Cool Finds: Five Perpetual Calendars in Gold under €15k

04/12/2014 | By Frank Geelen | 6 min read |

One of the things many watch collectors have in common, is that they’re always on the hunt for a next watch. Sometimes it’s just browsing the bay (we’re referring to Ebay of course) and other times it’s a specific search. For this purpose we often go to Chrono24, like today, and search for that one timepiece that can fill the void in our collection. One of the things we’ve been searching for, is a nice perpetual calendar in gold and we’ve found five that are listed below € 15k.

One thing you should always keep in mind, is the location of the timepiece. For people living in the EU it’s easy to buy and sell within the European Union, however when buying a watch from outside the EU, it will be charged with import tax when it passes customs. Similar for people in the US, Asia, or Down Under, be aware of this factor that will influence the final price.

Piaget Perpetual Calendar in yellow gold

First off is a Piaget, the brand that is best know for their ultra-thin mechanical movements, and even skeletonized ultra-thin movements. Now-a-days all Piaget timepieces are immediately recognizable, however back in the design was more… classical. Meaning less recognizable as a Piaget, until you take a closer look!

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This Piaget is most likely from the mid-1990’s and features a classic perpetual calendar layout. There are four subsidiary dials; one for the date, one for the moon phase, one for the day of the week and the one located at the 12 o’clock position shows the months and leap year. That’s a pretty standard perpetual calendar, or quantième perpétuel in French (that’s where the abbreviation QP originates from).

When you take a closer look, well, at the specifications in this case, you’ll notice that this small round QP is just 7.4 mm thick. For a dress watch that’s not thick, but for a perpetual calendar it is ultra-thin. The diameter is 33.3 mm and might not be to every one’s taste, but you might just give it a try. Based on our own experience, I can recommend to size down, especially with classical timepieces like this one.

This Piaget is for sale (click here) from a trusted Chrono24 seller in Germany, and the asking price is € 9.600 Euro.

Audemars Piguet Millenary Perpetual Calendar

Next up is an Audemars Piguet and on Chrono24, like at other online sources, you can find quite a few perpetual calendars from this brands. This one is from the Millenary collection and although we recently showed you a Millenary with an unusual mix between an Annual and a Perpetual Calendar, which had a rather ‘busy’ dial, this one is just beautifully balanced.

The oval case, typical for AP’s Millenary collection, has a satin brushed mid-case and a polished bezel. The case back is closed, like on most mechanical watches that are older than say ten years or so. Again a classical layout for a perpetual calendar, with four sub dials displaying the date (at 3 o’clock), moon phase (at the 6 o’clock position), days of the week (at 9) and months and leap year are in the sub dial at 12 o’clock. Additionally the Millenary Perpetual Calendar features a central hand that indicates the week numbers!

The seller did not mention the size of this rose gold beauty, however it’s not as small as the aforementioned Piaget and not as big as the modern AP Royal Oak Offshore Grand Complication. Most likely the size will be close to the Millenary Star Wheel that we reviewed for you some time ago.

This Audemars Piguet Millenary Perpetual Calendar is for sale from a trusted Chrono24 seller, with a price tag of € 11.900 Euro. Click here to see it.

IWC Portofino Perpetual Calendar

Searching for perpetual calendars on Chrono24 will show you a number of IWC’s, both in stainless steel and in (mostly yellow) gold. There is the IWC Novecento ref. IW3545, with its small rectangular case that measures 27 x 41 mm, and the IWC Da Vinci ref. IW3750, with a 39 mm round case, that has an additional chronograph function. Today we found for you a very nice IWC Portofino Perpetual Calendar in yellow gold.

As you might know, IWC has just introduced several new Portofino mid-size models, so this collection is getting renewed attention. The Portofino QP measures 36 mm in diameter and in thickness it will be more or less the same as the Piaget above. It comes with box and papers, which is always a plus!

In terms of dial layout, it is classical, like the other pieces that we selected for you. However here the moon phase indication is not at the 6 o’clock position, but at 12. At 3 o’clock is the date, the months are indicated at 6 o’clock, and at the 9 o’clock position is the day of the week. There’s no leap year indication; IWC choose to display the last two digits of the year!

This IWC Portofino Perpetual Calendar is for sale in the UK, at a trusted Chrono24 seller. It comes complete with box and papers and has a price tag of € 7.886 Euro (or 6200 GBP).

Jaeger-Lecoultre Master Perpetual Calendar

The next one is one that we covered here before. It’s been one of my own ‘first loves’ when it comes to watches, and when we covered it (see here), it was because of a set of beautiful photos that a friend of the show made. It’s a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Perpetual Calendar in rose gold and it’s for sale for € 13.786 Euro ($ 16,999 USD) and comes with box and papers.

The round case measures 37 mm in diameter, and is 9 mm thick. The dial features a similar classical dial layout as the other watches. The day of the week at 3 o’clock, the moon phase indication is at the 6 o’clock position, and at 9 is the date indication. At the 12 o’clock position is the month and the last two digits of the year. Additionally theres a small power reserve indication, visible through a narrow aperture arching over the central hands. A small detail is that this power reserve indication is also visible when the hands are above that aperture, because the hands are partially skeletonized.

This Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Perpetual Calendar is for sale at Loucri Jewelers in Greenvale, USA, for € 13.786 Euro or $ 16,999 USD and comes with box and papers.

Ulysse Nardin GMT +/- Perpetual

Number five of our selection of used perpetual calendars in gold, is one that features a totally different dial layout. This Ulysse Nardin GMT +/- Perpetual is a creation of Ludwig Oechslin – a man who we’ve applauded on more than one occasion, for his brilliant creations. At introduction it was the first perpetual calendar that could be adjust both forward and backward. That’s one the things to keep in mind, when you want to buy a perpetual calendar: most perpetual calendars can’t be turned back, so when you accidentally adjust the year to the next year, you will have to send it to the manufacture to be set back to the correct date. That’s something that is never necessary with this Ulysse Nardin GMT +/- Perpetual.

The 38 mm white gold case is polished and comes on a dark blue alligator strap. The dial is metallic blue and features white gold applied hour indices, hands and the brand’s logo. The movement, with a rotor that is adorned with the brand’s logo, is visible through the sapphire case back. Besides the crown, there are two pushers in the case-band, for adjusting the second time zone.