Gregorian calendar 8. 1

The most complete installation of perpetual calendar

Friends who are slightly interested in watches must have heard of the perpetual calendar, which is one of the "three complex functions" of watches. Its English name is "Perpetual calendar", which literally translates as "Permanent Calendar", which means that its calendar display is always synchronized with reality-at least 2 100 years ago.

There are thousands of 0 1 rules, one of which is synchronization.

Some friends may ask, are the watches we usually wear out of sync with reality?

You can't say that.

As we all know, a year is 12 months, in which seven big months have 3 1 day, four small months have 30 days, and one February has 28 or 29 days-in short, the length of each month is different.

Calendar disks in mechanical watches are marked with the numbers 1 to 3 1 without exception, and rotate once every 3 1 day by default. If your watch showed the 28th yesterday and today's date has not been calibrated, then its calendar will definitely show the 29th instead of the actual (March) 1.

In contrast, the IQ of watches with annual calendars and perpetual calendars is much higher. In particular, the mechanical system of perpetual calendar can not only distinguish between big months and small months, but also distinguish between normal years and leap years. At the end of each month, it can automatically switch from 28th, 29th, 30th and 3 1 to next month's 1, which is very artistic.

Of course, the so-called perpetual calendar or perpetual calendar is just an exaggeration. Because our current calendar is a leap every four years, 100 years does not leap, and then leap in 400 years, the latter two require too much of the brain circuit, so most perpetual calendars can only achieve a leap every four years, and need to be manually adjusted by the end of February of 2 100 years.

According to historical records, the perpetual calendar function was first invented in18th century, earlier than other "two complex functions of watches"-flywheel and minute repeater. This does not mean that the structure of the former is simpler and easier to realize than the latter, but because people in the early days had an urgent need for various display functions related to calendars (not everyone was familiar with calendars at that time), and the perpetual calendar just met people's needs, eliminating the pain of correcting dates, which can be said to have unparalleled practical significance.

By the middle of the19th century, the perpetual calendar has already ushered in an exhibition period. At that time, pocket watches with complicated functions were especially favored by European royalty. As the saying goes: "The top watchmakers and watch factories in Switzerland and Germany have come up with their own finale stunts." For example, Patek Philippe received an order from Princess Louisa fernanda around 1866, and designed a pocket watch with complex functions, which integrates perpetual calendar, moon phase display and reverse jump hands. The case is engraved with the coat of arms of the princess and his wife.

Patek Philippe customized a perpetual calendar pocket watch for Princess Louisa fernanda.

After the appearance of the wristwatch, the perpetual calendar was directly transplanted from the pocket watch movement to the wristwatch for the first time by changing the wrist. Then in 1929, the economic crisis in the United States led to the global economic recession. Many traditional Swiss watch factories closed down or stopped the research and development of complex watches because of poor management, so there are very few brands of perpetual calendar watches in history.

1925 Patek Philippe's first perpetual calendar watch is equipped with a female 97975 pocket watch movement.

Patek Philippe, who was taken over by the Stern family, became the only survivor, and successively launched perpetual calendars with timing function, automatic winding and flat leap year display.

Throughout the 20th century, Patek Philippe's perpetual calendar watches were "outstanding" in the high-end watchmaking industry because of their large number, dense styles and perfect functions.

Patek Philippe released the Ref.3448 automatic perpetual calendar watch in 1962, but now this watch is sold for one million yuan.

There are thousands of rules, one of which is being slim.

1985, after the baptism of the crisis, mechanical watches entered a new era. Patek Philippe launched the Ref.3940 ultra-thin automatic perpetual calendar watch, which rekindled people's interest in complex mechanical watches.

Its Caliber 240 Q ultra-thin perpetual calendar movement, with a diameter of 27.5 mm and a thickness of only 3.88 mm, can not only indicate the day, date, month and moon phase, but also have 24-hour hands and leap year display. Caliber 240 Q ultra-thin perpetual calendar movement and supporting watches have also become the industry benchmark.

Today's perpetual calendars are mostly self-winding and often very thin. This is not only out of aesthetics, but also from the perspective of daily wear.

Because the perpetual calendar watch is basically a "lazy philosophy", it allows the wearer to use it for a long time and avoids the pain of adjusting the calendar. However, if the watch itself is too heavy to fit into the cuff of the shirt that people wear every day, or it needs to be wound manually from time to time, it will naturally affect the wearer's experience.

Patek Philippe Nautilus Perpetual Calendar (Ref.5740), which went on sale last year, is equipped with Caliber 240 Q automatic movement with a thickness of only 8.42mm..

At present, the thinnest automatic perpetual calendar watch in the world is Royal Oak Concept RD#2 released by Airbnb last year. The thickness of its movement and watch is only 2.89 mm and 6.3 mm respectively.

No.2 Concept Road, Audemars piguet Royal Oak

This year, Airbnb released another core series CODE 1 1.59 besides Royal Oak, including a perpetual calendar watch. Its optimized Calibre 5 134 movement is slim enough to rank among the top three automatic perpetual calendars.

Audemars piguet code165438+590,000 calendar automatic wristwatch

The gorgeous dial is made of lapis lazuli. By mixing black copper oxide and cobalt in glass, the effect of twinkling stars in the vast dark blue universe is realized.

Jaeger-lecoultre's ultra-thin series perpetual calendar enamel watch and assembled 868 ultra-thin perpetual calendar automatic movement not only have 70 hours of ultra-long power, but also can adjust all perpetual calendar display items synchronously through the crown, which is very simple to operate.

Jaeger-LeCoultre ultra-thin series automatic perpetual calendar enamel watch

The diameter of the watch is 39 mm and the thickness is only 10.44 mm, so the wearing comfort is beyond doubt.

Vacheron Constantin's ultra-thin perpetual calendar case is 41.5mm, made of rose gold, with a slim figure of 8. 1 mm and a translucent silver dial, which is simply beautiful.

Vacheron Constantin ultra-thin perpetual calendar

It has a built-in 1 120 QP movement made by the brand, and is decorated with a 22K gold pendulum with a wind rose compass pattern.

There are thousands of rules, one of which is dynamic storage.

The function and characteristics of perpetual calendar determine that it can run better for a long time and avoid running out of power, otherwise it will be very difficult once it stops.

If you want to run, it is unrealistic to just hope that the owner will never give up, and it is unrealistic to "wind up" the watch every day. Once you go to the suburbs or the seaside for the weekend and leave your watch at home, your motivation will be unsustainable. Therefore, a major trend of today's perpetual calendar watches is to extend the "standby time" as much as possible, and at least idle for one weekend.

Glashü tte's version of Parliament's excellent perpetual calendar watch has a completely hollowed-out dial with five calendar display items in the "Southeast, Northwest and Middle" column. It looks scrawled, but it is extremely clear and convenient to read.

Senator Glashü tte's Outstanding Calendar Edition

It is based on a new generation of 36 self-winding movement, which not only has an efficient dual-material self-winding (edge 2 1 kGold), but also has a standby time of more than 4 days.

When it comes to long-term incentives, the "seven-day chain" of all countries naturally cannot lag behind other countries. This year's newly released perpetual calendar watch for large pilots of Spitfire fighters uses an olive-green dial and a bronze case with gold-plated hands, which is completely different from the general elegant perpetual calendar watch.

Universal Spitfire Fighter Autowatch with perpetual calendar for big pilots.

526 15, an internally assembled automatic movement made by IWC, adopts Bilton automatic winding system made of ceramic material, with double clockwork and 7 days (168 hours) power storage, which is called Huawei mobile phone in terms of battery life. Its small second hand also has a stop function, and all date display items can be adjusted synchronously through the crown, which is very easy to use.

The world's "seven-day chain" is already overbearing, but in the face of Vacheron Constantin's latest research and development achievements, it can only be ranked second.

Vacheron Constantin dual-core perpetual calendar watch

This series of dual-core perpetual calendar watches has introduced a brand-new concept, that is, the movement can be switched between the high frequency of 5hz(36000 times/hour) and the low frequency of 1.2Hz(8640 times/hour) according to the user's needs (wear or idle) without disturbing the movement running time. The former can maintain 4 days of electricity, while the latter can maintain an amazing 65 days of electricity. During this period, the watch's time and various calendar displays can keep normal operation.

There are thousands of rules, one of which is adjustment.

According to different adjustment methods, perpetual calendars can be divided into several categories.

The first is the traditional perpetual calendar. Usually, there are four function correction buttons on the side of its case, which correspond to the "traditional elements" of the perpetual calendar: calendar, weekly calendar, month, moon phase and leap year (linked with the month, usually there is no independent correction button), and they are adjusted by the pen-like tools of the original factory.

It is precisely because the adjustment process of perpetual calendar is complicated and there are many taboos, so we emphasize that it is best not to let the watch stop.

Clifton Baumatic celebrity calendar has realized advanced and complex functions and people-friendly prices.

Now many perpetual calendars have been improved on the basis of tradition, such as Lange Matic perpetual calendar.

Lange honey gold edition Lange Matik calendar

It not only has hidden buttons around the watch case to adjust each calendar item independently, but also adds a hidden integral adjustment button at the 10 position of the watch case, so all calendar display items can be moved forward by one day only by pressing this button, which greatly simplifies the steps of short-term adjustment (for example, stopping for two or three days).

Another adjustment method can be called "preset perpetual calendar". Its movement usually adopts an integrated structure, and there is no correction button on the side of the case, but all display functions are adjusted synchronously through the crown. Jaeger-LeCoultre and Universal Calendar watches introduced in the last article belong to this category.

Finally, there is a more advanced one, called adjustable perpetual calendar, which can be adjusted in all directions without dead ends, as long as the date existing in reality (whether forward or backward) can be displayed on the watch.

At present, only a few watch manufacturers in the industry have produced products that can be adjusted into perpetual calendars, and all of them use their own patented technology, and there is no unified specification. One of the most representative is the watchmaker Ludwig? In 1996, Dr. Oaklin invented a perpetual calendar that can be adjusted forward or backward freely, which is also an enduring classic of Athens watch in the past 20 years.

Athens brand-new Ludwig perpetual calendar

Montblanc's new inheritance series perpetual calendar this year adopts MB 29.22 automatic movement developed by the brand for three years.

The size of the movement is larger, which completely conforms to the diameter of 40 mm. It does not adopt the traditional lever-driven perpetual calendar structure, but is completely driven by gears. The date can be calibrated forward or backward through the crown, and the operation is very simple.

Montblanc brand-new inheritance series perpetual calendar table

There are thousands of rules, one of which is accuracy.

Finally, let's talk about the internal structure of the perpetual calendar. Some readers may have heard that the core device of the perpetual calendar system is a "program wheel" that rotates every four years.

As shown in the figure, the "program wheel" consists of serrated grooves, with the three deepest grooves representing 28 days in February of three normal years, 65,438+0 slightly shorter grooves representing 29 days in February of leap year, the remaining grooves representing 30 days in four small months each year, and the complete outer edge representing 365,438+0 days in seven large months each year. The depth at which the control lever on the left side of the program wheel "falls" into the groove determines which day the calendar system jumps to at the end of the month.

Even in Switzerland, only a few manufacturers can develop their own perpetual calendars. In China, only Tianjin Seagull tried it a few years ago, and then dropped it. One of the important reasons is the high precision of internal parts. Compared with the "program wheel" at a glance, the levers, cams and springs scattered around the movement are the key to determine whether the perpetual calendar system can run smoothly.

They pull each other, one lever is lifted, triggering the rotation of the cam, and the other lever is driven by the spring to descend, pushing the calendar to rotate. Similar "large-scale dance dramas" are staged day after day and month after month. If the length, angle and force of any part are slightly wrong, the whole system may get stuck.

Moreover, the 48-tooth "program wheel" can only be regarded as the routine operation of the perpetual calendar. There is another more complex system, and its core device is a planetary gear train with 12 teeth. The whole gear train rotates once every 12 months, while the pocket planetary gear rotates once every four years, forming a complete flat leap year cycle together.

Patek Philippe launched the Ref.5320 automatic perpetual calendar watch last year, which is equipped with the newly developed Caliber 324 S Q automatic movement and the planetary gear train with 12 teeth.

On the dial, the double windows of day and month at 12 o'clock have the function of instantaneous skip reading, and the calendar and moon phase disk at 6 o'clock form a symmetrical interface with the day and night and leap year windows on both sides.

Patek Philippe Ref.5320 automatic perpetual calendar

In order to extend the display on the disk as far as possible, Patek Philippe designed the "deck" of the 324 automatic movement and laid a perpetual calendar module on it.

Of course, other professional watchmaking brands also have their own unique skills. For example, Henry Mu Shi produced the famous "FlashCalendar" perpetual calendar, and displayed the perpetual calendar information through the exclusive flash calendar window with month hands on the dial.

Henry Mu Shiyong Invented the Perpetual Calendar Pure Cosmic Green Watch.

Its flash calendar is formed by overlapping upper and lower annular calendar disks, and users can quickly adjust the perpetual calendar forward or backward through the crown at any time of the day, even if they shuttle between multiple time intervals.

Another unique feature of Henry Mu Si's perpetual calendar is that it only displays the correct date according to the actual length of the month. For example, there are only 30 days in 1 1, and the calendar window will jump directly from the 30th to the next month's 1, instead of displaying the nonexistent 3 1 day. Similarly, at the end of February in a normal year, its calendar window will jump directly from 28th to 1 in the next month, without the transition of 29th, 30th and 3rd1. It seems simple, but it is actually wonderful.

Let's take a look at this 5887 time equation watch of Breguet sailing series. It magically realizes automatic winding, perpetual calendar, time equation, flywheel and 80-hour long power. In addition, the month and week windows are instantaneous, and the calendar hands are inverted. Coupled with the coaxial apparent solar time pointer, the complexity of perpetual calendar display is pushed to an unprecedented height.

Breguet Navigation Series 5887 Time Equation Watch

Congratulations on reading this perpetual calendar guide ... even if you don't understand it ... you must think it is very powerful! ! The perpetual calendar is really super interesting. I encourage you to buy some and wear them for research! !

Friends, see you next time (next Friday).

Chen Wen guang da

Editor Han Haha

The picture is provided by the brand.

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The above is about the most complete installation of perpetual calendar, and it is about the sharing of perpetual calendar. After reading the genuine old almanac, I hope this will help everyone!