Omega Aqua Terra Annual Calendar

Annual Calendars Are Goldilocks Complications: Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold, Just Right – Reprise

Sometimes perpetual calendars are too complicated but a simple calendar just doesn’t cut it anymore because nearly half the months have less than 31 days, making it five adjustments a year too many for some. But don’t fret, there is a middle ground between the most basic calendar watches and complex perpetual calendars: the annual calendar automatically adjusts for each month with 30 or 31 days, meaning just one adjustment per year for the owner in February. Here’s a brief history of the complication.

De Bethune DB28 with silicon/platinum annular balance

The Schmidt List: 5 Extraordinary Balance Wheels – Reprise

The balance wheel, the critical regulatory organ of a mechanical watch, is expected to deliver a consistent frequency with a tolerance of as little as 0.001 percent. With so much at stake, why complicate things by altering a pure and simple geometric shape? Why reinvent the wheel? Well, here are five balances that definitely did reinvent the wheel.

The writing automaton in the film, Hugo (photo courtesy IMDB)

All About Automata: Mechanical Magic (With Action Videos) – Reprise

Today’s high-end automata beautifully illustrate that extraordinary engineering can be combined with impressive artistic crafts to wonderful ends. But even in the highest quality examples, the principles of what drives automata are largely the same as they have been for centuries because most are based on very straightforward mechanical principles to create motion. Everything you ever wanted to know about automata is right here.

Bathys Hawaii Cesium-133

Measuring The Time Between The Seconds: The Truth Behind High-Frequency Movements – Reprise

Marketing material for the modern mechanical watch almost always includes a description of the the movement’s frequency. You may have even sensed that the higher the frequency, the more accurate a movement gets. But is this entirely true? Find out here.

Fitting Rolex balance wheel and Parachrom hairspring

Is Silicon Here To Stay In (Rolex) Watch Movements? – Reprise

Hairsprings are miniscule. Generally no more than one centimeter in overall diameter when coiled, they are roughly 50 microns thick and 150 microns wide. Tiny they may be, but insignificant they are not. In fact, they are so significant that Rolex refers to them as “the guardians of time.” But what do silicon hairsprings bring to the table? Watchmaker Ashton Tracy explains why he went from skeptic to fan.

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea-Dweller Deepsea with helium escape valve

Deeper, Further, Faster: Why Do Some Dive Watches Have Helium Escape Valves? – Reprise

Humans have long had a fascination with the depths of the ocean, striving to go ever deeper, ever further, and ever faster by pushing the limits of the human body, technology, and advancing modern science. But like all things, we are often faced with limits. And the helium escape valve was invented to push one of those limits as watchmaker Ashton Tracy explains.

Vintage Jaeger "Panda dial 4 ATM"

The Number Of Jewels In A Watch Movement Indicates Value, Or Does It It? A Myth Debunked – Reprise

Does anyone really care how many jewels their watch has? Watchmaker Ashton Tracy thinks that you’d be surprised how many people do as they’ve been duped by a vintage practice of announcing the amount of movement jewels on watch dials. What is the real story here?

Patek Philippe Nautilus Perpetual Calendar Reference 5740 on the wrist

Perpetual Calendars: What They Do, What Most Of Them Don’t Do, And A Few Of The Best – Reprise

Chris Malburg highlights some of the finest examples of perpetual calendar watches today and dives into their history.

Sauterelle à Lune Perpétuelle fitting very nicely on the wrist of the yours truely

The 10 Most Accurate Moon Phase Wristwatches Today, Plus Honorable Mention – Reprise

Waxing poetically about moon phases got Joshua excited enough to take a trip through certain “phases” of engineering excellence. So here he brings you the ten most accurate moon phase displays fitted into a wristwatch as of 2020. Join us on this odyssey through space and time.

How To Make A Milanese Watch Bracelet (Video) – Reprise

Our friends at The Watches TV visited Laurent Jolliet, the last “chain maker” in business in Switzerland according to Marc André Deschoux. As Jolliet crafts his bracelets and chains fully by hand, Deschoux and crew were able to find out in detail how Milanese bracelets are made, an art form no longer formally taught, and they share the secrets with us here.