Watches & Wonders 2025: Forever lasts the longest
Watches & Wonders 2025: Forever lasts the longest
Is it the uncertain times and future prospects that have triggered the perceived glut of perpetual calendars? Possibly! Perhaps it is an expression of the desire to control the passage of time at least until the year 2100 by means of a timepiece. Why 2100? There is a simple answer to this question.
And this goes back to the 16th century. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII decreed the Gregorian calendar with the papal bull Inter gravissimas. And its leap year regulation stipulates that three leap years are skipped in a cycle of 400 years in order to adjust the length of the year to the solar year.
And this happens in the century years. But only in those that are not divisible by 400. 2000 is divisible by 400, so it was a leap year. 2100 is not divisible by 400. Ergo, it is not a leap year.
This is almost impossible for even the most masterful clockwork technicians to realise, meaning that the so-called perpetual calendars have to be readjusted once in the year 2100. With one exception.
The "Portugieser Eternal Calendar", which IWC presented to the astonished watch community at last year's Watches & Wonders, offers theoretical accuracy of more than 45 million years.
The platinum timepiece not only recognises the different lengths of the months and adds a leap day every four years, but also takes into account the complicated leap year exceptions of the Gregorian calendar. A newly developed 400-year wheel ensures that the calendar automatically skips three leap years over four centuries. There is also a precise moon phase display. Thanks to a newly developed reduction gear, it only deviates from the moon's actual orbit by one day after 45 million years.
But even without the perpetual perpetual calendar, integrating a "perpetual" calendar into a wristwatch is one of the greatest challenges in watchmaking. This is why this function is also one of the Grand Complications.
The term "glut" used at the beginning of this article should therefore also be interpreted with this proviso and does not represent an unmanageable number. But it feels like every manufacturer capable of producing a perpetual calendar for the wrist has done so. You can find a small insight into perpetuity here.
The purchase of a A. Lange & Söhne is certainly a purchase for life for many. With the limited edition of 50 "Minute Repeater Perpetual" you are on the safe side when it comes to accuracy. This is because the calendar display only needs to be corrected by one day on 1 March 2100, when the leap year ceases to apply in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. The same applies to the moon phase with its display calculated to an accuracy of 122.6 years.
As sophisticated as the mechanism is, the operation of the Perpetual calendarAs is typical for Lange, all calendar displays can be conveniently advanced together via a single corrector. They can be read on the black dial made of white gold and enamel.
A glance through the sapphire crystal case back reveals the new, finely decorated manufacture calibre L122.2 with manual winding, comprising 640 parts. However, it not only controls the perpetual calendar, but also the mechanism for the Minute repetition with their crystal-clear sound.
Data: Case (platinum, 40.5 millimetres, water-resistant to 2 bar), movement (L122.2 with manual winding and 72-hour power reserve), strap (hand-stitched alligator leather), RRP (€750,000)
When it was launched in 2016, the "Classic Perpetual Calendar Manufacture" from Frederique Constant - according to its own information - the most affordable Perpetual calendar on the watch market. However, the manufactory was by no means lacking in quality with this timepiece and its successor models.
After all, the company sees itself as an expert in affordable luxury. In 2025, collectors' wishes regarding colour and size have also been taken into account. A salmon-coloured dial now displays the familiar precision of FC watches, which is generated by the inner workings of the reduced 40-millimetre case.
To be more precise, this is the 34th calibre from the manufacture. It bears the designation FC-776 and its power reserve has been extended to three days.
It can be seen through the sapphire crystal case back. In addition to the perpetual calendar displaying the day, month and date (taking leap years into account), it also provides the Dauphine hands for the hours and minutes as well as the moon phase with energy and precision.
Data: Case (stainless steel, 40 mm), movement (FC-776 with automatic winding and 72-hour power reserve), strap (alligator), RRP (€9,995)
To mark its 270th anniversary Vacheron Constantin among other things, the limited edition of 127 "Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar". In terms of design, the creatives have orientated themselves to the roots of the manufactory and created a classic look.
Inside, however, modernity reigns supreme with the newly developed manufacture calibre 2162 QP/270, which consists of 324 components, measures just 6.55 millimetres in height thanks to its peripheral oscillating weight and combines the grand complications Perpetual calendar and Tourbillon.
Vacheron Constantin also put a lot of heart and soul into finishing this movement with the côte-unique cut, which the manufacture used more than a century ago and has brought back to life. The silver-plated gold dial was also painstakingly guilloched by hand with a pattern that only the anniversary editions are allowed to display.
Data: Case (platinum, 42 mm, water-resistant to 3 bar), movement (2162 QP/270 with automatic winding and 72-hour power reserve), strap (alligator leather), RRP (on request)
The Reference 5308which is available as a world premiere in a limited platinum edition as reference 5308P-010 from Patek Philippe launched on the occasion of the Watch Art Grand Exhibition 2023 in Tokyo, is now part of the manufactory's current collection.
And in ice blue. Beneath the sunburst dial in white gold coloured in this way, the timepiece combines Minute repetition on two clay springs, Slave hand monopusher chronograph, Moon phase and a current perpetual calendar. The latter is arranged in three semi-circular windows for the day of the week, date and month and ensures the disc is changed within just 30 milliseconds.
Patek calls this combination of sophisticated functionality a quadruple complication. This is controlled by the performance-optimised automatic calibre R CHR 27 PS QI, consisting of 799 individual parts and featuring four new patents.
Data: Case (white gold, 42 mm, moisture and dust-proof), movement (calibre R CHR 27 PS QI with max. 48-hour power reserve), strap (hand-stitched alligator leather strap), RRP (€1,216,710)
The perpetual calendar of a clock provides a lot of information: Day, date, month and year including leap year. There is often also a moon phase display. This can quickly become confusing. Not so with the 50-piece limited edition "Toric Quantieme Perpetual" from Parmigiani Fleurier.
The manufactory, which is known for its purist design philosophy, has not only deliberately omitted the moon phase, but has also created a coaxial design that allows all information to be displayed quickly. This leaves plenty of room for the hours and minutes and a lot of space for the hand-grained dial surface in Morning Blue or Golden Hour.
The PF733 manufacture movement is at work behind both, and its decoration can be admired through the sapphire crystal case back. The 18-carat rose gold bridges with Côtes de Fleurier decoration are just as much a part of Datz as the sandblasted base plate and the hand-bevelled stainless steel bridges.
Data: Case (platinum/rose gold, 40.6 millimetres, water-resistant to 3 bar), movement (PF733 with manual winding and 60-hour power reserve), strap (hand-stitched nubuck alligator leather), RRP (€103,700/95,800)
For the 30th anniversary Roger Dubuis the strictly limited edition of eight "Excalibur Grande Complication" presented. And of course the name says it all.
Three major complications are offered: Perpetual calendar, Minute repeater and Tourbillon. This is made possible by the calibre RD118, consisting of 684 components. The perpetual calendar utilises a special feature in the form of a bi-retrograde display.
The hands glide elegantly along semi-circular scales before immediately jumping back to zero at the end of their cycle. The "Excalibur Grande Complication" features a bi-retrograde display with two separate scales: one for the day of the week and one for the date - complemented by skeletonised Excalibur hands with a precise semi-instantaneous jump.
There is also a month disc between 11 and 12 o'clock, accompanied by a discreet leap year indicator. There is also a minute repeater, which only sounds when the pusher is pressed fully and deliberately. The trio of complications is rounded off by the flying tourbillon between 5 and 6 o'clock.
Data: Case (rose gold, 45 mm, water-resistant to 5 bar), movement (RD118 with automatic winding and 60-hour power reserve), strap (calfskin), availability (Roger Dubuis boutiques)
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