The Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Is the King of Alarm Watches

A mechanical alarm might not seem like the most useful watch complication when your iPhone and Amazon Echo can easily take care of getting you to that morning meeting on time, but to many of us there's something undeniably charming about a buzzing mechanical timepiece. A particularly handsome alarm watch is the Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox, which took on many shapes and sizes over the years. Here are a few versions to know right now.

Actually, before we get into the watches, it's important to understand how a mechanical alarm works. Basically there's a second spring inside the watch that powers a little hammer that rapidly bangs on a metal gong when the mechanism is triggered. You manually set the time on the dial, wind the alarm, and then wait for the ring to go off. Some watches are quiet, but most are more than loud enough (and often abrasive enough) to wake you up.