Are complex calendars the next great opportunity in accessibly priced complications?

Andrew O’Connor

Counter to many outspoken watch enthusiasts, I’m a fan of date windows, and I know I’m not alone. Sure, phones have made it so we have a calendar on us most of the time, let alone the accurate time, so it isn’t news to most of us that a wristwatch is not necessary in modern society, let alone a highly complicated one. Still, many of us can not imagine life without them, and for fans of mechanical watches, we all likely have a fondness for antiquity. I still instinctively look to my wrist for my time and the date, as I frequently lose track of what the date is.

When I first learned about perpetual calendars, I was fascinated. Not only because of the impressive engineering involved to accurately display the day, date, and month across varying lengths of months and years, but I saw them as incredibly practical. Assuming I could keep it running, having the accurate date on my wrist without having to remember to adjust it at the end of every other month would be incredibly helpful, especially as the days get longer and the years get shorter.

Following my preliminary exposure to perpetual calendars came the knowledge of what perpetual calendars typically cost. The eye-watering price tag of many complex calendars, perpetual or otherwise, makes them unobtainable for many people. Then there are annual calendars and 4-year calendars, which offer part of the experience, but at a lower cost that correlates with the reduced functionality.

When Frederique Constant first unveiled its Manufacture Perpetual Calendar (currently priced at CHF 9,995), I was excited and hopeful that a perpetual calendar might end up on my wrist one day. Their most recent update makes the design more wearable and more universally appealing in my mind. This made me wonder about other accessible perpetual calendars.

Unfortunately, it appears there is still a large gap between Frederique Constant’s Manufacture Perpetual Calendar and the next most affordable perpetual calendar. Even the available annual and four-year calendars offer little respite. For those like me who find having an accurate date display practical, what options are there for complex calendars, and what do I think (and hope) the near future of complex calendars could look like?

For the sake of this article, my reference to complex calendars includes timepieces that can display the date with minimal interference from the owner month-to-month. I realise that moon phase displays, retrograde date displays, and others fall into the category of complex calendars as well, but my focus is on annual, four-year, perpetual, and if possible, secular calendars.

The recent landscape of complex calendars

The absolute bargain that is the Frederique Constant Manufacture Perpetual Calendar is better understood in the context of other Swiss-made, big-box-brand perpetual calendar models. Montblanc’s Heritage Perpetual calendar comes in at $17,200, which is affordable by Swiss perpetual calendar standards, but almost double the cost of the Frederique Constant. Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC and Baume & Mercier all offer perpetual calendars cased in stainless steel, which certainly lowers the price compared to the traditional precious metals seen for complex models from other brands, but pricing for these all sit between US$20,000 and $32,000.

The list of modern perpetual calendars in steel does seem rather Richemont-heavy. The Swatch Group’s most affordable perpetual calendar is manufactured by Glashütte Original in the form of the Senator Excellence Perpetual Calendar, which retails for US$25,100. So if you want a modern perpetual calendar in steel, it looks like it will almost certainly be US$20,000 or more.

When searching for a more accessible version of something, a common direction to turn to is simplification. If looking for the bulk of the functionality is your goal without the hefty price tags, annual calendars are a seemingly good compromise. Annual calendars accommodate the alternating months, except for February, requiring owner intervention only once a year to correct the date. As previously mentioned, there are also four-year calendars, which only require adjusting the date once every four years, as they do not account for the leap year.

Both of these seem like they would be great compromises for watch collectors looking for an obtainable complex calendar. Breitling has offered the calibre 19 in a variety of watches over the years, often advertised with the 1461 moniker, demarcating the movement’s 4-year calendar functionality of tracking the date for 1461 days without adjustment. The most recent example of this was the Super Chronomat 44 1461, which has recently been discontinued.

Omega used to offer an annual calendar with their calibre 8601 offered in the De Ville and Aqua Terra collections. With the updated Master Co-Axial calibres, these models went away, but the Annual Calendar function lives on in the Constellation line with the Constellation Globemaster Annual Calendar with the calibre 8922 inside.

Longines also offers an annual calendar in the Masters collection, and a now-discontinued Heritage 1832 model, both with the calibre L897. Priced even lower than the Omega offerings, it seems like it hasn’t caught widespread appeal despite favourable press coverage when it was released.

While offering a great deal of value, these models seemed to miss the mark in what collectors were looking for. I think when collectors are looking for complex calendars, they are also looking for something resembling the traditional complex calendar design, with sub-registers for the various date indications. While undeniably functional and handsome in design, both the Omega and Longines annual calendar models only display the month and date. I’m sure they won some fans with their more subdued appearance, but the lack of continued mainstream success of these models may have more to do with the appearance and less to do with the functionality. In the case of Breitling’s four-year calendar timepieces, I think the higher price likely scared off their usual clients, as the added complication was likely misunderstood.

Current options

One brand that does offer a great deal of value when it comes to complex calendars is Ochs und Junior. Founded by Ludwig Oechslin, who was responsible for developing the annual calendar module used by Zenith for their Captain Windsor Annual Calendar, Oechslin later participated in the development of the first MIH watch, an ultra-minimalist annual calendar mono-pushed chronograph based on the Valjoux 7750, which lives on as the Mechanik2. Focused on achieving complications by adding as few additional parts as possible, Oechslin later took his prior work to produce the Annual Calendar model that is currently part of the Ochs und Junior lineup.

Achieved by adding six additional parts to the base ETA calibre, the minimalist design is carried through to the internal mechanics. Priced at CHF 8,290, not only is this relatively accessible compared to many perpetual calendars from the big brands, but most models from Ochs und Junior are made-to-order and fully customizable. Not only does this allow for some clever watchmaking to get strapped to your wrist for a reasonable sum, but it also makes certain that the watch will be uniquely yours.

But Ludwig Ochslein’s minimalistic mechanical mastery does not end with an annual calendar. Ochs und Junior also has a perpetual calendar in their catalogue as well. Achieved by adding 9 additional parts and modifying 3 parts of the base Ulysse Nardin UN-118 movement, the result is a charmingly stark perpetual calendar with the full functionality and displays one would expect from what is widely considered a grand complication. It is also fully adjusted via the crown, forgoing the traditional inset pushers found on many perpetual calendars, and can be adjusted forward and backward.

Fully customizable with prices starting at CHF 21,743 as of publishing, there is also a regular production model called the Calendario Centi’anni (CCA). With 9 additional parts over a UN-320 movement, this 100-year calendar will display the date accurately within your lifetime, and for most of the next. The regular production CCA brings the price down to CHF 15,230 (excluding VAT), making for a relatively affordable perpetual calendar. While you lose the customisation aspect, the CCA  still makes for a very unique and modern complex calendar, satisfying both a more affordable grand complication and something very different from the usual suspects.

If your tastes lean more traditional, there is the Habring² Chrono-Felix Perpetual. Placed in a compact 38.5mm wide stainless steel case, Habring achieved their perpetual calendar via a module for their already compelling Chrono-Felix monopusher chronograph model. Keeping with tradition, this watch does use pushers to set the calendar, but the added functionality of the chronograph adds both watchmaking flair and evokes grand complication watches of eras past from other famed European brands. Priced at CHF 23,500 at the time of its release in 2022, the Habring² Chrono-Felix Perpetual presents a great deal of watchmaking value relative to the bring brands. Sure, there is the IWC Portofino Perpetual Calendar for slightly more, but the Habring has the added mono-pusher chronograph, which I definitely consider a win.

Room for growth

Compared to what the watch community traditionally thinks of when it comes to complex calendars, there are more approachable options available, both from some of the larger groups and from independent brands. Minus the Longines, many of these are still five-figure timepieces. While some display a great deal of value, they still aren’t necessarily affordable in the grand scheme of mechanical watches, let alone life. What Frederique Constant has demonstrated, however, is that it is possible to produce a perpetual calendar for a relatively affordable price, and I think what Ludwig Oechslin has demonstrated is that the mechanisms can be simplified, thus making it easier to mass produce (assuming he would license his designs either in part or in full).

I can’t help but think that there is space in the market for more accessible, complex calendars between US$10,000-20,000. Below US$10,000 would obviously be amazing, but in the process of looking into what is available on the new market, I can’t help but think that maybe what Frederique Constant has done is find the floor of what is possible to produce an affordable perpetual calendar. I think the large groups have a tremendous opportunity to produce complex calendars within their more affordable brands. I could easily imagine a perpetual calendar Longines being a hit. Maybe with Breitling moving upmarket and their plans to bring back Gallet at a more entry-level tier, maybe the four-year calendars could live on with Gallet?

I think there is also a tremendous opportunity for microbrands and small independents here. Both Furlan Marri and Baltic have produced complex calendars for the Only Watch auctions, but these were unique pieces. Furlan Marri even went the extra mile to produce a secular calendar, a watch that will track the accurate date for one full 400-year cycle, compared to a perpetual calendar’s 100-year cycle. However, brands often use this as a testing ground for future production models, and the prices achieved at a charity auction are quite high. I’m sure they are looking at these models as an opportunity to move upmarket, but I would imagine that they would still present a great deal of value compared to the traditional large brands. I sincerely hope that production variations of those watches come to light in the near future.

Other small brands have produced some spectacular complicated watches. SpaceOne’s Tellurium is mesmerising in person, which makes me wonder how they would design a perpetual calendar. While tackling a complex calendar is difficult, the ingenuity and creativity displayed by many brands give me hope that we may see some spectacular watches in the relatively near future.

Closing thoughts

While I focused on modern watches and watchmakers that have models that are currently available or available in the recent past, I would be remiss to mention that there are plenty of neo-vintage perpetual and four-year calendars available on the secondary market. Older Breitlings with the calibre 19 are often available at reasonable prices, and older Blancpain perpetual calendars are available for relative bargains if you are a fan of smaller watches. My focus on modern watches for this is a hat tip to my love of creative engineering, but for those who are dying for an affordable complex calendar wristwatch now, neo-vintage may be the way to go.