Glossary/Alarm
Alarm
An alarm is a complication that allows for a timepiece to be set to sound on a gong or a bell at a given time. Alarms, or alarums, were made as early as the fourteenth century, and many early Chamber clocks have alarm mechanisms.
Since their inception, the manufacture of alarms has since become a highly automated process. However, although they once proved a very useful mechanical complication, the production of mechanical timepieces with an alarm today has largely been superseded by electronic alarms which usually boast a convenient "snooze" or "remind again later" function.
Most clock alarms are fitted to Thirty-hour Movements. travelling clocks with alarms are often fitted to eight-day movements. There are modern alarms with adjustable loudness, musical alarms, and repeater alarms.
An alarm watch is a wristwatch that incorporates an alarm mechanism for reminding the wearer of appointments etcetera. The first alarm watch was the Cricket. There is a separate button or crown for winding and setting the alarm. Some models are scaled as elapsed time indicators for car parking. Others, on watches for skin divers, indicate safe underwater time limits.