Seven New Perpetual Calendar Timepieces from 2021 Watches and Wonders
Photos and feature comparison to spot the latest trends and innovations
The 2021 Watches and Wonders digital salon that took place earlier this month was like a Christmas for watch enthusiasts and collectors. I was very lucky to receive an invite to the digital salon by the A. Lange & Söhne boutique in Southern California, as this show is usually only for the industry professionals and VIP clients. I had to stay late or got up really early to catch the live presentations due to the time difference between California and Geneva. The Omega WorldTimer really came in handy for tracking the program schedule.
Among all the fantastic novelties unveiled from the 40 watch brands, quite a few perpetual calendars stood out for their intriguing designs and exceptional craftsmanship. Due to the complexity involved in the perpetual calendars both in the calibre and dial design, there are rooms for improvements and innovations. While all the new models have been reported in depth by the watch media covering the show, it would be fun to compare these new perpetual calendar models and compile the photos together for easy browsing.
A perpetual calendar is an intricate yet very useful complication, referred to as QP sometimes from the French words “Quantième Perpétuel”. For a normal mechanical watch with date function, the date will go to 31 for every month. Therefore, for five times a year, on March 1st, May 1st, July 1st, Oct 1st and Dec 1st, the date needs to be adjusted forward to the correct date. For an annual calendar, there is only one adjustment a year needed, on March 1 specifically, as the rest of the date change logics have been built in the watch. For a perpetual calendar, no date adjustment is needed all year around, with adjustment for February automatically accomodated. In addition to the date, a perpetual calendar usually displays day of week, month, moon phase and leap-year indicator. It is a wonderful complication that brings convenience and enjoyment to daily wear.
At this year’s Watches and Wonders, there were three brand new, stunning perpetual calendar models introduced by A. Lange & Söhne, Bulgari, and Patek Philippe. Bulgari launched Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar in titanium with titanium Bracelet, the world’s thinnest perpetual calendar watch. It is mind boggling how Bulgari designers were able to squeeze so many complex mechanical mechanisms into such a small, flat space! The use of a micro-rotor would help save some space but it is indeed a masterpiece worthy of a world record to deliver such an unrivalled engineering feat with stunning elegance.
A. Lange & Söhne had produced in the past super complicated timepieces of perpetual calendar and chronograph in one, but this was the first time Lange presented a stand-alone perpetual calendar, the Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar in rose gold. it is an engineering marvel, as the designers were constrained by the Lange 1’s unique dial layout, but they certainly overcame the challenges with flying colors. The power reserve indicator in Lange 1 models was turned into a retrograde day indicator. The date is displayed in an all-new rotating ring at the outermost portion of the dial. The day/night indicator was built in with the moon phase, a simple yet elegant solution that somehow escaped all the watchmakers prior to the birth of this model. This refreshing perpetual calendar will further solidify Lange’s place in high horology and delight the Lange fans and collectors.
Patek Philippe smartly waited until the later part of the Watches and Wonders to announce its first ever in-line Perpetual Calendar 5236P-001 in platinum. “In-line” refers to day-date-month displayed next to each other on one line, like “SAT 18 MAR”. This is a first on a wristwatch from any brand, although Patek had done it before on a pocket watch. The release after the tidal wave of announcements at the start of the show created its own second wave with this ingenious breakthrough in watchmaking. It was really exciting to see Patek continue to innovate and push the envelope to produce masterpieces in horology.
There were new perpetual calendar models from other brands that were variations of previous models. The updated models often use different case materials and straps, thus offering new looks and feels. Please see the list below for the new perpetual calendars we will compare here. I add the one and only perpetual calendar in my personal collection to the list as well, which is a Jaeger‑LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar in stainless steel released in 2016. I acquired mine from an AD in early 2019 with some discount and please see my review here. It is still one of the best values in perpetual calendars as we may see from the comparison table below.
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar in White Gold
Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar in Titanium with Titanium Bracelet
IWC Big Pilot's Watch With Perpetual Calendar in Stainless Steel
Montblanc Heritage Manufacture Perpetual Calendar in Rose Gold
Hermès Slim d’Hermès Perpetual Calendar in Titanium Case with Rose Gold Bezel
A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar in Rose Gold
Patek Philippe In-line Perpetual Calendar 5236P-001 in Platinum
Jaeger‑LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar in Stainless Steel
For displaying date, day, or month, there is the option of using a sub-dial, full circle or retrograde, or using a window with a rotating wheel underneath it. The outsize date of Lange 1 is definitely the most legible, while the in-line display of Patek 5236P let wearers get the information at a glance. The subdials on the other hand make the overall dial design more appealing and present the elapse of time more visually with the advancing hands for date, day of week and month.
The perpetual calendars often come with a moon phase display, a day/night indicator, a leap year indicator (1 to 4), and a year display. A day/night indicator is useful when setting the time for a perpetual calendar, as we would like to avoid setting the date/day to change at noon time rather than at mid-night. Two of the watches in our comparison here include a second time zone (GMT) function, which is useful when travelling. We show the comparison of features in the table below, together with case materials and retail prices. Perpetual calendars are expensive due to the complexity of the calibres and precious metals. The more affordable models are built in stainless steel cases which was why I had purchased the JLC model.
Perpetual calendar is an ultimate feature for a mechanical timepiece, which has motivated watch brands to keep on bringing novelties to the market, as we had witnessed from the 2021 Watches and Wonders. It is a worthwhile goal to add a perpetual calendar to any watch collection and hopefully the comparison here will showcase the latest creations for your consideration.