Calendar costs

The problem when looking for a Calendar and Moon Phase watch is knowing what the terms actually mean. There are models which show the day, date, month and lunar phase and most commonly will require adjusting the date on short months and leap years. That’s February (28 days), April, June, September and November (each 30 days). Now with most of my old collection of mechanical models this is pretty normal, so no big deal.So to acquire a straight forward Triple Date Calendar and Moon Phase, as described above, isn’t too difficult and OK whilst not quartz cheap, can certainly be found at a relatively “affordable” price.

A Brand that does crop up quite often today is the German Nivrel and they produce excellent quality models such as their Calendar Moon Phase N436.001 AAAS and AHAFS.

The retail price appears to be around £1700 or €2100 which is not at all unreasonable for such a complication model from a decent Maker. The automatic movement is based on the Swiss ETA 2898-2 and is neatly contained in a 38mm x 10mm case with 5 bar Water Resistance.

Now the point I started to make at the start of this Post was about the description of what a Calendar Moon Phase watch was all about.

You can have “Full Calendar” – where the Day and Date are accompanied by the addition of a month display, and – sometimes – also a moon phase. Some movements switch to the next month when the date jumps from 31 to 1 of the next month and there are movements where the month display is not automatic and has to be advanced manually every month. Regarding the two Nivrel models above I’m assuming the months change as the date moves from 31 – 1.

There is the “Annual Calendar” – where the disparity between months is taken care of automatically, except for February, so basically you have to make an adjustment once per year – hence the “annual”.

And finally there is the “Perpetual calendar” – I suppose this is the natural progression from the “Annual” by taking into account the 28 day February and that every 4 years February will have 29 days (leap year). In this case it more or less runs in a four year repeatable cycle so not strictly a “perpetual” either and an adjustment will still have to be made in 100 years time, not that it should bother you – but make sure your son has the instruction booklet! (basically as our Gregorian calendar drops a leap year in every 100).

This is where unfortunately the costs increase greatly with such complications and can be quite expensive. A reason perhaps why so many people prefer quartz digital models, which of course can do “perpetual” using the power of electronics – but as I said at the start – it’s just NOT the same.

However models are available and again Nivrel have a mechanical Perpetual Calendar and Moon Phase model at perhaps the most reasonable price of any I can find.

This is a 3 sub-dial style model that shows hours, minutes and central second, date, day, month, leap year cycle and the lunar phase. This Perpetual Calendar model is the most complicated watch NIVREL produce and as they say on their web site –
“It is a very complicate mechanism that indicates to the year 2099 without external intervention the correct date of the Gregorian calendar. Providing continuous winding up means that you do not have to adjust your clock, even at short months and not even on the 29^th February in a leap year”.

The Nivrel Perpetual Calendar Moon Phase model N401.001-1 AAASS uses an automatic mechanical movement based on the ETA 2892-A2 calendar module and the watch is a really neat 38mm x 10mm, a Water Resistance of 5 bar and retails for around £8300 currently. But if that’s beyond your purse, then the only other option is to look at pre-owned models and whilst there’s often stiff competition, there are good buys to be had.

So basically whilst the “perpetual” idea is easy enough to find today with quartz digital models such as Citizen, Seiko and Casio, we enter a different world in mechanical complications watches. Yes we can fairly easily find good and sometimes exceptional quality “Calendar” models of varying degrees of sophistication and at often quite reasonable prices, but when it comes to true mechanical “Perpetual” models – it can be a sometimes frustrating, wonderful, but expensive game – and if you’re really lucky – a rewarding one.

Finally just to make you drool somewhat, here is my absolute favourite – the H Moser & Cie Perpetual 1

H Moser and Cie - Perpetual 1 - the ultimate Calendar — H Moser & Cie – Perpetual 1 – the ultimate Calendar

Simple and elegant. Check out the small center Month pointer towards 11 (November) and that big Date display (known as the Flash Calendar) which manages an instant change of date at the end of one month to the start of the next month, without any invalid numerals to appear in the date window, so avoiding that uncertain period in between – and lastly a 7 day reserve.

There’s nothing else to say, but I AM doing the European lottery next week . . . . in hope!

Aero Observer

Down to earth today – I feature a watch that has always interested me simply because of the way it looks. It’s just one of those designs that appeals to me on all sorts of levels. And it’s by no means what you’d call a high end watch, but the Brand in my experience, having owned 4 of them since 2008, has never yet disappointed me. Each model has been totally reliable, surprisingly accurate and a pleasure to wear.

The attraction of this particular model to me is that it appears to conjure up visions of vintage aviation, Bomber Command and World Wars, or Boys Own magazine, Captain Jim “Red” Albright or even Biggles. It has a large clear dial in that sepia coloured “vintage” look – all very subjective I know, but marketing by design has that trick – of influencing you without you realizing it. And OK I have fallen for it, but I was already hooked when I first saw it some years ago and in saying that it doesn’t mean I’ve been conned – far from it.

Close up of the Observer Flier model A1408

Aeromatic is also one of those brands sometimes and unfairly in my opinion, called “Germasian”, and I have a few already, all of which have kept great time over the past 5 years, without problems.
Offices in Frankfurt and marketed in Germany, though whether assembled there I wouldn’t know. The cases I would imagine come from Asia, perhaps using model “blanks” and they may have had a hand in the design, but whatever their sources, they then badge them Aeromatic 1912. Depending on function the mechanical movements will be likely sourced from Asia. Quartz movements are probably from Miyota (Citizen) in Japan or Ronda from Switzerland.

Note the large "flat top" Onion Crown) - stiff but works OK — Note the large “flat top” Onion Crown) – stiff but works OK

As I say I find the term “Germasian” somewhat derogatory, as there are literally hundreds of Brands who use exactly the same sourcing policy these days, including Swiss – in fact finding a brand that makes every part of their watch is not easy and you might count them on two hands – maybe.

Anyway we’re not talking high end here, we’re talking practical and now that’s settled –

Note luminous dot markers include hour markers — Note luminous quality (stock photo) – however in practice lume fades quickly in dark.

This is the Aeromatic 1912, Military Flier Observer Big Date Swiss Ronda Gents watch.

The movement in this model is the quartz Swiss Ronda Powertech 519. What I like about the Powertech series is that they are extremely reliable and used by many watch Brands for that very reason. I know that any watch I have with Ronda movements (and I have a few) – have never ever had a problem.

Military Flier, BIG Date from Aeromatic (A1408) in Nato strap

Anyway the A1408 features a big date double window @3 and the overall size of the etched stainless steel case measures 43 x 15mm. The large beige coloured dial, which looks larger owing to the narrow bezel has luminous hands and dot markers (both hours and minutes), domed hardened mineral crystal and comes with a good quality brown leather strap.

The Big Date has a quick change function, though as most normal Day/Date functions it will have to be adjusted forward on the short months – no big deal. The clock will continue when adjusting. When pulling out the crown to position 2, the seconds hand stops (hacking) and you can adjust the time as normal.

The dial itself is a rather pleasing design, big and VERY easy to read. The large hour and minute hands are white filled with luminous material, though the luminous effectiveness is a little disappointing. I note that the dot markers on the outer minute track are luminous, as are the inner hour track dot markers – a little unusual perhaps, but the inner track lines up nicely with the tip of the shorter hour hand, so the idea would be good if the lume was up to par.

Aeromatic, Nato strap and wrist. Looks quite big. — Aeromatic, Nato strap and wrist. Looks bigger than it is.

The watch back is absolutely flat, so although the watch case is 15mm depth, it sits very flat to the wrist, except when the Nato strap is fitted, as it tends to hold the watch off the wrist slightly. The A1408 also “looks” big though is in fact just about 43mm wide (45 incl large crown), due to the narrow bezel and large face. On the back are the model name, design, model numbers and so on plus the 5o meters depth rating.
Battery wise – it uses a 1.5v Renata 371 or equivalent which is easy to obtain. Battery life according to Ronda is approximately 45 months and note if not using the watch for a while, pulling the crown out to position 2, allows the battery life to be extended.

Case back info: Observer Hawk design - 50m Depth Rated. — Case back info: Observer Hawk design – 50m Depth Rated.

So overall how do I rate this model? First point is that I do like it, it has that solid etched case which is built like a tank and is quite well made. The dial is well figured and the painted numerals and luminous dot markers are well defined with no rough edges to them and the hands are excellent. The large double windows for the date are well cut, defined and the date numbers are also large, clear and with good contrast. I note the second hand tick produces a slight over travel, but hardly noticeable and each tick seems even. The back is a press fit and though I would have preferred a screw back, being very rigid steel construction it’s a nice tight fit.

The most disappointing aspect of this model is in regards to the luminous quality of both dial and hands – the stock image I used above shows the dial immediately after charging, for example under a bed side lamp. However once the light source is removed the luminous effect fades quite quickly. I would estimate perhaps 3 hours effective illumination is about as good as you’ll get depending on how well it charged.

I do note that although the watch is only 43mm wide, lug to lug is 50mm, so small wrists will notice this unless fitted snug. I say this as the leather strap included (as shown above) is quite thick and stiff so doesn’t actually pull the watch in tight as I personally prefer (though for large wrists this will be perfect). Hence my Nato, which although more comfortable may be a temporary affair and doesn’t resolve the snug fit bit. I’m looking around for an alternative silicon or webbing style, which I’m sure will solve the problem and I will update the Post once I get something suitable.

Interestingly whilst the case height is 15mm, this is deceptive, as the hardened domed crystal is nearly 4mm thick to the centre, so effectively the watch wears like a 12mm thick watch. Possibly the reason that with only a 170mm wrist, it actually sits OK and doesn’t look like a wall clock!

Am I happy with it? Well yes – I do like the “vintage and flying helmet retro stone washed jeans look”, which looks more authentic than the first images I saw all those years ago. But in the dark at 3am in the morning? A diet of carrots or a torch might be handy.

Note – I’ll update as and when I get my new strap…….Done –

Well I removed the Nato strap as it caused the watch to sit off the wrist a little, which meant the Nato had to be tight to stop it moving – so – decided to use a conventional leather strap. The difference here from the supplied strap is that it is much thinner and much more flexible. The supplied strap was much to think and inflexible for me and was actually too long for my smallish wrist. Now I think we’re getting somewhar and the watch now feels so much better on the wrist and is becoming a pleasure to wear – and for me that is very, very important. After all you wouldn’t wear a pair of shoes that didn’t feel right – would you?

Here’s an imags with the new strap –

Another angle on a neat case/strap combination — Conventional leather – note the thick dome crystal!

Well I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the right strap and bracelet is so important to a watch, it can make all the difference. Another reason why I always prefer standard lug/strap pins to any custom supplied one.
However I also tried and stuck with a FastWrap webbing strap as the perfect accompaniment – as here –

This FastWrap webbing strap like may others features a double strap, one part slips under the lug pins and the other bypasses these, and BOTH go under the back of the watch case. I always find that on watches that are quite thick already (this one is 15mm) this can make the watch too thick to sit neatly on the wrist. So I sometimes cut off the short part of the strap that would normally bypass the lug pins and rest against the wrist. This means that one piece of webbing only goes under the lug pins and under the watch back – and that’s it.

Footnote –

Coincidentally the watch model that the Aeromatic basically is a homage to, comes up at an auction soon here in the UK. With the appearance of a rare A. Lange & Sohne German observer aviators watch, Circa 1940`s. In an anti-magnetic silver nickel case, but with a black dial with luminous hands and hour markers.

Lange & Sohne German observer aviators watch Estimated £3000+ — Lange & Sohne German observer aviators watch
Estimated £3000+

Note the case numbering is prefixed by the letters FL, denoting Fliegnummer or Flying Number FL”. The Lanage & Sohne model is somewhat larger at some 56mm wide excluding the crown. Note if you want to own this you’ll have to fork out at least £3000 which is the lower estimate.

The Watchmakers Art

It’s always been fascinating to me the extraordinarily different and diverse media surfaces upon which people will add their personal artistic talents. The street artist for example
directly on the pavement or sidewalk, the graffiti merchant to walls, under bridge supports, on the side of a bridge span in the centre over the river and even on the
sides of skyscrapers. The more conventional manage their stuff to paper, wood, canvas, metal, ceilings mural walls – in fact almost any surface that happens to be blank!
Even at bottom of swimming pools and cars don’t escape their attention and I’ve even seen stuff on grass! (maybe I should re-phrase that last statement!)

But there’s a specialist group of Artists who just happen to have a skill set that transcends them all and will be immortalized perhaps for all Time.

Yes this is “Dial Art” –

Van Cleef & Arpels - California Landscapes (inspired) — Van Cleef & Arpels – California Landscapes (inspired)

Where the very best of the world’s top watchmakers create not only masterpieces to adorn the wrists of men and women, but engrave, paint and enamel some fantastic Art
to the face of your watch.
And they have the benefit of the fact, that the wearer or viewer, doesn’t walk past and no longer sees that nice picture on the wall, but looks directly at that art
perhaps many, many times a day, something few artists can manage.

Here are just a few of the amazing creations and for no other reason, but an appreciation of their collective skills.

Cartier - enamelling technique called grisaille of an Andalusian horse — Cartier – enamelling technique called grisaille of an Andalusian horse

From the gemstone mosaic horse of the Cartier Cartier Santos-Dumont in white gold to champlevé enamelling, hand Gilloche, added diamonds. Mother of Pearl engraving and goodness knows what other incredibly difficult technical art feats, they are quite amazing. A far cry from my daily beater I can honestly say – though . . . . it has to be said that within the limitations of my own small budget it’s just possible that I can acquire an equally (well not quite equal) piece of immortalized Art work on my wrist too.

Ta Da! I give you my personal favourit Classic of all –

Mickey O'Clock — Mickey O’Clock Watch – Mickey Mouse in red – Model OCD02.

And be honest – there’s not too many folks on the planet who don’t know who this is – Oh Yes! OK – I’m sorry and no disrespect intended – but I’m retired (did I say?) 😉

Something completely different!

And I have to say right from the outset – I actually quite like the whole concept and for some reason I also like the product.

Vintage style Handmade Bracelet watch "KAKU(Blue)" leather steampunk — Vintage style Handmade Bracelet watch “KAKU(Blue)” leather steampunk

This is A STORY, Tokyo, the handmade watch brand of Gothic Laboratory – Designer Kouhei Yanai and Mari Goto (watch creator). The web site says their works are influenced by modern Japanese culture, which means animation, cartoon, game, J-ROCK and J-Pop music. Now we’re really into something that’s way beyond me, BUT I do like the punk style look of their watch collection, some of which I feature here. When I said something different I really did mean it.

Brand：Mari Goto
Material：Brass, Acrylic tempered glass, Bull leather
Body size：Diameter 35mm × Thickness 11mm
Movement：Japan SEIKO Quartz movement
To fit wrist size：17cm ~ 19cm
Width of strap：25mm
Non-waterproof
Guarantee：One year

Vintage style Handmade Bracelet watch "Hole" leather steampunk — Vintage style Handmade Bracelet watch “Hole” leather steam-punk

Brand：Mari Goto
Material：Brass,Acrylic tempered glass, Bull leather
Body size：Diameter 24mm × Thickness 9mm
Movement：Japan SEIKO Quartz movement
To fit wrist size：15.5cm ~ 17cm
Width of strap：10mm
Function：Non-waterproof
Guarantee：One year

Vintage style Handmade watch "macaron" (Mint) L-size leather steampunk — Vintage style Handmade watch “macaron” (Mint) L-size leather steam-punk

Brand：Mari Goto
Material：Brass,Acrylic tempered glass ,Bull leather
Body size：Diameter 40mm × Thickness 10mm
Movement：Japan SEIKO Quartz movement
To suit wrist size：16cm ~ 19cm
Width of belt：18mm
Function：Non-waterproof
Guarantee：One year

Definitely NOT the mainstream, but nevertheless these are such an inspired artistic mix of rock and pop culture, grunge and steam-punk that they smack of “today” and modernist young “in your face” if ever was!
A bit like science fiction, the end of civilization, yet from the bits left over – we start again, we start out time again from zero and on.
Now OK, waxing a bit lyrical there for a moment, but you’ve got to hand it to these two and applaud their efforts. Thing is, it’s not beyond possibility that I might just order one just for me, maybe as a statement – you know I might be a bit frayed about the edges, but I’m not done yet!

Prices are around £100 – £200 and sent directly from Tokyo. Give them your wrist size, color of strap and they can provide engraving too (free) to your requirements. Each model takes about a month to make and around a week to get to you – can’t be bad. And it certainly makes a change from the high end Independent Makers and maybe brings us all down to earth that little bit.

Maybe it’s time for A Story. HERE.

Independent Artists (1)

My first “Independent Artists” Post today is the independent French born Watchmaker Ludovic Ballouard, now based in Geneva Switzerland, having worked previously for 3 years with Frank Muller and 7 years with J.P Journe to name but two. Now an Independent Watchmaker he produced his “UPSIDE DOWN” in 2009 and followed with his “HALF TIME” in 2012. With a new creation every two years – what’s in store for 2014?

It’s the “UPSIDE DOWN” that intrigues me. With 12 upside down numerals, each one changes right way up with a dot marker beside it, after one 60 minute sweep of the single hand. The position of the single hand denotes the minutes. The complication viewed from the exhibition back is quite amazing.

The "Upside Down" watch — The “Upside Down” watch

The amazing "works" — The amazing “works”

A few versions are made of this extraordinary watch and of course they are all fabulous, though I do have a favorite, which is the following one – just sublime!

The web site of Ludovic Ballouard can be found HERE.
Check out the first page animation, though remember the hour transition is a bit quicker than normal!

I should also mention that Ludovic Ballouard is also responsible for the 2013 Harry Winston Opus watch, the X111. Introduced at the 2013 Baselworld watch fair in the haute-de-gamme (high end) Opus collection.

This amazing concept watch certainly drew the attention of the world with its 242 functional rubies and it’s revolutionary indication of time by use of tiny, pivoting markers round the dial. The Opus XIII has 11 triangular hour hands, which jut out from the polished dome in the center of the dial , retracting again at the end of each hour. For minutes there are 59 minute markers (every 5 minutes tipped in red) and these pivot in towards the center as each new minute starts. Initially not the easiest watch to read, though that said, once you understand the dial mechanics, it becomes much easier to immediately tell the time. And seeing it in action, the detail technology is quite incredible.

The incredible Ludovic Ballouard movement of the Harry Winston Opus X111

The Harry Winston Opus XIII – Ludovic Ballouard movement is really something very special – with 660 components, 242 functional rubies, 59 minutes hands and 59 blade springs carved from a single piece of steel, 11 Triangular shaped hours – it is without doubt a masterpiece of watch engineering.

But personally for me – the “Upside Down” model is my choice. It simply has an elegance and artistry which is Ludovic Ballouard, without influence of projects such as Opus – and that surely is why he does what he does.

His next concept creation hopefully is in 2015 and I for one – can’t wait!

Which Reverso?

Have been toying with the idea of adding to my collection and the Jaeger leCoultre reverso is perhaps the model I wish to purchase. I already have a few Jaeger LeCoultre watches but they are all round case models and mostly vintage. If I manage to find a Reverso it can be either pre-owned and/or vintage as long as it is in good condition and at the right price.

I thought it would simply be a case of picking a good condition model and that would be it – BUT – what I hadn’t bargained for was the sheer variety of Reverso models that there are. Couple that with my personal preferences feature wise and you will quickly see my dilemma. There are literally dozens of versions available currently and each year something different appears, so including vintage models, the choices are pretty daunting.

Advert for the original Reverso (www.timeandwatches.com/p/jaeger-lecoultre-reverso-history.html)

Now I’m not about to do a piece on the history of the Reverso, firstly as there are a few versions (a bit like their watch) of the story and there are dedicated sites for that subject. Suffice to say that back in 1930/1 in India at a polo match, watched by Watch Collector César de Trey, a player broke his watch glass and wondered if there was watch that would withstand a polo match. That conversation soon got to the ear of Jacques-David LeCoultre and following on from that – Jaeger SA made the case in conjunction with French designer René-Alfred Chauvot and the slide and flip mechanism was born. And they’ve been making this watch ever since.

There are what I call the basic ones, where the watch dial is only on the front, the back being reserved for engraving etc. Then there are dial faces front and back which I suppose rather defeats the whole point of the watch, which was to protect the glass dial, but as most of us don’t play Polo, who cares! Some folks like to have a day watch and a night watch, or dial at the front and skeleton back or/and goodness knows what else – suffice to say – there are lots of different ones!

Another favorite – a Triple Date Calendar

Now when you consider that the original model in 1931 just had an hour and a minute hand, and the back was plain stainless steel for engraving or such like. It flipped over and protected the dial – as required. In 1934 a small seconds counter was introduced @6. Since then it seems to me that almost anything was and is possible.

And this is by no means an exhaustive list of dials and versions, as apart from all those I’ve missed, there are of course anniversary limited editions, Tourbillons and ultra complication models (with matching price tags), then there are the Ultra Thin models, Repetition Minute models, Grand Complications and so it goes on. . . .

So after all that, what am I going to do? Difficult I know, though common sense and my wallet will dictate at the end of the day. I’m favoring the Triple Date or Triple Date and Calendar style, as these give me the data I want when reading a watch. Do I want 2 x dials? – well maybe I do – it would be handy to have one with luminous hands for night use – simply by flipping it over. I mean how neat is that!

And I know that Jaeger LeCoultre have a bespoke service . . . . .

Wow!

On reflection I think I’ll see what’s available on the pre-owned front and hopefully find one that suits me, within reason. . . . of course. . .

Maybe a gold one –

A Triple Date in Gold - this I like! — A Day and Date in Gold – mmmmm – nice!

César de Trey

The elegant watch (1)

Elegant – simple enough word to say, but not quite so easy to see – I mean what’s elegant to me may not be to you and as a description of a watch, well it then becomes wide open to interpretation and even ambiguity, so say the least. What about “refined” or “sophisticated” or maybe “tasteful”. Perhaps “delicate” would describe it or even “graceful” and so on and on . . . . .
Not so easy is it? Can this definition actually be defined – Wow, that’s deep, but there lies the conundrum and can it be applied equally to a Dress watch or an everyday Practical watch?

I hope to post 4 models each month that maybe meet my “elegance” criteria and here are my interpretations on what I think is elegant and see if you agree – first up . . . . The wonderful IWC Portofino

The beautifully elegant IWC Portofino Moonphase.

Perhaps what I’d personally call “simply” elegant, the IWC Portofino – and yes “delicate” even “graceful” and certainly “sophisticated” – oh yes it ticks a good few boxes for me and if elegance is a combination of so many different impressions, it certainly fits the brief I’d say.

A sleek Lemania from the 1950's — A sleek pink Gold Lemania from the 1950’s

A beautiful 18ct Pink Gold cased Lemania (supplier to Brequet) from the ’50’s, with sunken engraved sub-dials at 38mm diameter and only 8.5mm depth, is indeed rather slim and elegant. Proportionally it is a very pleasing watch and one that I think meets the criteria pretty well.

Not sure if this Ebel automatic 9303F61 is entirely “elegant”, but it has a certain “refinement” about it that I personally like. Definitely “sophisticated” and even complicated showing the Day and Date in retrograde style and all contained in what they call their Classic Hexagon model – 45.4mm diameter x 11mm. I love the description of this particular dial configuration which is called the “wink and smile”. Ebel tend to be a little below the radar here in the UK, but they do produce some very sweet and very high quality watches, which is unsurprising as Movado group are involved, so need I say more.

Followed by a Seiko GS automatic, just to show that Gold doesn’t have the monopoly on elegance. Seiko are masters of stainless steel design and this model is no exception. Beautiful shaped curve of the GS and it’s balance between refinement and practicality, the perfect matching bracelet says it all and i think a worthy member of my “elegant” selection.

Note – Another 4 watches will feature next month on or around the same time, same place . . . . . .

The Ultimate

I suppose it’s inevitable that when you collect watches for a few years, you at some point come across a model that simply takes your breath away. And for me it has to be the F.P. Journe Quantieme Perpetuel Watch.

F.P. Journe Quantieme Perpetuel Watch - Wow! — F.P. Journe Quantieme Perpetuel model- my ultimate Watch – period!

So what can I say about this remarkable watch. For me as I say this is the ultimate watch – it is simply stunning – and very complicated. It has a most beautiful and simply executed dial, which displays the Date, the current Day and Month. A true Triple Date Calendar watch display if there ever was. The Day and Month are visible through two windows at 12 o’clock. The 6 o’clock double window shows the current Date. The aperture/window sizes are quite large so readability is near perfect. Note that the Date change is virtually instantaneous, so if the time is for example 11:57 the Date will still be correct, it doesn’t slide slowly over as most watches, so that you’re not sure if it’s today or tomorrow!

The F.P. Journe Quantieme Perpetuel Watch is of course a true Perpetual Calendar and one of the most difficult of all complications to master – and being a true complication can be incredibly awkward to reset if you let your watch stop for a few days. It is not impossible that such complications may have to be returned to the Manufacturer for this to be done – which is both expensive and inconvenient in the extreme! However not for François-Paul Journe, as he strives always to make any watch he designs, simple enough even for a child to operate – there is an answer – using the center single crown which has 3 positions. Using it you can set the Time, the Day and the Date. Setting the Month however is managed by another control, hidden beneath the top right hand case lug. The reason for this separate corrector control apparently is that within the movement there is a tiny Leap Year wheel connected to the Month wheel and separate from any crown intervention. The Leap Year indicator by the way is almost unnoticeable at the center of the dial with 4 small indices and indicator.

F.P. Journe Quantieme Perpetuel Watch with 22ct Gold Rotor

The fact that this wonderful complication Octa Calibre 1300.3 mechanical movement with it’s huge 120 hour reserve, is hidden within such an elegant case with the most simple and logical dial is nothing short of astounding. Of course this is no surprise to those who know F.P.Journe as he starts every new design with the dial and the aim of perfect readability. Also note that to achieve the proper visual balance of the dial, the Power Reserve Indicator with it’s retrograde hand is placed @9 – surely a feat in itself!

Anyway, there you have it – my absolute ultimate watch, that unfortunately I will never manage to own unless of course I win the European Lottery! – and even then with such a limited number produced the odds against being a proud owner are just about nigh impossible!

But I can dream!

The elegant watch (2)

Another collection of “elegant” watches from around the world. First from my own cabinet is this, now vintage, made in France, Michel Herbelin Classic with a Swiss ETA movement.

Michel Herbelin Classic Swiss ETA quartz, sapphire crystal, 100m WR.

Followed by a delicate but classic form of the Romanson of Korea model, not often seen here in the UK, but nevertheless a popular watch around the world. This model certainly has an elegance and worthy of including here. I particularly like the perfectly matching bracelet which also has a delicacy of form I find very pleasing.

From the £300 range we move upwards to the classic Swiss Chopard Luc XP Automatic 65hr reserve with micro-rotor.

What sets this apart is the beautiful formed case at 39.5mm which is delicately thin 7.3mm. 18ct of course and powered by the use of a superb micro-rotor.

Now off to Germany for this wonderfully elegant Junghans Meister Kalender model. Featuring the automatic J800.3 mechanical movement, rhodium case and a convex hard Plexiglass with SICRALAN * coating which allows much better scratch resistance, excellent UV and chemical resistance.

Junghans Meister Kalender Triple Date Moon phase — Junghans Meister Kalender
Triple Date Moon phase

I love this Triple Date Calendar and Moon Phase model so much that I have included another image – surely one of the most refined Triples around at the moment.

For such a lovely watch you would be forgiven if you thought it far out of reach price wise – however it may surprise you and could be worth checking it out! I spotted it at €2000 Euros just the other day.

That surely has to be one of the best elegance to value ratio models I have seen in a long time.

Triple Date Calendar (with Moon)

And no it’s not a mistake in your social calendar unless you’re VERY optimistic! It does of course refer to the description of my favorite type of watch, which shows “at a glance” (and that’s important) not only the time, but additionally, the Day, the Date and the Month – and crucially all at the same time. An example of a quartz Triple Date Calendar is the Dugena Moon phase shown here –

For me the Triple Date Calendar function really means I should look at just two types of watch – Quartz Analogue and Mechanical. The true Triple Date Calendar model was of course a term used to describe this complication in mechanical movements, but technical advances mean quartz can now also provide the same function. However regardless of watch type one of the important aspects of triple Date is the dial, because that must be clear enough to allow you to glance at it and quickly determine Triple Date information. Just one glance and you should know not only the Time, but also the Day, the Date and the Month – instantly. However, this is most certainly not always the case and if nothing else the Triple Date function shows up who can or cannot design a watch dial.

Android Ambassador Triple Date Calendar - with sub-dials — Android Ambassador Triple Date Calendar – with sub-dials

The quartz Android Ambassador model as shown above is a most stylish modern model. It doesn’t however use apertures, using sub-dials instead, which I’m pleased to see are a decent size and very clear to read. The sub-dials show the Day and Date, the Month this time being indicated by the center pointer to the outer Month track. In addition and unusually this also indicates the year/week number. The hands may obstruct sometimes, but this is a consequence of analogue hands and these are particularly good, as they are luminescent, which I’ve discovered are in fact surprisingly rare in a Triple date Calendar watch.

Remember what I said about dial design. The two models illustrate this pretty clearly – both may show the same information but the Android is certainly much easier to read. Had the Dugena larger apertures it would have been so much better. I have to hand it to Android though as there are not that many good quartz Triple Date Calendar models around the low £100’s which it is (or was).
The concept of the Triple date is all about information – what do we want to see on our watch? or maybe what do we need to see? The answer for me is a practical one really and Time, Day, Date and Month just about says it all. If I don’t know the year, then maybe I have other issues to worry about and my General Practitioner may be able to help! 😉

Here’s some Triples that I personally like –

Jaeger LeCoultre Master Calendar vintage

An absolute Classic Triple Date Calendar is this Jaeger LeCoultre and this is a vintage one – as I said these are easier to come by than modern, though you will be surprised at the high prices these can command. This is a mechanical movement of course, so the workmanship required to manufacture such a complication is considerable and Jaeger LeCoultre are in a class of their own.

Interesting Mercedes Chronograph Triple Date Calendar

Another rather rare vintage model is the Mercedes Benz Chrono and for me one that I dearly love to own. Mechanical of course with an automatic caliber Valjoux 7751 with a full Calendar (perpetual). Looks like a sub-dial Triple Date until you spot the 2 apertures in the sub-dial @12, a Date pointer center driven, 24hr time, Moon phase etc. and yet totally readable – one of my favorite models.

Classic vintage Movado Triple Date Calendar

One of the most iconic Triple Date Calendar watches in my opinion is this classic vintage Movado, which is as good as they come. I actually had two some years ago, but sold one on – (I know I was ill at the time!) and now these are becoming more difficult and more expensive to find.

So what type of watch can be called Triple Date Calendars –

Digital? – No – not strictly Triple Date Calendar of course – but today with the digital revolution, to find a model that displays all this information and almost anything else you want to know is common. Most Digital models do show the 3 basics, such as the low priced Timex AE1200W (shows time, Day, Date, Month in standard view AND features a Perpetual Calendar till the year 2100). Radio Controlled quartz models of course are Perpetual by default. But Digital models in general can be the cheapest option of all if what you want is data overload.

Quartz – Yes – Analogue models are becoming more common now especially from mainstream Brands such as Casio, Seiko and Citizen. But on modern analog models, unlike the classic vintage models must be looked at carefully for good dial design, which is paramount. All too often they seem tempted to display in a “new” way – often with silvered hands and indices, poor layout and poor clarity as a result.

However there are a few decent ones around including the Dugena and the Android already featured. Quartz Ana-Digi may models again have the data, but not always presented simultaneously and a push button selection may have to be made, such as Calendar. More often than not the standard view will feature a 24hr time sub-dial (goodness knows why?) World Time, a selector dial and so on, which for me just adds to the dial clutter. The whole point of Triple Date Calendar dials is their readability.
And that is a real bugbear of mine – so many quartz analog models seem to go out of their way to make the dial cluttered and virtually unreadable. And if we’re talking about Triple Date Calendar “at a glance” – then forget it!

Mechanical – Absolutely – When it comes to mechanical Triple Date Calendar watches however, these are not quite so common, and in fact there are more vintage models than modern ones. And this is simply because technology overtook the very skilled and technically difficult process of manufacturing them and offered a cheaper electronic alternative. It’s all about cost and also whether the Brand has the technical skill even to make such a model.

So all that said, foe me the Mechanical Triple Date model is almost the ultimate – almost – except for one small problem. Most models don’t have compensation for the short months. In other words – they don’t have a Perpetual Calendar – So every so often unlike the digital models, you have to reset your Date depending on the month (also on leap years). UNLESS of course you start looking at the very best classic Brands.

Wonderful Patek Philippe 2499 Triple Date Perpetual Calendar

As in the case of the Patek Philippe shown above, it also features a Perepetual Mechanical Calendar as well. BUT unfortunately these are really NOT common – no Sir! And if you do see one, you’ll need to make a choice between it and that new car! I think the Patek Philippe models starg at around shown is around $15k to “the sky is the limit” – so not your everyday model.
Here are a few more models I like –

Unusual Jaquet Baume Triple Date vintage model

Vintage Eloga Triple date Calendar model

This Eloga model is particularly special and rare, in that it has incorporated a disk with the Date printed. The crown @10 is used to manually align the day against the date and the progressing pointer then reads the Day and date correctly – a wonderfully elegant solution (I’ve also seen a Landau with the same dial system).

Then there is the classic 3 sub-dial configuration of the Blancpain above, one of my favorite Makers and kept just about as simple as possible to aid clarity – I love it.

I think I prefer the aperture display system I suppose owing to age – the older you get sub-dials become tricky to make out, whereas windows with words within them are certainly easier – if large enough of course. And this year I hope to get myself 2 Triple Date Calendar watches – or that’s my aim anyway – as I believe these are the most wonderfully artistic of all the models out there, especially if mechanical and include the Moon phase as well. And of course they tell you what you really want to know – “at a glance”

What else?