A watch once only told time. That was its sole purpose. However, as time progressed, so did the technology for watchmaking. As a result, the complications incorporated into a watch has increased. It started with the ability to tell the date, then later, the day itself. From then on, the kinds of potential complications that can be installed in a watch has slowly increased.
This is what a perpetual calendar watch embodies. With a little bit of scrutiny you will immediately know what its difference is with a regular timepiece, and with its complexity, it is only natural that they are normally expensive. However, this list will enumerate those that are tagged under $500, which should be affordable enough for anyone who is interested in owning one.
Tissot Perpetual Calendar T0636371603700
Tissot’s goal when they designed their model for a perpetual calendar watch is the accuracy of telling time, and that is why they made it with a pure white dial to create time in its purest form. In fact, they even used black indices to tell the minutes and silver hues to mark the hour including the number 12 found at its corresponding demarcation.
Its hands are of the same color with needle like design to accurately tell the time.
What furthers this goal of Tissot’s are the multiple complication that riddles its dial. At the right hand corner of the dial is the complication that tells the day of the week, while right across it tells the month of the year. At the bottom lies a semi-circle complication that runs from the nine to three demarcation which tells the date. However, this one tells the date accurately as it was programmed to skip the days that are not included in the month which means it will include the 29th of February during a leap year and it will also determine whether the month has a 31st or not.
The entire case is made of stainless steel which ensures durability of the time piece. Its band, however, is not. It was crafted with leather, which is not the best material to be used if it aims to be an overall durable watch. In addition, the dial window is made of synthetic sapphire, which again, is not the best material to be used, although, at least it is close to the original.
Tissot’s perpetual calendar watch is powered with the Swiss quartz ETA G15.561 and it is designed with a 99ft water resistant rating which means it can only come in contact with water such as when you wash hands or just splashes of liquid. No more than that.
Also, if you look at every aspect of the watch closely, you will see a face.
Citizen BL8140-55E
Citizen’s version of a perpetual calendar watch is less convoluted than Tissot’s because of how the perpetual complications are presented on its black dial. Three sub-dials are placed in a triangle which compacts the design, making it cleaner. The military time sub-dial is designed to go in a cycle, with the larger dates overlapping the smaller ones. Then across it, in the right-hand sand, is where you will find the days of the week, again, packed in a small circle. However, what made the design of Citizen’s perpetual calendar watch is the decision to place the months at the border of the dial and the bezel which is labelled on top of each silver hour marker. In addition, utilizing a traditional approach to presenting the date help as a window is placed at the four o’clock demarcation.
A third sub-dial is also present at the bottom, just above the six o’clock demarcation.
The timepiece is made of stainless steel, from the case to its band which secured by a fold over clasp with a hidden double push button. However, its dial window is made of synthetic sapphire, not the highest grade, but cheaper. Maybe to hopefully balance out the retail price of the wristwatch.
The watch is powered with a Japanese quartz movement and is rated with 330ft water resistance which gives the user the ability to shower, swim, and snorkel even with the timepiece on. However, like most warnings, do not use the pushdown crown while it is submerged in water if you do not want to regret doing so.
Seiko SPC131P1 Neo Classic
Going back to a messy design, Seiko’s Neo Classic is just as messy to look at, or even worse, than the first one in the list.
The dial is made to be white and most of the print on it, including the indices, the hour markers, and what they pass off as their perpetual calendar in this model’s timepiece. You can find it just above the largely printed numbers printed in small fonts. Most of the dial’s diameter is occupied by the dates, and what remains is left for the months and the set up for whether it is the leap year or not because that would be vital for telling the dates and what day it is, which is found in a sub-dial at the 12 o’clock demarcation.
An indication for the sixth hour, however, is not clearly allocated because of another sub-dial presented on it. The indices are small which does not help with the wearers ability to tell time, especially when their vision is not good enough.
The most unique feature of the timepiece which is not present among the ones previously listed is the inclusion of a tachymeter. This is basically found in race car timepieces to help determine how fast a car or a racer is going without proper equipment in one’s possession.
The wristwatch is made of stainless steel while the band is made of leather for comfort which secures the watch on the user’s wrist with a buckle clasp. The timepiece is powered by Japanese quartz movement and has a water resistance rating of 100M which allows the wearer to do light poolside swimming.
Orient EU030020W
The most uniquely designed in the list, this perpetual calendar timepiece from Orient is sleek and colorful. The unique design is mainly from how the “sub-dials” are incorporated into the design because unlike the norm, they are not shaped in circles. Instead, they are crafted long ways. At the top are the months, and at the bottom are the dates and days of the year. Although, a date window can also be found at the three o’clock demarcation.
In addition, the crowns at the right-hand side are used to control the settings for the date, the time, and to rotate the inner bezel.
Visible hour markers are plastered in gold and the remaining are overlapped by the sub dials that are previously mentioned. White indices are also found just at the edge of the dial to indicate the minutes. Its bezel on the other hand is what makes this model unique because it has a slide rule function. This gives the user the ability to conduct mathematical functions, in a limited scale, to perform navigational calculations.
The timepiece is powered with a Swiss automatic movement, and has a water resistance rating of 100M which gives the user the ability to do light poolside swimming with the watch on.
Frederique Constant FC-27OBR4P6
Another neatly designed timepiece, this model from Frederique Constant is the less complicated among all the watches that are listed. It is designed with a black dial against white printed indices, roman numeral to represent the hour markers, white hands, and white prints on the sub dials. What sets this apart from all the listed timepieces is the presence of the third sub dial that tells whether it is day or night.
However, the print on the sub dial on the three o’clock demarcation is so tiny that anyone can get the dates wrong easily.
The case is made of stainless steel for durability and the band is leather so that the timepiece will sit comfortably on the wrist. It is powered by Japanese quartz movement. However, it only has a water resistance rating of 50M which will only allow for contact with water when the user is washing their hands or during light rain.
Electronic is not the only industry affected by the advances in technology. Even a craft as old as watchmaking is fully capable of utilizing new technology that is available to them, and although it borders messy, they will push what these can do for their craft.
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