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Perpetual Calendar Watches · Page 25

In-Depth: Patek Philippe Ref. 5236P In-line Perpetual Calendar SJX Watches
Dec 29, 2021

In-Depth: Patek Philippe Ref. 5236P In-line Perpetual Calendar

Patek Philippe introduced a bunch of notable new models this year, including the recent “Advanced Research” Minute Repeater Ref. 5750P. The most notable amongst its accessible complications – accessible in a relative sense – is unquestionably the In-line Perpetual Calendar ref. 5236P, an all-new model with a movement developed from the ground up. The ref. 5236P takes its cues from the “linear” perpetual calendar pocket watches of the 1950s and 1960s, namely the ref. 725 with perpetual calendar only, and the refs. 699, 843, and 844 that also included a minute repeater. The nickname stems from the calendar display within a single, horizontal window under 12 o’clock, which instantly sets such watches apart from conventional calendar displays that rely on multiple sub-dials. A ref. 699 from 1956 with linear calendar and minute repeater This same straight-line calendar display has been reproduced on the ref. 5236P – a substantial feat considering its compact size and relatively large calendar window. It was realised with an all-new calendar mechanism with a cleverly designed display, but one still constructed as a traditional, “grand lever” calendar. Initial thoughts Despite its vintage inspiration, the ref. 5236P looks and feels like a contemporary watch, especially because of its colours and size. In the hand the ref. 5236P is substantial, both in diameter and weight. At 41.3 mm it’s one of the biggest perpetual calendar watches Patek Philippe makes. In...

In-Depth: Parmigiani Revives a Louis-Elisée Piguet Grande Sonnerie SJX Watches
Dec 9, 2021

In-Depth: Parmigiani Revives a Louis-Elisée Piguet Grande Sonnerie

A grand old name in highly complicated movements, Louis-Elisée Piguet was active in the second half of the 19th century and most famous for his grande sonnerie and perpetual calendar calibres. Amongst his clients for ebauches, or movement blanks, were famous names like Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin – and his work was perhaps an inspiration for Philippe Dufour in the 20th century. A prime example of one such ebauche – featuring a grande sonnerie and minute repeater no less – was acquired by Michel Parmigiani in the late 1990s. A watchmaker and restorer extraordinaire, Mr Parmigiani and his daughter, Anne-Laure, recently led a project to finish and enhance the movement, resulting in La Rose Carrée, a spectacular pocket watch to mark his namesake brand’s 25th anniversary. Initial thoughts Like the recent Vacheron Constantin Tribute to Johannes Vermeer pocket watch, La Rose Carrée is a masterpiece catered to a narrow audience. There are few collectors of pocket watches nowadays, at least relative to wristwatches, especially pocket watches with seven figure price tags. But inaccessible as it may be,  La Rose Carrée is certainly worthy of admiration. The quality of craft and decoration is par excellence – an all-star team of artisans was recruited to complete it – and the ebauche was a masterpiece even unfinished. Stylistically, La Rose Carrée is also unusual in being more contemporary than the average grand complication pocket watch. The geometric f...

HANDS ON: The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Top Gun Edition and Perpetual Calendar “Mojave Desert” Time+Tide
Nov 13, 2021

HANDS ON: The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Top Gun Edition and Perpetual Calendar “Mojave Desert”

IWC have the pilot’s watch game sussed out and their Top Gun series are among the toughest of the bunch, with a no-holds barred approach to the watch as a vital flight instrument. You might recognise a whiff of nostalgia in the large sword hands and classic onion crown big enough to twiddle with proper … ContinuedThe post HANDS ON: The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Top Gun Edition and Perpetual Calendar “Mojave Desert” appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Winners – 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève SJX Watches
Nov 5, 2021

Winners – 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève

The award ceremony of 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) just kicked off the biggest week in Geneva’s horological calendar. Widely regarded as the all-encompassing awards of watchmaking, the GPHG is made up of fourteen prizes for individual categories, plus a special prize for the watch of there year. And here are the year’s winners. Aiguille d’Or Grand Recognised for its aesthetic and technical qualities – it is the thinnest perpetual calendar wristwatch ever – the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar took home the top prize of the event. Audacity The winner certainly lives up to the name of the prize. The Louis Vuitton Tambour Carpe Diem is over the top but finely decorated in an artisanal manner, with an impressive movement that combines an automaton and minute repeater. Innovation Deserving of its prize, the Bernhard Lederer Central Impulse Chronometer is one of the most technically impressive watches of 2021. And that’s because it’s kitted out with a double-wheel escapement powered by twin going trains, each equipped with a remontoir d’egalité constant force mechanism. Men’s Watch Grand Seiko’s Elegance SLGH005 “White Birch” is equipped with an impressive, latest-generation calibre, the cal. 9SA5. It was a worthy winner, though it has to be said that the competition was not especially strong this year. Launched last year for Grand Seiko’s 60th anniversary, the cal. 9SA5 is the brand’s highest-end mechanical movement ...

VIDEO: IWC introduces two new stealth Top Gun Ceratanium Pilot’s watches Time+Tide
Oct 27, 2021

VIDEO: IWC introduces two new stealth Top Gun Ceratanium Pilot’s watches

Today we are highway-ing into the danger zone, with two new complicated IWC Top Gun Ceratanium pilot’s watches that will take your breath away. OK, enough Top Gun puns. Focus Zach. IWC has brought forth two new stealth Ceratanium references: the IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Top Gun Ceratanium and the IWC Pilot’s Watch Timezoner Top Gun … ContinuedThe post VIDEO: IWC introduces two new stealth Top Gun Ceratanium Pilot’s watches appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Patek Philippe Introduces the Split-Seconds Chronograph Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5204R SJX Watches
Oct 14, 2021

Patek Philippe Introduces the Split-Seconds Chronograph Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5204R

A variant of a longstanding reference in the Patek Philippe catalogue, the Split-Seconds Chronograph Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5204R-011 is only set apart by its slate-grey dial, but unusual nonetheless – it’s the sole model in Patek Philippe’s Grand Complications collection in that colour, where the predominant colours are silver, blue, black, and a splash of salmon. Initial thoughts Historically the split-seconds seconds chronograph with perpetual calendar in gold was often paired with a silver dial. But as the new World Time Chronograph ref. 5930P illustrates, Patek Philippe is continuing to add new colours into the regular catalogue, instead of reserving them for limited editions or special orders. The rose gold version of this reference is already available with a black dial as the ref. 5204/1R, but matched with a weighty and flashy rose gold bracelet. The new ref. 5204R in contrast is a relatively low key watch, which will appeal to anyone who wants a “Grand Complication” that’s, well, low key. The colour palette of the new ref. 5204R is a familiar because it works well. This makes the ref. 5204R the most appealing version of the model currently available; it is certainly more striking than the conservative model with a silver dial. That said, I do wish Patek had taken the opportunity to redesign the dial slightly, perhaps with slimmer hands and a moon phase display on the top of the lower register. As it is, the moon phase display leaves the dial bottom he...

Highlights: Vintage Patek Philippe – and One Special Day-Date – at Sotheby’s Hong Kong SJX Watches
Oct 9, 2021

Highlights: Vintage Patek Philippe – and One Special Day-Date – at Sotheby’s Hong Kong

With Sotheby’s Hong Kong sale just around the corner, we’re rounding up a half-dozen notable vintage watches from the auction, primarily big-ticket Patek Philippe complications. Amongst them a few oddities, one a Patek Philippe ref. 3448 “Senza Luna”, a perpetual calendar with the moon phase omitted, and the other the Rolex Day-Date with a  “Submariner” dial. With the preview exhibition open daily from now till October 12, the auction will take place on October 13. The catalogue and registration for bidding are available on Sothebys.com. Lot 2265: Patek Philippe ref. 130 The oldest watch of the selection is a Patek Philippe ref. 130, the brand’s first serially-produced wristwatch chronograph that remained in the catalogue for over three decades. The model’s longevity makes it an inevitability that a good number of ref. 130 variants exist. Indeed, the model varies greatly in terms case material and dial design, with some combinations being rarer than others. One such rare combination is a steel case with “sector” dial, like the present example. Made by Wenger, the steel cases of the ref. 130 have shorter and wider-spaced lugs compared to the gold cases that made by Vichet, giving the 33 mm case a more imposing appearance Chronograph wristwatches from that era typically feature tiny counters that sit close to the edge of the dial, leaving the dial clean and distinctly vintage. But the “sector” dial here is an entirely different animal – the sect...

Our Predictions In The Calendar And Astronomy Category Of The 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG): No Consensus Highlights The Strong Competition Quill & Pad
Oct 8, 2021

Our Predictions In The Calendar And Astronomy Category Of The 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG): No Consensus Highlights The Strong Competition

Complication abounds in the 2021 GPHG Calendar and Astronomy category: two perpetual calendars – one of which is of world record-holding thinness – a complete calendar with chronograph, a clever day-date that you can’t help but smile at, a mind-blowingly beautiful moon phase watch, and the world’s smallest planetarium. And our panel members all (well, nearly all) have different favorites to win!

Hands-On: With The L.U.C 1937 Classic Pink Gold, An Elegant In-House Chronometer From Chopard (Live Pics & Pricing) Hodinkee
Sep 29, 2021

Hands-On: With The L.U.C 1937 Classic Pink Gold, An Elegant In-House Chronometer From Chopard (Live Pics & Pricing)

Chopard's L.U.C collection contains a number of very interesting watches that range from simple time-only pieces to perpetual calendars and tourbillons (and even a cool table clock). At the more accessible end of the scale, we have the L.U.C 1937 Classic, a three-hand watch with a discrete date window and an in-house, chronometer-certified movement. That this movement comes in an elegant, well-finished pink gold package makes it all the more appealing.

One Hundred and Eighty Days with the A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Thin SJX Watches
Sep 27, 2021

One Hundred and Eighty Days with the A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Thin

A. Lange & Söhne introduced the Saxonia Thin 37 at SIHH 2016 as the entry-level model in its collection. But “entry level” is relative at Lange, a brand that famously applies the same rigorous standards of production and finishing to all its watches, from the Saxonia Thin to the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar that retails for more than US$300,000. For the purpose of this review, I will put this reputation to the test by examining each element of the watch in detail, and share my impressions of the ownership experience. Glashüttenomics Though owned by Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont – which owns over two dozen brands including Cartier, IWC, and Panerai – Lange remains a boutique outfit with an annual output of about 4,500 watches, and a maximum production capacity of about 5,500 watches. This is a fraction of competitors like Audemars Piguet at about 45,000 watches per year, and Patek Philippe, where the figure is over 60,000. While production volume is small, Lange is the largest employer in Glashütte, a small town with a population of about 8,000. Lange employs about 600 people at its Glashütte campus, though some commute in from the surrounding region, including the city of Dresden. This headcount is primarily devoted to watchmaking, since Lange relocated its marketing department to Berlin in 2017. For comparison, Glashütte Original has a similar number of employees in Glashütte, while producing about 13,000 watches per year, or about three ti...

Audemars Piguet Unveils the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in Titanium SJX Watches
Sep 15, 2021

Audemars Piguet Unveils the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in Titanium

The current generation Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar has become the favourite platform for national or regional editions, with Audemars Piguet (AP), having debuted almost ten different versions over the last few years, including limited runs for China, Hong Kong, and Thailand. And the brand has just taken the covers off a special edition for the American market (at least initially, with other countries getting a shot at the watch later on): the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 41 mm in titanium with an unusual, two-tone tapisserie guilloche dial in grey and blue. Initial thoughts The blue tapisserie dial is so familiar that the new Perpetual Calendar doesn’t seem new on its face. In fact, it might pass for the steel version with a blue dial, with only the grey sub-dials setting the two apart. That said, the latest Royal Oak perpetual is a good-looking watch, with a handsome, restrained style and colours that echo the original “Jumbo” ref. 5402. Traditionally, Royal Oak Perpetual Calendars have sub-dials that match the dial, but contrasting calendar registers actually makes sense since they distinguish between the functions. The two-tone dial on the latest model does that, while adding visual contrast. At the distance the two colours might not be obvious, but they will certainly be apparent up close. The hands and markers are white gold In addition to the contrasting sub-dials, the case metal is also relatively uncommon for a Royal Oak – the very first Royal Oak Perpe...