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BUBEN & ZORWEG, a company founded in 1995, is quite known in the horological world. It has reputation for making high-end safes and watch winders that are of high craftsmanship and quality. In 2012, it has branched in to a new venture and introduced its first wristwatch. This limited edition collection timepiece by BUBEN & ZORWEG is called the One Perpetual Calendar watch. The collection combines modern design with complicated and fascinating features.

The watch comes in three different versions that include rose gold, white gold, and platinum. The case is quite large and measures 46 millimeter in diameter. Inside the case is the caliber BZ01 – MHO movement that powers the watch. This hand-winding movement, designed by renowned watchmaker Martin Braun, is 40 millimeters in diameter and fits nicely in the case. The caliber is manually wound but it does have a 156 hours power reserve. The power reserve indicator is located in the back can be seen through the open sapphire crystal display on the back of the watch. A very large balance wheel can also be seen. The movement beat at frequency of 18000 beats per hour and is made of 312 parts and 58 jewels.

The perpetual calendar is easy to understand and read as it can be seen in uniquely designed windows. This calendar is fully adjustable calendar. There are day and month indicator right below the 12 o’clock position and big date indicator above the six o’clock position. Additionally, right next to the 12 o’clock position is a small leap year indicator. This unique dial is quite attractive and has really cool features. The dial is designed to nicely complement the case and overall look of the watch nicely. The hour markers and hour and minute hands are similar in color to that of the case, which vary depending on the version of the watch. The look is finished off with a beautiful leather strap with and buckle that is made for easy comfort, fit, and adjustability.

The three versions of this BUBEN & ZORWEG One Perpetual Calendar watch are available at a limited edition. There is 99 pieces of the 18k rose gold and white gold watches and 49 pieces of the platinum watches. The prices also range depending on the version of the watch. The 18k rose gold watches are priced at $ 65,000, the 18k white gold at $ 69,000, and the platinum watches are priced at $ 92,000.

From:Luxury Watches That Impress Review Blog

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The Patek Philippe 2499 in pink gold – now a $ 2.75 million watch.Yesterday in Geneva, Christie’s watch department held its spring sale.  It made over $ 32 million dollars, with four inidividual lots bringing in over $ 2 million each.  The Breguet Resonance pocket watch that we showed you previously went for an amazing $ 4.68m, while the enamel Patek world timer that we showed you here went for over $ 2.9.  But, one watch we didn’t show you, a Patek Philippe 2499 in pink gold is the focus of this post, because it seems so simple, and yet it sold for over $ 2.7million.  So, what made this 2499 so special when compared to, say, your average, run of the mill 2499 like this, also in yesterday’s sale, that made only $ 314,000?  The devil is in the details, my friends.
From:HODINKEE

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Patek Philippe not only surprised us by introducing white dial versions of the Nautilus collection, they also made us gaze at this other white dialed watch. The Patek Philippe Grand Complication 5402P, a split seconds and perpetual calendar in platinum.

The 5402P is the successor of the 5004P, a rattrapante chronograph  with perpetual calendar in a 36.7mm case, also available in other case materials than platinum. Not only the dimensions of the watch case and the dial lay-out changed, Patek also did some innovations regarding the rattrapante mechanism. A number of technical measurements (a.o. a new isolator system and a new split-seconds lever) improved the reliability of the split seconds chronograph mechanism. A detailed description of these technical improvements can be found here, documented by Patek Philippe. Patek Philippe filed patent for their new split-seconds lever.

The diameter of the 5402P increased to 40mm, which makes it a more up-to-date wearable watch then its predecessor, although we have a hunch that the actual buyers of these watches would also settle for smaller diameters. With Patek, it is not about size or getting noticed, it is all about the watch itself. To be honest, 40mm is still below average compared to other complicated timepieces.

This Patek 5402P has a wonderful in-house developed and produced hand wound movement inside, caliber CHR 29-535 PS Q. The sapphire case back of this platinum timepiece clearly demonstrates the high level finish and craftsmanship. The bridge of the balance wheel shows the Patek Philippe seal. The movement has a diameter of 32mm and consists of 496 parts.

Although beautiful, the 5402P has a busy looking dial, having to indicate (besides hh:mm:ss) the day, date, month, leap year, day/night and of course the moon phases. The silvery opaline dial with white gold applied hour markers is a stunner though. We wonder whether someone is actually going to wear such a beautiful and expensive watch (having a price tag of 260.000 CHF, including VAT), or merely keeps it as an investment and bombs it to a safe-queen.

Above in the Patek Philippe booth during BaselWorld 2012, the Patek 5204P next to last year’s introduced Grand Complication, the ref. 5270.

The official page on the Patek Philippe Grand Complication Ref.5204P can be found here.

From:FratelloWatches RSS

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Patek Philippe is no stranger to perpetual calendar watches.  Examples from the brand are consistently sought after by collectors around the world – hell, Patek has been makign them since 1925 when they are credited with introducing the first QP wristwatch in history. Cushion shaped watches have also been popular at Patek Philippe since the Art Deco movement hit Europe. This year at Basel, Patek combined the two for the latest ultra-thin, self-winding cushion-cased perpetual calendar, ref. 5940J. Read on for first impressions and live images.

From:HODINKEE

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Chopard first introduced the L.U.C Lunar One in 2005, bringing a perpetual calendar moon phase into the brand’s range-toping collection bearing the initials of the company’s founder, Louis-Ulysse Chopard. For Baselworld 2012, the watch receives a decidedly contemporary update, and leads the way for a new aesthetic to the rest of the L.U.C collection. A welcome change, if only skin-deep.

The new dial features a cleaner arrangement of the complications while retaining healthy portion of the watches original charm, including the big date display at 12 o’clock. The most prominent element is the new orbital moon phase display, which rotates around the small seconds axis. The module powering the complication keeps it accurate to within one day every 122 years. The design of the display makes it the focal point of this dial and really makes it one of the more interesting applications of a moon phase we’ve seen this side of Stepan Sarpaneva.

The new Lunar One has grown slightly in the new model, to a reasonable 43mm x 11.47mm. Inside is the same base caliber seen in the older models, the L.U.C 96QP with updated modules for annual calendar and moon phase. Check out some of our live pics from Basel below.

From:HODINKEE

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One of the most talked about watches from IWC for 2012 is the long-named Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month watch. Trust me, it is easy to mess that name up when trying to remember it. Especially because it also has a chronograph and does not include that part of the watch in the title. This sexy looking 18k red gold watch is an expensive and luxurious pilot watch from the brand that many wanted to be offered in steel and thus more affordable. Maybe next year… but this is still one nice looking Big Pilot style timepiece.

As I mentioned before here when debuting all of IWC’s new for 2012 pilot watches, the new collection is rather large. As a potential consumer I would be a bit overwhelmed given all the seemingly good choices. In this article I discussed the new IWC Top Gun watches hands-on. The Spitfire collection gets a lot of attention as IWC upgrades its look making it a more high-end piece. In this article I will discuss the 46mm wide Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month and the 43mm wide Spitfire Chronograph timepieces.

Neither of these watches contain new movements, but they do both contain IWC in-house made movements. Borrowed from an existing Da Vinci model from a few years ago, the Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month watch contains a super slick movement called the IWC caliber 89800 automatic. You can see the neat looking plane-style automatic rotor through the caseback. With 68 hours of power reserve, the movement has a 12 hour chronograph and perpetual calendar indicator. The month and date are shown digitally on large indicators (big date, big month). There is a leap year indicator placed inside of the lower subsidiary seconds dial. The upper subdial contains two hands and is used for measuring both the elapsed chronograph minutes and hours.

For me, the best part of the Spitfire watches are the beautiful applied hour indicators and hands. The indicators are applied and filled with very white lume for excellent clarity and legibility. Against the metallic dial it makes for a superb look that is hard to complain about. Even with all its functions, the large 46mm wide Spitfire Perpetual Calendar Digital Date-Month is clean looking and easy to read. You won’t be blamed for falling in love with this watch.

More reasonable for most people are the Spitfire Chronograph watches. These come in both steel and 18k red gold models and are 43mm wide. According to IWC that is one millimeter up from the previous size of the watch. While Big Pilot watches from the brand this year are coming in at 46mm and 48mm wide, it is nice to have a great looking 43mm wide model in the collection. Having said that, I did mention to IWC that it would be fantastic to have a 46 or 48mm wide version of the traditional Big Pilot watch with this metallic slate dial and applied hour indicators.

On the wrist, these watches aren’t small, but it is funny to go from one of the Big Pilot Top Gun pieces to a 43mm wide watch. I would easily wear one of these Spitfire Chronographs on a daily basis given their handsome looks. IWC opted for a bi-compax chronograph that measures 60 minutes. It does have that open date window I am not a huge fan of, but it doesn’t bother me as much here as it does in other watches. The movement is in-house made and is the existing caliber 89365 automatic with 68 hours of power reserve. Over the dials are sapphire crystals and the case is water resistant to 60 meters.

A glorious addition to the Spitfire Chronograph watch collection for 2012 is the new metal bracelet. Boy does it kick ass in terms of features and quality. It is a rather simple design on the outside, but does frame the look of the watch well. Solid in its construction, the deployment has a nicely made micro-adjust system and solid milled and decorated clasp. If you opt for the steel version of the IWC Spitfire Chronograph, I highly recommend you get the bracelet as well as the alligator strap. Why both? Well you don’t need them but here is my thinking: The IWC pilot watch look has always looked sweet with a black or brown alligator strap – and you don’t want to miss out on that look. At the same time, this bracelet is nice enough to want to wear at least half the time.

Fit and finish on the watches is high and you’ll more than likely appreciate the little details. With great “anytime wear” looks and in-house made movements, watches like this are going to help keep IWC near the top of the luxury watch heap for 2012. Look for the new IWC Spitfire and other new for 2012 pilot watches soon.

Related posts:

1. Patek Philippe 5270 Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Watch Hands-On …
2. IWC Big Pilot Top Gun Watches For 2012 Hands-On …
3. Glashutte Original Senator Perpetual Calendar Watch Hands-On …
4. Antoine Martin Perpetual Calendar Watch Hands-On …
5. Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph Perpetual Calendar Boutique New York Watch …

From:aBlogtoRead.com

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You won’t find the owner of a perpetual calendar any happier than you will today, February 29th.  You see, one of the coolest things about a true perpetual calendar is that it automatically knows and adjusts for leap years.  Thing is, they don’t come around too often, so every February 29th, people that are lucky enough to own a perpetual calendar go a little nutty and start showing complete strangers their watches on the streets.

So, on this leap day, we though we’d show you a famous perpetual calendar that you should know about.  It is, of course, from Patek Philippe, and its reference is the 2497.  It is a traditional manually wound perpetual calendar and it was launched in 1951.  The 2497 was introduced alongside the 2438-1, which was the same watch with a waterproof case and though it was produced for over ten years, only 179 examples were made in total, of both references. 

The 2497 is traditionally divided into two series, differentiated by their dials.  Series one is as above on Ben’s wrist with alternating dots and arabic numerals and feuille hands, while series two is as seen here with all applied hash markers and dauphine hands.

Estimates on 2497s are anywhere from $ 220,000-$ 350,000 these days, with the last one selling publicly for $ 314,500 in December of 2011 in NYC.

So, next time leap day comes around and your annoying friend with the perpetual calendar shows you his watch, tell him “if it’s not a Patek 2497, i’m not interested”.

From:HODINKEE

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Face of the new Bulgari Perpetual Calendar watch

Bulgari has impressed audiences again with the release of their Grande Sonnerie Quantieme Perpetual Calendar watch earlier this year.
Bulgari is often portrayed as a brilliant jewelry maker, and the same holds true for their watches. This new timepiece is no exception. The watch offers the owner all the magnificent extras that has come to be expected from Bulgari. Another fine addition to the Daniel Roth Collection, the Grande Sonnerie Perpetual Calendar has an astounding number of components and took approximately one year to complete.
This model pushes the boundaries on the Grande Sonnerie line  with a new function that will keep the date and provide musical cues on important dates and times throughout the year. The Calendar is set to work until the year 2100.
The watch comes equipped with 923 components and 20 different functions. The Perpetual Calendar function will chime with certain cues throughout the year. Over the course of an entire year, the watch will chime 433,580 during 35,040 activations.
This magnificent piece of craftsmanship was created by only the best and brightest in their profession. Six months of the development process was dedicated to the finishing and decorating of the moving parts alone. It is up to the watchmaker to create each piece in perfect working order or the watch will cease to perform correctly.
The tones the watch produces each day are the most intricate part of the watch. Each time the watch makes a note, tiny gongs are struck within the watch. The watchmaker must be sure that the tones within the casing sound true and accurate. If even one of the tones is off, the entirety of the sound is awful. This is even more evidence of the mastery put into each of these spectacular timepieces.

Tourbillion and Sonnerie of Bulgari Perpetual Calendar Watch

This exquisite piece of craftsmanship is designed with a tourbillion mechanism to ensure accurate timekeeping. It is held in an 18-carot pink gold case with a black alligator leather strap and 18-carot pink gold triple-blade folding clasp. The dial consists of an alternating lacquered finish, opaline anthracite and snailed surface treatment. The watch pops when one notices the sapphire discs in the case indicating the days and months.
Already being championed as one of the 10 most complicated watches every produced, the Grande Sonnerie Perpetual Calendar watch debuted at Baselworld 2011, a watch and jewelry trade show held in Basel, Switzerland. The show is held to explore the new innovations and stunning products from all the worlds top watch and jewelry companies. This watch will truly capture the jealous gaze of anyone with the privilege of witnessing it in person.

From:Luxury Watches That Impress Review Blog

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If there is one watch from one brand that collectors, journalists, and industry-folk alike all tend to revere, it is the perpetual calendar chronograph from Patek Philippe.  Launched with the 1518, this combination of complications from Patek just seems to inspire admiration from those that come into contact with it.  The 2499, the 3970, and the 5970 all are highly collectible in their own right, and it was just last year at Basel World 2011 that we saw the introduction of the very first Patek Philippe perpetual calendar chronograph with a fully in-house movement, the 5270G.

We showed you the 5270G the day it was released here, but recently we got to spend a bit more time with it so we thought we’d snap a few pictures and give you some impressions. 

Click through for more live photographs and impressions of the Patek Philippe 5270G Perpetual Calendar Chronograph.

From:HODINKEE

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This past January, Bvlgari has announced its new model for 2012. This new watch is the Bvlgari Grande Sonnerie Quantieme Perpetual watch, a unique new time piece sure to catch the attention of many potential buyers. This time piece is a Grand Complication model, which will make a great addition to the luxurious Daniel Roth collection.

Bvlgari Grande Sonnerie Quantieme Perpetual Watch

The most unique feature of this watch is its perpetual calendar, which has full calendar indications up to the year 2100. The watch has a very complicated making, since it contains such a unique feature, which is probably why it took almost a year to create such an accessory. The watch is made up of 923 parts. This beautiful elegant time piece is also quite artsy with a complicated design. It is said that this watch has already made a place on the list of the top ten most complicated watches to have ever been made.

The Bvglari Grande Sonnerie Quantieme Perpetual watch contains two self-winding barrels. The purpose of the first barrel is to maintain all of the usual timekeeping functions that a watch has. The second barrel is specifically meant to aid the striking mechanism, as well as promising a full 24-hour power reserve in Grand Sonnerie mode. The Petite Sonnerie mode is known for its mechanism which doesn’t repeat the hours once it strikes the quarters.

This chic watch will function properly and will have no need for maintenance until the year 2100. This time piece tracks the months that have 28, 29, 30 and 31 days. 2100 is going to be a leap year so the watch will need to be fixed so it can provide accurate  calendar information till the year 2200, which will also be a leap year.

The one of a kind uniqueness that this watch possesses is due to the fact that it was modeled after a vinyl record player. The case is a beautiful eye catching 18kt pink-gold with a black alligator leather strap and a 18kt matching pink gold triple blade folding clasp.  Another great feature that this watch contains is that it is water resistant in up to 30 meters or 99 feet of water, making this watch ideal for a day of water sports at the lake or that big summer cruise. The physical mechanical beauty of this time piece also makes it perfect for those weekend long business trips as well as meetings. This watch is sure to make you the envy amongst all of your friends with its luxury and punctuality.

From:Luxury Watches That Impress Review Blog

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