Girard Perregaux, CHF 12,200
A complete calendar in a perennial favourite that prefers elegance over excess. Day and month are displayed in apertures at 12 o’clock on the opaline dial, while the date is pointed by a hand around the moon-phase display at 6 o’clock. Steel enables a more affordable price than the precious metal executions.
IWC Schaffhausen, CHF 21,000
Another classic execution of the complete calendar with nonetheless a few departures from tradition in the presentation of the different calendar indications. There are no apertures: day, month and date are pointed by hands. Similarly, the subdial for moon phases travels from the traditional 6 to 12 o’clock position. The overall effect is pleasing at a sensible price for a gold watch.
Blancpain, CHF 23,398
A relatively original complete calendar in the mid-price range for gold on a leather strap. The blue of the dial offers a pleasant contrast with the red gold case while the dial arrangement includes some unusual touches, such as the serpentine hand that shows the date not on a subdial at 6 o’clock, but on a circle outside the hour numerals. Don’t miss the cheeky face of the gold moon.
Carl F. Bucherer, CHF 35,000
This has to be one of the most modern calendars available right now. Forget gold and steel: the forged carbon case contains a titanium inner container that shields the in-house CFB A2055 movement. The calendar displays are all pointer-type on black subdials. Moon phases are represented by two moons in engraved white gold that travel across an aventurine disc.
Jaeger-LeCoultre, CHF 40,300
The luxury of gold meets the sporty appeal of an all-terrain rubber strap. The one and only aperture, at 12 o’clock in the gradient blue dial, corresponds to the year indication that joins the “usual suspects” of day, date and month.
Vacheron Constantin, CHF 64,500
A magnificent proposition in gold whose skeletonised execution enables a superb view of the in-house 1120 QPSQ/1 calibre. Subdials for the day, month, date and moon phases remain clearly legible among the intricate interweaving of 276 meticulously finished components. Ring the changes by swapping the gold bracelet for a strap in rubber or leather.
Patek Philippe, CHF 82,500
Introduced in 2017, Reference 5320 is a lesson in symmetry and legibility whose vintage style lends itself to a version in white gold with a gilded opaline pink gold dial. The calendar adopts the characteristic layout of Patek Philippe perpetual calendar watches since 1941, with a twin in-line day/month aperture at 12 o’clock and a pointer date around a moon-phase aperture at 6 o’clock. They are complemented by a round aperture for the day/night indication between 7 and 8 o’clock, and another for the leap-year cycle between 4 and 5 o’clock.
Breguet, CHF 244,100
The price of this complete calendar may surprise but, as its name tells us, we are in the presence of a grand complication watch. Classic calendar indications are joined by a tourbillon escapement and a running equation of time, which measures the difference between solar time and mean civil time. A collector’s delight.
