Gregorian calendar1June 962

Why can a perpetual calendar watch become a "holy grail watch" for watch lovers or the ultimate goal of life? This will give you a detailed analysis of the fascinating details behind the perpetual calendar, which is one of the three complex functions of the watchmaking industry and its historical story.

What is a perpetual calendar?

Perpetual calendar, also known as the abbreviation of QP French calendar, is one of the three complex functions of advanced watchmaking. Mechanical watches can basically be divided into ordinary calendar function, annual calendar function and perpetual calendar function.

Unlike calendars that must be manually adjusted in months with less than 365,438+0 days in a year, or calendars that can distinguish between large and small months but must be manually adjusted on March 65,438+0 every year, the perpetual calendar mechanism not only considers all different dates of 65,438+02 months every year, but also considers leap years that occur every four years. Mechanical memory? For hundreds of years, the correct date, week, month and leap year cycle month are still displayed.

The seemingly simple date display mechanism contains great challenges in structure and technology. Creating a perpetual calendar device requires hundreds of components, which is why watch lovers regard it as a dream yi pin.

Patek Philippe 5327J (? Patek Philippe)

Interestingly, despite the name of the perpetual calendar, according to the Gregorian calendar, 300 years out of every 400 years are not leap years, so the perpetual calendar we are starting now still needs to be manually adjusted by 2 100 years. After a lapse of 78 years, it should also be our children's or grandchildren's turn to adjust it in the watch shop; As Patek Philippe's classic slogan says:? No one really owns Patek Philippe, just leave it to the next generation. ?

The history of the perpetual calendar?

Can you imagine, it's like a mechanical brain executing a complicated and detailed mechanism with set operating rules, which was published as early as 1762.

One of the people who produced perpetual motion pocket watches in history was the British watchmaker Thomas mutch (also the inventor of lever escapement). 1762 and 1764, he successively created two perpetual calendar pocket watches, and these two historic pocket watches were also collected by the British Museum and Patek Philippe Museum.

The first perpetual calendar pocket watch collected by the British Museum (Source: research.britishmuseum.org)

When it comes to perpetual calendar watches, a brand naturally comes to mind. One page of the perpetual calendar watch in history really came from Patek Philippe watchmaking workshop.

Sketch of the first perpetual calendar movement (? Patek Philippe)

In fact, as early as 1898, the brand launched a ladies' pendant watch with a perpetual calendar movement, but unfortunately it has never found a suitable candidate. It was not until 1925 that the brand put this movement into the gold watch again, and the perpetual calendar watch in history was born.

Patek Philippe 97975, the first perpetual calendar watch in history.

Since then, and the two major watchmaking workshops have also launched watches with branded perpetual calendar movements in series 1929 and 1937 respectively.

In addition, it also plays an indispensable role in the development history of modern perpetual calendar watches. Audemars piguet is the first watchmaker in history to set the leap year display on the perpetual calendar. Although it did not lead other watchmakers to follow suit in the 1980s, most of the perpetual calendar watches we see today are equipped with such a display screen.

Airbnb ref 55 16 (? Phillips)

The important brand that has to be mentioned in the history of perpetual calendar development is Leonardo da Vinci's perpetual calendar chronograph ref. /kloc-35.7 million calendar chronograph released in 0/985. This perpetual calendar watch, designed by the famous watchmaker Kurt Klaus, abandons the perpetual calendar mechanism that usually needs multiple buttons to adjust, and refines it into a sexual invention that cannot be ignored by winding the crown.

1998 IWC Leonardo da Vinci perpetual calendar flywheel watch (? iwc）

The above is related to the perpetual calendar query 1965 calendar table, which is about the sharing of perpetual calendars. After reading the calendar of 1962, I hope it will be helpful to everyone!