2020-02-10 Bloomberg Businessweek

AUDEMARSPIGUETROYAL

OAKPERPETUALCALENDAR

OPENWORKED

A blackceramiccaseand

transparentsapphiredial

showcasethecomplexcaliber

here,someofwhichis craftedin

18-karatpinkgold.It alsoshows

theweekoftheyearanda moon

display.$91,000

JAEGER-LECOULTRE

MASTER GRANDE TRADITION

GYROTOURBILLON

WESTMINSTER PERPETUAL

This white gold watch also

combinesa three-dimensional

multiple-axistourbillonwitha

minuterepeaterthatsoundsthe

timeusingWestminsterchimes.

$895,000

IWCSCHAFFHAUSENBIG

PILOT’SWATCHPERPETUAL

CALENDARSPITFIRE

TheIWCBigPilot’scollection

hasa cultfollowing,andthis

newversionwithmilitarygreen

dialandsandblastedbronze

caseis aneye-catcher.The

movementshowsmoonphases

forbothhemispheres.$28,200

PARMIGIANIFLEURIERTORIC

QUANTIEMEPERPETUEL

RETROGRADE

Aventurinedisksat6 o’clock

showthephasesofthemoon

inbothhemispheres,andthe

dateis indicatedbya red-tipped

retrogradehandthat,attheend

ofeachmonth,jumpsbackto

thefirst.$64,100

It’s a leap year, and the leap day falls on a Saturday. That

means for collectors who own perpetual calendar wrist-

watches, there’s free time to luxuriate in a phenomenon that

happens only once every four years: the “February 29” month

and date clicking into place.

Miniature mechanical marvels, perpetual calendar

watches accurately track the hours, minutes, and seconds,

aswellasthedayoftheweekanddate,alwaystakinginto

accountmonthswithdifferentnumbersofdaysandleap

years.Mostsuchwatcheswillpreciselytracktimewithout

needinganadjustmentuntilMarch1, 2100,whentheleap

yearthatshouldtakeplacewon’toccursoourGregoriancal-

endarsarerealignedwithsolartime.Consideredhighcom-

plicationsintheworldofhorology,perpetualcalendarsare

amongthemostchallengingwatchmakingfeats.

“It’sfascinatingthatinsucha tinyspace,a seriesofgears

andleversactasa microcomputertocalculatetheexactdate

everyday,aslongasthewatchis wound.It’sa singlesystem

thatperformsincredibly,”saysPaulBoutros,headofwatches,

Americas,forauctionhousePhillips.“Itis theperfectcom-

plicationforgearheadsandforthosefascinatedbyhowto

makecomplexthingslooksimple.”

Notallperpetualcalendarsarecreatedequally.Someuse

smallsubsidiarydialsonthemaindialtoindicatetheneces-

saryinformation.Othersdisplayonlysomeinformationon

thedialsideandsecretetherestonthecaseback.Further

variationsevenincorporatemoonphaseindicationsorother

watchmakingcomplications.Time-consumingtobuild,per-

petualcalendarsaretypicallymadeinsmallnumbers,and

somearesohighlysought-afterthattherearewaitinglists

forthem.Thefinestrenditionsoftencommandupwardsof

$50,000atretail,withthosefeaturingaddedcomplications

sellingforhundredsofthousandsofdollars.

Atauction,vintagepiecescanfetcha lotmore.Lastyear,

Phillipssolda PatekPhilippeperpetualcalendarwithchro-

nographfor$2.3million.Herearesomethatcanbehadfor

less,sonexttimeleapyearcomesaroundyouwon’tbeleft

adjustingyourwatch.

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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY BRANDS

BONUS GUIDE Bloomberg Pursuits February 10, 2020

It’s the perfect moment

to invest in a perpetual

calendar watch

By Roberta Naas

Exquisite

Timing