The German luxury brand is now expanding the Senator Excellence line with two new versions of the Perpetual Calendar, as well as two additional models featuring the Panorama Date and moon phase complications. 

The perpetual calendar stands out as one of the most coveted and simultaneously complex complications in the realms of horology. The Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar is a beautiful example of this intricate haute horlogerie complication in a contemporary and user-friendly manner. Display windows replace traditional hands, ensuring optimal legibility and an elegant, clear design. Convenient correctors on the case make adjustments for the weekday, month, and moon phase easy, while the universal corrector allows simultaneous setting of the day, date, and month.

The Senator Excellence Panorama Date seamlessly combines two distinctive Glashütte Original complications, the moon phase and the brand’s large date. A meticulously crafted silver- or gold-colored moon gracefully moves beneath a curved opening in the dial. Precise diamond milling creates a sharp profile, distinct against the galvanic blue night sky. A generous dial aperture at 4 o’clock frames the Glashütte Original Panorama Date, which is comprised of two date discs mounted on the same level and without a central separation bar, thus ensuring optimal legibility.

All four new additions are clad into a round, 42 mm satin-brushed and polished case (Perpetual Calendar) or a 40 mm diameter case (Panorama Date Moon Phase) equipped with a slim, elegant bezel. The red gold versions boast a galvanic silver dial. Deep black numerals are clearly set off against the Panorama Date’s ivory-colored display discs. The hour and minute hands are fashioned in fine red gold, as are the manually applied Roman numerals.

The stainless steel versions present galvanic grey dials. The Panorama Date display discs show white numerals against a matte blue backdrop. Appropriately, the gold appliques are coated in blue and the hour and minute hands are fashioned in traditional blued steel. All dials are distinguished by a fine-grained surface texture. The raised Roman numerals and velvety surface lend the watches a classic, elegant face with distinctive contrasts and great visual depth. 

The new Perpetual Calendar timepieces are powered by the Calibre 36-12, while the Calibre 36-24 drives the models with Panorama Date and moon phase. 

Pricing for the Glashütte Original Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar starts at $31,000 for the red gold variant and at $21,900 for the stainless steel execution. The Senator Excellence Panorama Date Moon Phase starts at $22,400 for the red gold version and at $11,400 for stainless steel.

To learn more, visit Glashütte Original, here.

Ever since the first clocks were created, there has been a desire to add complications. Moon phases and calendar functions were among the first, and as pocket watches and later on, wristwatches appeared on the scene, these complications were there too implemented relatively quickly. While the impact of the moon in modern-day life dwindled for most people, knowing the day, date, and month became more and more important, in part explaining their continued popularity.

There are several ways in which a calendar function can be executed in wristwatches. The most basic, and popular, one, is simply showing just the date through either a window in the dial or with a hand. This latter is often referred to as a so-called pointer date. A complete, or full, calendar offers you additional information. There are quite a few varieties these days, but the most classic combines a day and date indicator, either as a subdial or a window, with a moon phase. These watches often have a classic appeal, with the downside that they need to be manually corrected at the end of every month that doesn’t have 31 days.

While it seems to be a small effort to do so, the technical ingenuity demanded to create a perpetual calendar, which would automatically correct itself for months with less than 31 days, as well as leap years. It was British watchmaker Thomas Mudge who first created this complication for a pocket watch in 1762. It wouldn’t appear in a wristwatch until Patek Philippe re-cased one of their perpetual pocket watch movements in a 34.4mm case with a leather strap and sold it in 1927 to the American watch collector Thomas Emery. Other brands soon followed, and these days most high-end watch brands have one or more perpetual calendars in their collection.

The mechanical complexity of the perpetual calendar made it one of the most coveted complications but also an expensive one. In 1996, it was again Patek Philippe that launched another breakthrough, the annual calendar. Part of the mechanism that makes the perpetual calendar so complex is dedicated to correcting for the leap year. With an annual calendar, you only have to manually adjust the date of the watch once a year, in February. This gives it quite an advantage over a full or complete calendar while at the same time being far less expensive than a perpetual calendar watch. While Patek Philippe patented this new complication, many brands found different solutions to the same problem, and as a result, there are now quite a few annual calendar watches to choose from.

That all three different versions are very much alive and relevant becomes clear when we look at the recent introductions. As Omega expanded its collection of annual calendars in the Constellation Globemaster, Frederique Constant was doing the same for their Highlife Perpetual Calendar Manufacture, while Vacheron Constantin launched an open-worked version of its Traditionnelle Complete Calendar. Which one would you pick?

This article is from the WatchTime Archives and was originally published in February 2022.

At the center of the new watch is its namesake perpetual calendar, with the complication capable of accurately displaying the day, date, month, and moon phase for nearly a century. Piaget adds a chic twist to this timeless haute horlogerie complication by executing it through its sports-focused Polo collection, creating a fascinating novelty that marries modern mechanical tradition with a touch of action-readiness.

The Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin boasts a 42mm stainless steel case, a relative rarity for perpetual calendars often housed in precious metal cases, with its thinness of 8.65mm showcasing the brand’s aptitude for creative mechanical watchmaking. Notably this choice of material helps provide the sophistication of the watch’s incredibly thin perpetual calendar functionality with a more casual and versatile appearance, fostering a unique duality in wear. For added flexibility, the model comes equipped with a comfortable stainless steel bracelet, which can be effortlessly swapped for a sporty rubber strap.

While the case of the watch is undoubtedly fascinating, it’s the uncommon Polo which captures your extended attention. The watch features a stunning green dial with a harmonious hue, with it striking a clear balance between functionality, organization, and legibility. The dial importantly avoids overcrowding, in part by showcasing the moon phase through a smaller window at the 6 o’clock position. This design decision not only enhances the generally legibility of the display but also adds a touch of technical sophistication to the timepiece, harmonizing flawlessly with its overall design.

Piaget lives up to its “ultra-slim” promise with the Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin via the caliber 1255P. This movement is essentially the automatic caliber 1200P, launched in 2010, enhanced with a perpetual calendar module. Remarkably, this brings the movement’s overall thickness to a mere 4mm. While it might not break records for thinness, it brings several advantages, including an attractive price point, all while maintaining the delicate balance between reliability and slimness. With an overall height of 8.65mm, Piaget has created a highly desirable perpetual calendar watch with a casually chic aesthetic.

The Piaget Polo Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin is available for $58,500 on a non-limited basis. Don’t miss the opportunity to see the watch live and in-person, alongside so many other exceptional timepieces, at this year’s WatchTime New York.

To learn more, visit Piaget, here.

And to purchase your tickets to WatchTime New York 2023, click here.

One of the most beautiful examples of the genre was achieved by A. Lange & Söhne with the Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar, first presented in 2021. In order to preserve the signature design of the Lange 1 watch family with its off-center and non-overlapping displays, Langeʼs watchmakers opted for a completely new approach and developed a peripheral month ring that advances instantaneously at the end of each month. Premiered in 2012 with the launch of the Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar, this innovative mechanism replaces the traditional design where the month display is controlled by a 48-step cam. 

“The commitment to tailor the complex mechanical requirements to the characteristic design of the Lange 1 presented our developers with constructive challenges, as the large peripheral ring has to be advanced instantaneously by 30 degrees from one month to the next. Throughout the month, energy is collected via a cam in order to provide the required power exactly on time, at midnight on the last day of the month,” explains Anthony de Haas, Director of Product Development. “Thanks to this design feature in the Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar, this watch familyʼs distinctive face could be maintained.”

Adding a day/night indication to the moon-phase display is also typical of the manufactureʼs continued quest for precision and new ways to bring it to life. Designed across two levels, it consists of a solid-gold celestial disc with graduated blue hues that rotates around its own axis once during 24 hours. Against this backdrop, the white-gold moon performs its synodic orbit in 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 3 seconds ‒ with such precision that the display only needs to be corrected by one day after 122.6 years. First implemented in the Lange 1 Moon Phase in 2016, the indication depicts the earth’s satellite moving across a bright-blue sky during the day and a dark-blue starry sky at night, thus indicating the diurnal and nocturnal hours respectively. 

Platinum case and black dial

The initial white-gold model version with a solid pink-gold dial, limited to 150 pieces, and the pink-gold version featuring a grey solid-silver dial are now joined by a platinum execution with a black dial (above). The dark background creates a beautiful contrast to the moon phase and exudes a very elegant charisma. As with the previous versions, the month ring provides the framework for all the displays – large date, weekday, leap year and moon phase with integrated small seconds. All calendar indications switch instantaneously and therefore produce unambiguous readings at any given time. They can be advanced collectively or separately with correctors. 

The artisanal excellence maintained by the Saxon manufacture is immediately evident when you glance through the sapphire crystal case back. As is de rigueur for Lange, the caliber L021.3, which comprises of 621 parts, is meticulously hand-finished. The technical highlights of this in-house movement include a unidirectional winding rotor made of 21-carat gold, with a centrifugal mass crafted from 950 platinum.

The self-winding movement oscillates at a frequency of 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour and boasts a power reserve of 50 hours. Its plates and bridges are crafted from untreated German silver and adorned with Glashütte ribbing. Five gold chatons secured by blued-steel screws and the balance cock, hand-engraved and featuring the whiplash spring mounted above for beat adjustment, exemplify the manufacture’s commitment to a high standard in every detail.

Pricing for the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar is available per request.

To learn more, visit A. Lange & Söhne, here.

This saying about the fleeting nature of time and how to navigate it could be programmatic for IWC’s Big Pilot Watch Perpetual Calendar, a technically complex and robust timepiece that offers many useful functions for the flight through life.

Its intricate perpetual calendar mechanism automatically recognizes the different lengths of the months and leap years until 2100. Its double-moon phase display indicates the moon as seen from the northern and southern hemispheres. The moon phase indicator is so precise that it will only deviate by one day after 577.5 years. Another speciality is the four-digit indication of the year.

This calendar module was the brainchild of the brilliant Kurt Klaus who developed it in the 1980s. In addition, the self-winding IWC-manufactured 52615 caliber ticks inside the 46.5mm ceramic case, boasting a power reserve of 7 days. 

In its latest iteration, IWC offers this sporty complication watch as Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Lake Tahoe. Fans of the Schaffhausen-based manufacture will recognize the name addition from an innovation that IWC presented last year. This ceramic color, which IWC and Pantone have specified as “IWC Lake Tahoe”, is inspired by white uniforms and the winter landscape around freshwater Lake Tahoe. Located between California and Nevada, Lake Tahoe is a mountainous area that the pilots of the nearby TOPGUN flight school frequently fly over.

The eye-catching design is completed with a pitch-black dial and black hands with white Super-LumiNova, a stainless steel crown, and a white textured rubber strap.

The IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar TOP GUN Lake Tahoe is available as of July 2023 with pricing marked at $40,900.

To learn more, visit IWC, here.