Five Recent Near-Perfect Perpetual Calendars From Patek Philippe, Lange, IWC, Baume & Mercer and Jaeger-LeCoultre
by Martin Green
Call me crazy, but one of my favorite complications is the perpetual calendar, aka QP. While I know that an annual calendar can do almost the same for a lot less, I am still mesmerized by the human ingenuity of being able to a miniature mechanical device that can even deal with leap years.
Fortunately, my passion is still shared by quite a few watch manufactures, and whenever they add a perpetual calendar to their collection, I am there.
Here are a few recent perpetual calendar watches that caught my eye:
Baume et Mercier Riviera Perpetual Calendar
Baume et Mercier launched its beautiful new perpetual calendar in 2023 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Riviera, but this year, they made it slightly better. Or actually, I should say sportier, as the 40mm large stainless steel dial now features an anthracite dial.
Baume et Mercier Riviera Perpetual Calendar
This dial gives the Riviera a contemporary edge, although Baume et Mercier cleverly added red gold hands and hour markers, which both add contrast and a luxury feel. After all, it is a perpetual calendar and not an annual.
Baume et Mercier Riviera Perpetual Calendar
The layout of the dial is clean and traditional, which suits the watch very nicely. What is also pleasant is that the Baumatic caliber offers a power reserve of a generous five days.
Baume et Mercier Riviera Perpetual Calendar
The height is kept nicely in check at 11.8mm, so the only downside of this watch is that it is limited to only 50 pieces. I think its beauty should have made it part of the permanent collection.
Price: €21,500
For more information, please visit www.baume-et-mercier.com/en/collections/riviera-men/watch-riviera-10786.html
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Patek Philippe Reference 5236P In-Line Perpetual Calendar
Patek Philippe is one of the few brands that can innovate within tradition. The 5236P-010 best explains what I mean. The mahogany brown alligator strap combined with the platinum case and opaline rose-gilt dial is a very classic proposition in terms of color and materials.
Patek Philippe Reference 5236P In-Line Perpetual Calendar
The innovation part comes from the inline perpetual calendar, which places day, date, and month in a single row, just below twelve o’clock. The moon phase is integrated in the subdial for the second’s at six o’clock and flanked by a leap year indicator on the right and a day/night indicator on the left.
Patek Philippe Reference 5236P In-Line Perpetual Calendar
To further underscore that this is not an inherited Patek Philippe from your grandfather, are the 18K white gold hands and hour markers finished with a charcoal gray coating. A bold move, but a good-looking one.
Patek Philippe Reference 5236P In-Line Perpetual Calendar
The diameter of 41.3mm ensures that this Patek Philippe won’t go unnoticed, while the sapphire insert in the caseback allows an undisrupted view of caliber 31‑260 PS QL, powered by its micro-rotor.
Price: $141,405
For more information, please visit www.patek.com/en/collection/grand-complications/5236P-010
A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Lumen
Picking this A. Lange & Söhne might be seen a bit as cheating, as the Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Lumen features a perpetual calendar, and is fitted with both a flyback chronograph and tourbillon, and comes in the desirable ‘Lumen’ configuration.
A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Lumen
This means that not only the subdials have been given a luminous treatment with Super-LumiNova, but also the tachymeter ring, moon phase disc, and the discs for the outsize date, offering quite a spectacular view in low light conditions.
A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Lumen
To allow light to charge the part of the discs that are hidden, is the dial itself slightly translucent, which adds even more to the appeal of this watch. The dial is busy due to the many complications, yet organized in such a way that it is still relatively easy to read.
A. Lange & Söhne Datograph Perpetual Tourbillon Lumen
The buttons to operate the chronograph are placed on the right side of the case, with the one at ten o’clock advancing the perpetual calendar functions all by one day. This makes it easier to reset when the watch is not wound for a while after the mainspring has run out.
A. Lange & Söhne opted for their proprietary honey gold for the case, which adds that luxury touch.
Another luxury can be found at the backside of the watch, where the tourbillon is visible among the delicately finished bridges, levers, and gears.
Price: $620,000,-
For more information, please visit www.alange-soehne.com/eu-en/timepieces/saxonia/datograph-perpetual-tourbillon-honeygold-lumen
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IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44
While I probably should have picked the Portugieser Eternal calendar, which needs no manual correction until the year 3999, it is the new Portugieser Perpetual Calendar that made the biggest impression on me.
IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 with blue dial
I have always found the Portugieser Perpetual Calendar a beautiful watch, and for the latest edition they have further finetuned it in a Porsche 911 kind-of-way. The double domed sapphire crystal and even thinner bezel make it appear that this watch is all dial, which enhances its legibility.
IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 in profile
The layout is rather classic, but IWC keeps it contemporary by the way it displays the moon phase on both hemispheres. What I also like is that the date is visible in full.
IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar 44 with blue dial
With its diameter of 44.4mm is it not a small watch, but what makes this pleasing is that it also houses a very large movement. This one is both robust and offers a generous power reserve of 168 hours.
The biggest challenge is selecting which version of the new IWC Portugieser Perpetual Calendar you like the best. After long contemplating, I would go trendy and opt for the white gold case with an ice blue dial.
Price: €50,000,-
For more information, please visit www.iwc.com/de/en/watch-collections/portugieser/iw503703-portugieser-perpetual-calendar-44.html
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar
For me, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar has always been the classic of the classics, although also this watch has evolved.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar
When I got into watches in the late 1990s, the Master Perpetual (as it was called back then) had a slightly smaller case (37.2mm vs. 39mm) and a different dial configuration but it still shows quite a bit of resemblance with the latest model.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar
The dauphine hands and matching hour markers add style, with a blued seconds hand for contrast. What has also remained the same is the little window just above the center of the dial that is the leap year indicator.
The pink gold case combined with the eggshell dial is very classic, but the black alligator strap also makes it a bit strict looking. A brown strap, or perhaps even a blue one, will fix that.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar profile
As the name indicates has, the focus of Jaeger-LeCoultre also been on the thickness (or lack thereof) of the watch, and with 9.2mm, they kept that nicely in check, but I would call it thin and not ultra-thin.
The movement itself is 4.72mm thick and offers a power reserve of 70-hours, which it gains from the centrally mounted oscillating weight. Finishing is up to par, making this Jaeger-LeCoultre a proven classic, even when new.
Price: $40,700,-
For more information, please visit www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/us-en/watches/master-ultra-thin/master-ultra-thin-perpetual-calendar-pink-gold-q1142510
You might also enjoy:
Perpetual Calendars: What They Do And What Most Of Them Don’t Do
Annual Calendars Are Goldilocks Complications: Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold, Just Right
It’s a Date! Taking a Closer Look at the Most Popular Complication of Them All: The Calendar
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I’m a big fan of Habring when it comes to price vs quality for this complication.