Three of the best minute repeater watches, true mechanical marvels

I was going to do a "which watch to panic buy" column this week but if you haven't got something for a loved one or the boss you're trying to curry favour with by now, then no amount of trolley dashing can save you. No, really, you're screwed. So, instead, this week I'll focus on a complication I don't often talk about, the curious wonder that is the minute repeater.

For those who don't know, the minute repeater is a function found in mechanical watches that, with the push of a button, can strike out the time in hours, quarter hours or minutes. In the days before the smartphone, minute repeaters were the handiest way of telling the time in the dark, but now, if we're honest, they are pointless and silly. And in an industry where the words "pointless" and "silly" could be applied to most features, that's saying something.

Still, the minute repeater is a mechanical marvel and each year the chimes become louder and more complex. Take the Hublot Classic Fusion Cathedral Tourbillon (right), which was deemed the best minute repeater watch this year at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève awards. To be frank, despite the intricate cathedral gongs, this watch was a winner likely because it was very, very loud, which is no mean achievement. The case is sized at 45mm and houses the praise-worthy in-house HUB 8001 movement. The dial is beautifully finished with the partially revealed movement and polished components on full display. Features are pretty basic but you'd be buying this watch purely for the racket it makes. The Classic Fusion Cathedral Tourbillon is available in titanium (HK$2.02 million; limited to 99 pieces) and gold (HK$2.29 million; limited to 50 pieces).

Next we have a minute repeater that takes the basic premise of a striking watch and adds a whole load of drama to make a quite exceptional timepiece. The Jaquet Droz Bird Repeater Openwork (below left) is a wonderful nod to the brand's history, as well as a welcome modern-day quirk. With one push of the button, not only do you get the fantastic chimes but you set in train a bit of awe-inspiring mechanical mini drama (try saying that five times really quickly) with the birds moving in time to the chimes. Even without the theatrics this is a beautifully finished timepiece, with the glory of the RMA88 movement on show in the open worked dial. The white-gold case is sized at 47mm and, once again, features are not the focus here, with just simple hours and minutes placed off-centre on the dial. Power reserve tops out at 48 hours and the strap is made of black alligator leather. A watch this unusual is, unsurprisingly, priced at a level that puts it out of reach for most mortals, with limited run of eight pieces each priced at HK$3.84 million.

Finally, we have another theatrical specimen: the Ulysse Nardin Jazz Minute Repeater (below right). This watch marries artisanal artwork, technical innovation and music in one hard-to-miss timepiece. Much like the Bird Repeater, a push of the button not only produces chimes but also makes the engraved jazz players on the dial deliver a kinetic performance. The watch is sized at 42mm with the case made of 950 platinum, which is a lovely counterpoint to the onyx dial. Inside is an in-house UN-74 movement. This is a clever watch that's wonderfully finished and a surefire collectors' item. Limited to 18 pieces, prices for the Jazz Minute Repeater are available upon request.