An Amazon commenter explains the "compass":
"Fake compass - You need to manually adjust its bezel to sync with the position of the sun which you could generally determined your bearings with you naked eye! The so-called compass bezel is merely for aesthetics. . . . [and] moves too easily."
CloacaWho would think that this is an actual compass??? It's a manual tool that could help you navigate. When was the last time you used a compass anyway?
JJJAK@JJJAK "Who would think that this is an actual compass?"
I did. So I was curious how it worked, I posted what I discovered.
"When was the last time you used a compass anyway?"
I don't use a mobile phone, so I have a compass attached to my bicycle. I don't need a map most of the time; direction is enough. For instance, if I want to cut north to get to a major street. I live in Japan where streets (famously not including Kyoto) tend not to be straight, so you get disoriented quickly as they meander around in curves. Having a compass lets me go more-or-less north.
I'm a city boy, so using the sun never really occurred to me. I think I'll try that (sans watch) and see if it's enough. But on clear nights I can roughly navigate by the stars. Polaris is hard to see in urban skies, but for instance Jupiter is at southwest these days (at midnight). And in winter you can use the Winter Hexagon stars for direction.
CloacaOh. I would think that the magnets in a conventional compass would interfere with operation of the movement of the watch. Serious ingenuity would need to be applied To incorporate a gyroscopic compass. If you were looking for a watch with a integrated compass Timex' Expedition line of digital watches has several models with a compass. They may not be convenient as you need to press a button to activate the reading. Some watch straps have a small compass but these are likely not overly accurate. Likely, your best option, as you are already using, for serious navigation is handheld, high quality magnetic compass.
"Fake compass - You need to manually adjust its bezel to sync with the position of the sun which you could generally determined your bearings with you naked eye! The so-called compass bezel is merely for aesthetics. . . . [and] moves too easily."