Category: perpetual calendar

Introducing – Parmigiani Fleurier Tecnica Ombre Noir – A Triumvirate of Complications for one Lucky Collector

Three of the most revered complications in Haute Horlogerie – minute repeater, tourbillon and perpetual calendar – are united in this exceptional timepiece, a unique Parmigiani Fleurier piece that retails for just under half a million Swiss Francs.  The Tecnica Ombre Noire comes in a 45mm rose gold case with a splendid hand-guilloché dial. The combination of the gleaming rose gold case and the dark handsome dial is stunning, but the watch is not entirely new. In 2014, Parmigiani Fleurier launched a limited edition of five Tecnica Ombre Blanche watches – without the sumptuous guilloché dial.  The perpetual calendar functions are neatly arranged in three interconnected sub-dials with a fourth dial devoted to the one-minute tourbillon. But wait a minute, where is the slider to activate the minute repeater? Read on to find out more about this exceptional masterpiece.

5 years ago

Hands-on – A. Lange & Söhne Langematik Perpetual Honeygold

A.Lange & Söhne’s classic Langematik Perpetual comes of age and is regaled with a refined honey gold suit and some decorative touches on the dial. When it was introduced in 2001, the Langematik Perpetual was the first watch with a self-winding movement to combine a perpetual calendar with an outsize Lange date. Eighteen years down […]

5 years ago

Introducing – Blancpain Villeret Quantieme Perpetuel Boutique Exclusive in Platinum

Classicism, elegance and traditional design are the keywords when it comes to Blancpain’s Villeret collection. Mostly available with gold cases (white or red) and featuring white dials, these watches are the best example of the understated dress watch. However, for some, it might lack a certain audacity in its design. Without going to extremes, Blancpain […]

5 years ago

Hands-on – Baume & Mercier Clifton Baumatic Perpetual Calendar

One of the big surprises of the 2018 edition of the SIHH came from Baume & Mercier with its new Baumatic collection. In case you need to refresh your memory, the Baumatics were equipped with a new calibre – called BM12-1975A – made by ValFleurier, a factory that also belongs to the Richemont Group. We […]

5 years ago

Hands-on – Bovet Récital 21 Retrograde Perpetual Calendar

Functional elegance – The perpetual calendar holds a special place in the heart of watch aficionados. Its mechanical memory and ability to display the date for decades into the future, even for leap years, is a feat of horological engineering. But most of all, the perpetual calendar is a thing of beauty. And when you […]

5 years ago

Hands-on – Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual Enamel

Since its facelift in 2013, the Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual has appeared in various guises, including the sleek black dial version we saw in 2016. However, I think there is unanimous agreement that the 2019 white gold version with its blue enamel guilloché dial wins hands down. Released as part of a limited edition trilogy, including the Master Ultra-Thin Moon Enamel and Tourbillon models, the new members of the Master-Thin Enamel family stole the show. The watch we will be looking at today comes with a revised movement and display and indicates the phases of the Moon in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

5 years ago

Hands-on – A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon with Pink Gold (Salmon) Dial

Montblanc, Audemars, Patek and more… Salmon/pink dials are THE trend for the 2018/2019 collection. Even though not entirely novel, we’ve never encountered so many watches with pink-coloured dials as we have this year. Don’t get us wrong, we actually love salmon dials here, at MONOCHROME (see Frank’s love letter here). There are, however, different ways to execute a salmon dial and when it decided to do its first real pink-coloured timepiece, A. Lange & Söhne took the high-end road… really high-end, with the new Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon and its solid pink gold dial.

5 years ago

Hands-on – IWC Big Pilot’s Watch Perpetual Calendar Edition “Rodeo Drive”

2019 has been earmarked as the year of Pilot’s Watches at IWC.  This has not translated into a complete overhaul of the collection (something that we applaud, as we think it is important to keep the classical models intact) but with the introduction of new models in sub-collections – mainly TOP GUN and Spitfire. Apart from all the […]

5 years ago

SIHH 2019 – Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar

Vacheron Constantin’s very own customisation department – Les Cabinotiers – has created a one-of-a-kind timepiece that perpetuates the brand’s longstanding tradition of combining sophisticated horological complications.  Following the release of the Mécaniques Sauvages animal-themed collection, the Grande Complication Phoenix, and the Minute Repeater Tourbillon Sky Chart,  Vacheron gives yet another display of the virtuosity of its watchmakers and artisans grouped in the Les Cabinotiers, where bespoke fantasies come to light. The latest unique piece shared by the brand is this Minute Repeater Perpetual Calendar fitted with a totally revisited and ultra-thin movement: Calibre 1731 QP.

5 years ago