Calendar

"Sport" and "perpetual calendar" (they use the french "Quantième Perpetuel") usually aren't terms you hear in the same sentence when discussing high-end mechanical watches. But to be ballsy, that is what DeWitt did with the Academia Quantieme Perpetuel Sport watch. The amazingly loud design of the case and dial is sporty and bold. Certainly not for everyone, a good amount of people will appreciate the architectural complication that the design offers.

The watch isn't new, but this red bathed version is. Logically this watch should not look good. If you explained the concept of it to someone on paper, you'd be describing a mess. Though it does in fact seem to be greater than the sum of its parts. It comes across as cool - certainly more so that the original Academia Quantieme Perpetuel watch.

The only difference here from last year's 1966 Full Calendar watch is it being in 18k white gold for 2011. The new colors look sharp, but these are the only real changes. The 1966 Full Calendar watch from Girard-Perregaux gets a nice "tuxedo timepiece" demeanor with its white or black case matched to the white gold case (that is 40mm wide). I first wrote about this range here with a hands-on look at the palladium version. The elegant dial is easy to read and has an annual calendar and moon phase indicator thanks to the in-house made GP033M0 automatic movement. While the white dialed version has some nice blue accenting, the black dialed version tries to do this in red - but I don't like it. I think the "31" marker of the date should have been white. The red is distracting, and a splash of color has already been added to the dial via the gold moon and stars in the moon phase indicator. Still the watches are quite nice and the 1966 range from GP feels desirable as ever. Price will be in the $20,000 range.

Ariel Adams publishes the wrist watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

The next watch to have Carl F. Bucherer's great A1000 base movement will be this Patravi EvoTec Calendar watch. The brand put a type of annual calendar on top of the A1000 for the CFB A1004 automatic movement that now has the time, big date (love that), day of the week, subsidiary seconds disc, and a week indicator. Week indicators are rare, and track the 52 week period in each year. This is done on the large inner dial ring. They aren't super useful, but interesting to see how you are progression into the year. Rather than a subdial for the seconds, there is a disc that rotates and you use the small red arrow to read it.

The case is in steel and 42.6mm wide. I like the round case for the Patravi more than their Cushion case - but that is just a matter of taste. The cases are finished quite well, and the operation of CFB movement is usually really nice. While the watch is cool, I think they could have done a better job at designing the dial. It could have been more legible, and less busy. Overall the new Patravi EvoTec Calendar watch is nice, satisfying the complication junkie that Carl F. Bucherer is known to go after.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

To really appreciate this watch you need to learn a bit about it. While the basic design of Ateliers deMonaco watches are usually good, this one has some technical innovations that those used to dealing with perpetual calendar watches should really welcome and appreciate. A perpetual calendar is a calendar indicator system in a mechanical watch movement that takes into consideration leap years - and therefore much be adjusted very infrequently (assuming the watch is still operating). The problem is often that they are very complex to adjust (and sometimes to read). Often times a watch will have a number of pushers all over the case (that aren't labeled) or the watch must be sent back to the manufacturer to be adjusted - no joke.

The theme of many of this year's watches at SIHH was sellability versus novelty. There is next to nothing new or exciting about this new incredibly long-named Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Contemporaine Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin watch. Though it is a handsome fellow. It will sell well in Asia - what else can I say? My favorite part of the watch is something which is hard to tell in this image. That being the fact that the blue background of the moonphase indicator is lapis lazuli.

I give the watch a hard time because it doesn't feel special - that doesn't mean it isn't. A watch like this will have a timeless appeal, which is enhanced by its easy to read time, 41mm width (in 18k pink gold), and very slim case. Inside the watch is a Vacheron Constantin made Calibre 1120 QP automatic perpetual calendar movement. Look for it later this year.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Offering a slight variation on their Pirata watch line, Cuervo y Sobrinos offers this limited edition Pirata "Complete Calendar" watch with a Swiss ETA Valjoux 7751 movement in it. Limited to just 200 pieces, the watch (now available) is 45mm wide in titanium, steel, and bronze. The latter material being only rarely used in watch cases. I wrote more extensively on this Cuervos y Sobrinos Pirata watches here.

The watch has a series of design cues meant to evoke a pirate and navigational theme. The Cuervo y Sobrinos brand started in Cuba, but is now operated by a Swiss company. The Valjoux 7751 movement is an automatic, and has a series of functions built on to the base 7750 chronograph. The watch adds an annual calendar, moonphase indicator (done a bit differently in this watch), as well as a synchronized 24 hour hand (for AM/PM indication). The watch is quite cool with some neat design features and comes on a comfy rubber strap. Price for this limited edition Pirata is $9,500.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Now we've seen some outlandish ways to spend money here at Luxist, but a million-dollar calendar? You've got to be kidding, right? No, we're not, but this is no ordinary calendar. It's a special gift package released just in time for the holiday season.

The six-foot tall tower features a series of opening compartments, each of which houses a unique gift for each day. Items include a stopwatch, cufflinks, pens, sunglasses, a full kitchen and even a 525-horsepower speedboat. All the products of Porsche Design, naturally. But even if you have the seven figures to spend on such an extravagance, don't get your heart set on it too quickly, as only five examples will be offered, one on each continent, which have likely already been spoken for.

Arguably the best collection in Blancpain's lineup, the Fifty Fathoms gets a "blue" job and a chrono-calendar set of complications added to it. I got to check out the blue version of the Fifty Fathoms watch a while ago before it launched. The decorated metallic blue dial is lovely (especially matched with the blue bezel with sapphire crystal over it), and the addition of the classic set of dials is an interesting addition to the dive watch theme. Does anyone diving need a chronograph and annual calendar, and a moon phase indicator? They probably wouldn't want it - but hey, who is actually gonna be diving with this thing? Blancpain themselves describe it as a "yachting watch." The first few of the pieces were actually debuted at the Cannes International Boat Show. So the "point" of the new Blancpain Fifty Fathoms Flyback Chronograph Complete Calendar (yes, I am sorry, that is actually the name of it) makes more sense now.

I wish they could have named it something better. It is as though watch brands ask you to have more of an emotional investment in their watches than they do when naming them. These names are unoriginal, and what are called "merely descriptive." Inside the watch is a Blancpain in-house made automatic calibre 66BF8 movement. It features a 12 hour chronograph, date, day of the week, month, and moon phase indicator. The watch itself is 45mm wide in a steel case with a specially treated blue canvas strap (to match the blue theme). Really a nice piece that will satisfy collectors looking for a complicated and "worldly" version of the Fifty Fathoms.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

For me this Patek Philippe Nautilus watch was the best Patek Philippe watch introduced for 2010. It wasn't totally original, nor did it have a crazy complex Patek Philippe movement - but it does have a manly appeal that I prefer. In fact, almost no other Patek Philippe watches from Baselworld even felt as though they were made for men this year. My second most favorite? The lady's Nautilus watch that was introduced last year - but I digress. For 2010 Patek Philippe placed their Caliber 324 S QA LU 24 H (Jesus, is that really the name of the movement?) automatic triple calendar movement in a Nautilus watch. The look just works. So well in fact that I think this watch will steal sales from the other Nautilus Ref. 5712 calendar watch that was introduced a while ago. This is due to the eye-pleasing symmetry of the classic triple calendar layout. The Annual calendar has the month and day of the week in little adjacent windows on discs, a date window at the bottom, and a subdial below for as moon phase indicator and a 24 hour time dial. A great layout that mixes things up a bit and doesn't detracting from reading the time. This is also apparently the first triple calendar watch from Patek Philippe in a steel case.

The style of the watch and the case is all Nautilus in a 40.5mm wide case (water resistant to 120 meters). While the case is in steel, the hour markers and hands are in white gold. The dial is beautiful and easy to read - an instant classic that immediately fits in with the rest of the Patek Philippe Nautilus collection. Now if they only made a version a bit larger at about 42-44mm wide... The only strap available is the black alligator you see here. No metal bracelet it seems the price for the Ref. 5726 watch is likely to be about $40,000 when it is available soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Baume & Mercier offers up a Valjoux 7751 movement based watch so similar in theme to a similar offering by Longines, that the brand can never deny who its intended competitor is. By all accounts the new Baume & Mercier Classima Executives XL Chronograph Calendar watch is a nice looking watch, but it does not feel particularly special. Actually that sounds like most of the recent Baume & Mercier watches. I think they are too afraid to infringe upon their higher end relatives in the Richemont Group. A few years ago we saw a host of exciting looking Capeland, Riviera, and Hampton models coming out. Did that stream dry up?

In a 42mm steel case the watch style is classic with just a hint of personality. Baume & Mercier supplies the watch with a relatively attractive guilloche engraved finished dial. It feels like it is missing Roman numerals, but that would have made the dial too busy. Dark gray hands instead of the expected blued steel hands give the watch a Tuxedo look - while the red gold date hand and gold toned moon on the moon phase indicator add a suggestion of luxury. Sapphire crystal on the front and rear of the watch allow clear views, with a Baume & Mercier signed automatic rotor see in the back. The Valjoux 7751 automatic movement is related to the Valjoux 7750, but adds a host of features including an annual calendar, synchronized 24 hour hand, and moonphase indicator in addition to the time and 12 hour chronograph. While there is nothing wrong with the attractive watch, give the competition, anything above $3,000 would be too much to pay for a watch like this. Though I don't know the price of the watch yet.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Diehard enthusiasts and collectors of famed Italian watch brand Panerai, known as the Paneristi, came together recently to raise money for those less fortunate. The global members of enthusiast site Paneristi.com celebrated the online forum's 10th anniversary with an event at artist and Panerai collector Eng Tay's Tribeca studio. Tay (above) created a special series of images showing an outstanding collection of vintage and classic Panerai timepieces along with his artwork for a calendar celebrating Paneristi.com's 10th anniversary. All profits from the limited edition $300 calendar are being donated to The Mulliganeers, a children's charity created by Paneristi.com moderator and founder Paddy Conway. Most copies of the collector's item sold out within two weeks but there a few left; you can contact Paddy@CotswoldGardens.com for info. on ordering.

Ukranian model / actress Olga Kurylenko, who played a Bond Girl opposite Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace, has just been unveiled as the star of the 2010 Campari Calendar. Following in the footsteps of former calendar stars Salma Hayek, Eva Mendes and Jessica Alba, Kurylenko appears in a series of vignettes in different locations around Milan indulging in the classic Italian aperitif. Italian photographer Simone Nervi shot the photos, including the image above for December of a Gucci-clad Kurylenko surrounded by Ducati Monster-riding admirers at Milan's Piazza Duca D'Aosta. The twelve images will be featured in the limited edition calendar, with only 9,999 copies being printed to be distributed worldwide.

Finally a straight-forward perpetual calendar watch, once again. Many companies attempt to breathe a breath of fresh air into the common set of complications, but sometimes it is just nice to see a simple classic. Not only is the look of this Chronoswiss watch basic, but so is the name being just the "Chronoswiss Perpetual Calendar" watch. The 40mm watch sits on the stealth wealth side of the fence being in white gold, that a few feet away is almost indistinguishable from steel. Love those classic long, thin lugs.

I believe the dial comes in silver or black (blued steel hands on the silver dial). Inside the watch is the Chronoswiss manufacture made C. 127 caliber movement. Wound via the large crown, and providing the time, perpetual calendar functions, and moonphase indicators. At $34,600 it is a classic looking and high value watch compared to prices from Swiss brand. Ironically ChronoSWISS is a German brand.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Independent watch maker Peter Speake-Marin releases his newest highly limited timepiece - the 1in20 QP. A limited edition of literally just a few pieces - several of which are 'piece uniques.' The watch houses his manufacture made calendar movement with the time, month, day, date, and moon phase. I do not believe the watch is a perpetual calendar. The "1in20" name refers to the fact that the watches will be the first 20 to house Speake-Marin's new SM2 Caliber automatic movement. I am glad that it is not manually wound, given these types of complications. Using the now well regarded Peter Speak-Marin watch case, size is at about 40mm wide and in either 18k white or rose gold.

While the case is impressive and has a nice sapphire crystal caseback, the dial of the watch is classic looking and beautiful. The dial is made from German silver (not actually silver but a type of nickle alloy) and enjoys a thoughtfully laid out dial and guilloche machine engraving decoration. Blue SuperLumiNova sits on the hands and hour marker points for darkness glowing. A supremely classy watch with an in-house movement and hand made quality. Prices...will be up there.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

For the past 40 years, Italian tire company Pirelli has issued a limited-edition calendar to a select list of VIPs - the kind who have fleets of Pirelli-shod Ferraris - featuring scores of nude supermodels. As we reported back in December, the 2009 Pirelli Calendar features an African theme and was shot in Botswana by famed photographer Peter Beard with models including the stunning Isabeli Fontana, Malgosia Bela, Daria Werbowy and Raquel Zimmermann (along with a fleet of agreeable elephants and not a lot of clothes).

The 2010 calendar was just shot by fashionably perverted lensman Terry Richardson in Brazil with a whole new crop of beauties, including stunning upper class British model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (above), who's said to be related to the Queen of England. Huntington-Whitely has sizzled before in campaigns for the likes of Agent Provocateur and Burberry. You can check out some video footage after the jump, but be forewarned - it's possibly NSFW and the running commentary is in Italian.