The “Wandering Hours” complication was first imagined in 1655 when Pope Alexander VII complained about his “noisy” bedroom clock. The Campani brothers were commissioned to create a “silent” Tabernacle night clock that would be able to meet the Pontiff’s needs. As a result, the Campani brothers created the first “Wandering Hours” desk clock which displayed the time at the top of each hour and would slowly progress as the hour went on.

The Audemars Piguet Star Wheel, is the modern culmination and representation of the horological contribution of the Campani Brothers. Introduced in the 1990s, the Audemars Piguet Star wheel was one of the first timepieces in the modern era to feature the unusual “Wandering Hour” complication. The dial is displayed with three transparent sapphire disks, or star wheels, each inscribed with four hour indicators are attached to a rotating center wheel. As the assembly turns, the indicator for the actual hour is rotated into view and then passed across a 120-degree minutes sector. The time is read by noting the visible hour pointing to the current minute. Each disk is obscured until it rises into the arc where the background contrasts the digits for readability.