GMT, a world timer, where you can change the time on it by simply moving the hands and you’ll have two time zones. But it’s somewhat convoluted in that you have to unscrew the crown if it’s a screw down crown and move things around, but it’s always either the dials moving or the hands moving,” says Michael Jappert of Island Companies.

Clearly the last thing you want when dealing with jet lag or an early morning conference call to the other side of the globe is a confusing watch.

Enter Vogard, a watch brand that has found the most elegant of solutions to the problem. The names of different cities around the globe appear on the bezel of the watch, and adjusting to the correct time zone is as simple as dialling in the city of your choice.

“Vogard is a spectacular brand. What Vogard actually created was the ability to move a lever that you open up, and then you simply change the bezel to whatever place you want,” says Michael.

Another unique feature of the watch, which sets it apart from all other world times watches, is that it includes a feature to adjust for daylight savings time. A small ‘s’ in front of the name of the city indicates ‘spring’ and allows you to adjust for daylight savings time without having to fiddle with the dial.

“It’s nice that when you’re travelling – it’s one less thing to worry about, you just turn the bezel and that’s it,” says Michael.

Unlike many other watch brands, Vogard is very much a boutique brand, manufacturing only some 5,000 watches annually. This has also allowed Island Companies to work very closely with the owner of the company.

“What’s really special for us is because we have the unique opportunity to work with the company owner we went back to him and said ‘You know what, Cayman is a really unique place, it’s one of the most spectacular places in the Caribbean, we think you should create a Cayman edition’,” says Michael.

“So available only through Island Companies we actually have Grand Cayman on the watch in a really stunning blue dial. This watch is made specifically for Island Companies, so you get a watch that’s unique to Cayman,” says Michael.

The company also has special edition models for F1 fans, with the bezel showing the major circuits around the globe, and a banker’s edition that lists all the global financial centres. There is even a golfer’s edition showing the most prestigious golf courses around the globe, ensuring that you will never miss your tee time.

Yet if this is still not exclusive enough for you, the company even allows you to customise the locations that appear on the bezel of the watch.

“If you have some important places in your life that you would like to put in there, you can actually put some names on there that are relevant to your life that you’re not normally going to find on a watch,” says Michael.

So regardless of where your roots lie, you can always be just a little bit more connected.

Another unique touch when it comes to Vogard is that, indeed, there is an app for that.

The app, available for Apple iPhone, allows users to play around with the world timer function of the watch, but more importantly includes a configurator that allows users to design their own completely custom Vogard watch.

“The key for me is you can set exactly how you want your watch to look, so it takes all that pressure of you of being in the store and trying to decide what you like. This sets the idea of what you want to look at – then pop into the store for the look and the feel and that sense of discovery,” says Michael.

If the exact watch you want is not in store at Island Time or The Mansion, it is easy to order a custom built model from Vogard.

“You’d be surprised how fast they can do that, because we will call Mike (the designer) that day and it will take just a couple of hours for him to start putting all the pieces together, and in six to eight weeks you will have your watch that no-one else in the world will have,” says Michael.

Vogard is currently available in Island Time in Island Plaza, and The Mansion in Camana Bay, which is currently being renovated and will reopen in September with a full collection of Vogard watches.

According to Michael, the newly renovated store will be something well worth waiting for.

“We’re changing everything in The Mansion and one of the things we’re doing is adding a lot of spectacular brands to the store, so that you continuously have that sense of discovery when you shop at Island Companies.” WH

Available at Island Time, The Island Plaza 946-2333, icl17@islandcompaniesltd.com, and The Mansion (re-opening September 2011), Camana Bay
640 5337, icl37@islandcompaniesltd.com

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