‘Yves Klein’ Dial 25820ST Audemars Piguet Royal Oak QP

Yves-Klein-25820ST-Audemars-Piguet-Royal-Oak-Perpetual-Calendar

There is something fantastic about pairing high complication with vibrant color. Somehow, complication and the effort required to create it tends to bring about the serious side of aesthetics and design, almost as a way of saying ‘you should take this seriously’. This is the other philosophy. Most collectors tend to prefer pre-leap year indication…

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25558BA Audemars Piguet Quantième Perpétuel Openwork

25558BA-Audemars-Piguet-Quantième-Perpétuel-Openwork

Despite the fact that they’ve almost entirely forgotten about it in favor of things like Spider-Man Royal Oaks, strange permutations of the Code 11.59 that nobody asked for, and stroking John Mayer’s ego, Audemars Piguet saved complicated mechanical watchmaking in 1978 with the reference 5548. This is the 25558, the first openwork (skeletonized) model of…

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MB&F LM Perpetual Calendar

MB&F-LM-Perpetual-Calendar

I know this looks like another insane Legacy Machine creation from Max & co, and it is. But it is also one of the most significant updates made to the perpetual calendar complication of the last century. This is ground-up, first principles thinking as applied to keeping track of days in months and leap years.…

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25820SP Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar

25820SP-Audemars-Piguet-Royal-Oak-Perpetual-Calendar

Any Royal Oak without brushing on the top of its bezel is serious business. At a glance, it almost looks wrong to have a fully mirror-finished bezel. But it isn’t wrong, it’s platinum. And it’s very likely to be a vintage QP. The evolution of the Royal Oak QP is quite a complex and nuanced…

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First Series Patek Philippe 3940J

First-Series-Patek-Philippe-3940J

This is a first series: Genesis. It’s the sort of 3940 that will raise the heart rate of even the most grizzled collectors. The very first 25 went to Beyer and were signed as such, then began the über desirable standard first series. They are solid caseback. Sunken Subs. And no interruption to that perfect…

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43032 Vacheron Constantin Skeleton Quantième Perpétuel

43032-Vacheron-Constantin-Skeleton-Perpetual-Calendar

The case could easily be made that the three ‘holy trinity’ neo-vintage perpetual calendars, the storied refs 5548, 43031, and 3940, are the most important complicated serially produced watches of the modern era, particularly the 5548 for bringing the category back. But that’s like saying David Gandy is handsome; duh. What isn’t discussed as often…

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2050 IWC ‘Romana’ Perpetual Calendar, Platinum

2050-IWC-Romana-Perpetual-Calendar-Platinum

At its release in ’94, this ref. 2050 was the thinnest perpetual calendar calibre ever at just 3.1mm. It remains to this day a technical marvel, yet it’s all but entirely forgotten. The 2050 was a flag placed in the ground for Schaffhausen in what was a very active battle for the thinnest complicated calibres,…

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Piece Unique ‘Ovitz’ Patek Philippe 3940R

Piece-Unique-Ovitz-Patek-Philippe-3940R

Prepare for some weapons-grade Patek Philippe nerdery. If you’re familiar with the 3940 on an intimate level, this will immediately feel a bit strange. There are Breguet numerals. The hands and dial are luminous. The certificate of origin shows a production date of 2014, which surely can’t be right for a 3940? This is level…

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‘Doré’ Dial Patek Philippe 3940J

What is the most desirable 3940? Having recently extolled the virtues of the quintessential modern Patek Philippe QP, the natural question to follow is, well, which? Are you a white metal or gold type of person? Does the more proportional and minimalist balance of a first series dial appeal more, or do you like some…

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H40 Roger Dubuis Hommage Perpetual Calendar

H40-Roger-Dubuis-Hommage-Perpetual-Calendar

Arguably, this is how you go about being inspired by the classics properly. It’s not uncommon for new enthusiasts to learn of Roger Dubuis, see the Lamborghini-inspired Excalibur which looks like Megatron after contracting a virus, and write off the brand entirely. But modern RD is a far cry from what existed before Richemont acquisition…

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