Hodinkee
Pre-Owned Picks: A Rolex GMT-Master II Ref. 16710, A Yellow-Gold Zenith G381, And A Vintage Certina Chronolympic
Plus a Patek Philippe Annual Calendar (Regulator), and a limited Grand Seiko U.S.-exclusive.
1,624 articles · 8 videos found · page 3 of 55
Patek's 1996 invention; handles 30- and 31-day months but needs one manual correction per year.
41 mm × 14.9 mm, lug 20 mm, Cal. 8922
40.5 mm × 11.3 mm, lug integrated, Cal. 324 S QA LU 24H
42 mm × 12.3 mm, lug 22 mm, Cal. CH 28-520 QA 24H
Hodinkee
Plus a Patek Philippe Annual Calendar (Regulator), and a limited Grand Seiko U.S.-exclusive.
Revolution
The rotonde de cartier annual calendar is a robust and practical addition to the brand’s collection Thirty days hath September, April, June and November,” goeth the doggerel verse, reminding us of the irregularity of the Gregorian calendar - a verse which also serves to remind owners of mechanical watches with simple calendars that for five […]
Worn & Wound
Big news from Rolex today as the brand has released a complicated dress watch, their first in recent memory. The Perpetual Padellon is an instantaneous annual calendar with a moonphase complication and sits within the 1908 collection, which launched three years ago. This new watch appears to be a very explicit and direct homage to one of the brand’s most revered vintage references, the 8171 “Padellone”. It shares more than a few visual characteristics with that piece, and of course the name of the new watch is lifted straight from the nickname given to the vintage piece by collectors and dealers. The Perpetual Padellone is available in 18k Everose gold and 950 platinum, and measures 39mm in diameter, 12.2mm tall, and 45.1mm from lug to lug. It’s worth noting that the original 8171 was a fairly large watch for its day, measuring 38mm in diameter, so the new reference comes surprisingly close to being right on the money in terms of sizing if we’re comparing it to the vintage watch. The biggest difference between the 8171 and the Perpetual Padellone is likely mechanical. The 8171 was not a true annual or perpetual calendar, but a “simple” triple calendar, which was quite common in the 1950s. Each indicator simply advanced in sequence and not in relation to any other, which means a correction is going to be necessary virtually every month. The Perpetual Padellone is a true annual calendar and only needs to be corrected once per year. The case, whether plati...
Fratello
Rolex has added a rather unexpected complication to its Perpetual collection with the new Perpetual Padellone. Taking its name from the vintage reference 8171, the watch combines a 39mm case with an annual calendar and a moonphase display. At first glance, it is perhaps the dial that grabs your attention, particularly the blue enamel moonphase […] Visit Hot Take: Rolex’s Perpetual Padellone Annual Calendar Takes A Nod From The Past to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
Modeled after the famed 1950s Padellone ref. 8171, this complete instantaneous annual calendar brings that design into the 21st century. More
Monochrome
Traditionally, watchmakers solve horological problems by adding components. Dr Ludwig Oechslin famously does the opposite, stripping mechanisms down to their absolute essentials. It is a philosophy that has defined Ochs und Junior since its inception and one that reaches one of its purest expressions in the Anno annual calendar. The foundational model, the brand’s annual calendar, […]
Worn & Wound
Despite my besten Bemühungen, when it comes to learning the German language, I’ve never found it to be very einfach, dear reader. But I haven’t let that cloud my judgment with German and Swiss brands. Especially those with Teutonic-sounding names like ochs und junior. Now hitting the two-decade mark since it was founded in 2006, the Swiss brand’s latest release shows it has no interest in stepping outside of its distinct design language of highly stylized, stripped-down watches with a clear “Weniger ist mehr” philosophy. We see this throughline in the new anno sandblasted. Available in 39mm and 42mm case sizes, this release upgrades the brand’s existing annual calendar with a sandblasted dial. But as you can see, the calendar display is undeniably the most eye-catching part of this watch, creating something that is just as much about the form of the watch itself as it is about the function. Even so, at first glance, it may be a bit hard to understand (not unlike the genitive case, but I’m not bitter…). To do this, the Ludwig Oechslin designed annual calendar replaces conventional windows and text displays with a series of holes read directly (and I’m told “intuitively”) from the dial. The 31 holes around the perimeter show the date, with the ten-minute markers acting as five-day reference points. For example, the 30-minute marker also marks the 15th day of the month. A smaller group of seven holes shows the weekday, while 12 holes show the month, b...
Fratello
In 1996, Patek Philippe launched a watch to bridge the gap between its dress watches and perpetual calendars. The brand needed more sales; the Nautilus was not a hype watch yet, so what did Patek do? It launched a classic calendar watch that looked like a perpetual calendar, but it actually was a watch with […] Visit Hands-On With The Stylish And Practical Patek Philippe Calatrava Ref. 5396R-016 Annual Calendar Moon Phase to read the full article.
Teddy Baldassarre
Utility meets understated elegance with the new Saxonia Annual Calendar 36 that debuted at Watches & Wonders 2026.
SJX Watches
A. Lange & Söhne has repeated last year’s bifurcated release format with the launch of the compact, value-oriented Saxonia Annual Calendar alongside the flagship Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen”. Available in both 18k white and pink gold, the Saxonia Annual Calendar is not a limited edition, but will be made in small numbers as a consequence of the brand’s diverse portfolio and limited output of about 5,000 watches per year. Initial thoughts The Saxonia Annual Calendar was one of the more talked-about watches of the fair, not because it’s particularly novel or exciting, but instead because it gets all the small things right. It looks good on the spec sheet, with nearly perfect dimensions, the brand’s signature big date complication, and an upgraded and well-dressed automatic base calibre. But as good as the Saxonia is on paper, it’s even better up close. The brand’s typical alpha-shaped hands — common to all Lange models — are brilliantly sharp, and the dial text is finely printed. A detail I especially like on the white gold model is the nearly tone-on-tone typography for the ‘Made in Germany’ text, which is something I’d like to see more of from the brand. A new aesthetic detail is an additional facet at the outer end of each hour marker, effectively creating a tiny pyramid, akin to Cote de Paris. This design appears to be a subtle nod to the previous generation of the Saxonia, which featured baton indexes punctuated with gold stu...
Monochrome
The Saxonia Annual Calendar is a relatively young but important member of A. Lange & Söhne’s repertoire. Launched in 2010 as an “everyday” complication, the annual calendar offers a more practical, slightly less complex alternative to the brand’s high-end perpetual calendars while maintaining Lange’s classic Saxon aesthetics. Initially available in 38.5mm cases – but discontinued […]
Worn & Wound
A. Lange & Söhne had one of my, and many others’, favorite releases at Watches & Wonders 2025. It wasn’t a super complication and had no bells-and-whistles. Rather, it was simple and small. The 34mm 1815 three-handers in white or rose gold exemplified confident, understated luxury like no other watches at the fair. For 2026, Lange has brought back a watch that had been out of production with a new movement and in a new, smaller size, following suit from last year’s release. Unlike the 1815s, these feature one of the less common complications in the Lange catalog: the annual calendar. The Saxonia Annual Calendar was a very cool watch. It combined its eponymous complication with Lange’s signature outsized date and was powered by a since-retired “Sax-0-Mat” three-quarter-rotor automatic movement. These funky movements were featured in the Langematik watches and represented Lange’s first foray into automatic calibers. In addition to a distinctive look, they featured a hidden complication: zero-reset seconds, meaning that when the crown was pulled out, the seconds hand would jump to zero. In 2011, the Sax-O-Mats began to be replaced by central rotor calibers with up to 72 hours of power reserve, an increase from 46 hours, but the zero-reset seconds disappeared. Though comprising many different calibers, most of Lange’s currently in-production automatics have a central rotor. I am unsure when the previous generation of the Saxonia Annual Calendar went out of pro...
SJX Watches
A. Lange & Söhne has introduced the Saxonia Annual Calendar, the brand’s most compact annual calendar to date. Available in 18k white or pink gold, the Saxonia Annual Calendar plays to the strengths of Germany’s foremost watchmaker, combining a compact 36 mm case with an intuitive and legible ‘outsize date’ design reminiscent of the brand’s famed perpetual calendars. The new cal. L207.1 hints at future developments while incorporating refined details such as gold chatons around the going train jewels - a finishing touch that has been absent from the brand’s ‘entry-level’ automatic movements until now. Initial thoughts There’s been a palpable trend toward smaller watches in recent years - Lange’s 34 mm 1815 released last year was a major hit, and it seems like there’s more of a focus on dimensions and thickness than at any other time in the past decade or so. In this context, the Saxonia Annual Calendar should be well-received. At just 36 mm in diameter and under 10 mm thick, the watch is compact even by the standards of time-only watches. In fact, it’s the most compact annual calendar yet from Lange, and the small size of the dial makes the big date format especially convenient for those, like myself, who have trouble reading pointer dates at arm’s length. In fact, I’d argue the enhanced legibility and differentiated design of the big date makes the Saxonia Annual Calendar competitive with more complicated (but equally compact) perpetual ca...
Time+Tide
A. Lange & Söhne unviels two new gold Saxonia Annual Calender's so compact they usher in a new standard for small, complicated watches.The post A. Lange & Söhne’s new Saxonia Annual Calendar proves complicated watches don’t need to be big appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Deployant
A. Lange & Söhne introduces the next generation of its Saxonia Annual Calendar watch, featuring a new movement, an updated dial design, and a smaller case.
Fratello
Patek Philippe has updated one of its long-running calendar models with a new version of the reference 5396R. The watch keeps the familiar Annual Calendar layout the brand introduced back in 1996, but now it comes with a warmer dial color in sunburst sand beige and a rose gold case. It’s not a redesign in […] Visit Patek Philippe Introduces The Reference 5396R-016 Annual Calendar Moon Phase to read the full article.
Quill & Pad
Berneron unveils its new Quantième Annuel, a bold take on the annual calendar. Explore whether this release sets a new benchmark in watchmaking or enters the market at the wrong time amid cooling demand. A detailed look at design, mechanics, pricing, and collector appeal.
Worn & Wound
The Chicago based brand Haim celebrates their five year anniversary this year with what is certainly their most ambitious watch to date, the Annum. When brand founder Zakir Miah showed me an early prototype of the watch months ago at a Windup Watch Fair, I was surprised and impressed that he would even think to attempt making a watch with such a niche complication. It resets the brand in some ways, and will likely force people to consider Haim in a different way. As surprising as an annual calendar from Haim is, if you pull back far enough, there were signs that Miah wanted to move the brand into a slightly higher end and more refined direction going back a few years. The Legacy Automatic, for example, featured a custom decorated movement by an American company, Maryland Watch Works, and the whole watch was a significant step up in terms of finishing and build quality compared to prior efforts. But the real shift came with the Viajero Worldtimer released last year. This watch featured a rather clever modification of a common Seiko-made GMT caliber, replacing the hand for the second time zone with a cities ring akin to what you’d find on a classic world timer. The old-school “globe” dial was meant to recall the most famous worldtimers from the Jet Age, and while the Viajero doesn’t have nearly the watchmaking complexity of those timepieces, it was able to mimic the style of those watches to an impressive degree when you consider the price tag of $799. The Annum ar...
Teddy Baldassarre
Annual calendar watches have been on the scene for a while now, though they remain a somewhat niche area of horological interest - not as revered as lofty complications like the perpetual calendar and minute repeater but also not as obsessed over as more down-to-earth mechanisms like chronographs and GMTs. And yet, the annual calendar offers not only one of the most practical functions for an everyday wearer, but has also proven to be a canvas for some truly engaging designs. As per its name, an annual calendar displays the day, date, and month and need only be manually adjusted by its wearer once per year, at the end of February. Patek Philippe's Aquanaut Luce Annual Calendar introduced in 2023 Most of the wristwatch complications we’re familiar with are relatively ancient in origin, and almost all of them old enough to have debuted in pocketwatches rather than wristwatches. The first wristwatch chronograph, made by Longines, appeared in 1913; the first minute repeater for the wrist goes all the way back to 1892, invented by Louis Brandt, founder of Omega; and the first wrist-borne perpetual calendar made its debut in 1925, engineered by none other than Patek Philippe, which had actually invented the compact-sized movement for it as early as 1889, using it at the time in a ladies’ pendant watch. The annual calendar, by contrast, even though it might seem to today’s enthusiasts to be a fixture among luxury watch complications, is much younger, tracing its origin st...
Time+Tide
A watch that can tell you the time, day of the week, date and month is a particularly handy thing indeed. Here's a few of the best.The post 5 of the best annual calendar watches appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Time+Tide
This might just be the most elegant Radiomir yet.The post Panerai unveils an exclusive absinthe green Radiomir Annual Calendar for their Paris boutique opening appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
Among the new releases from Panerai at this year’s Watches & Wonders, we find what amounts to a first from the brand: a pair of annual calendars. While Panerai has dabbled in perpetual calendars, the annual calendar compilation is a new venture. This has always felt like an under-appreciated complication to me in an environment where perpetual calendars tend to get all the plaudits. For the relatively minor inconvenience of having to make a manual adjustment to the calendar on the first day of March, you get a calendar complication that’s very nearly “set it and forget it” at what often amounts to a significant discount over comparable perpetuals. While these new Panerais aren’t exactly rubbing up against the value end of the spectrum (they are both well into the five figures, with cases in precious metals), they do represent something genuinely new in the Panerai catalog, which is always going to be of interest to the brand’s dedicated base of collectors. The new annual calendars are both found in the Radiomir collection, which is Panerai’s sleeker case design (compared to the Luminor) with vintage style wire lugs and a squared off cushion case shape. Gold and platinum options are available (Panerai refers to their alloys as “Goldtech” and “Platinumtech”) and the cases measure 45mm in diameter. Panerai enthusiasts and collectors will tell you that a 45mm Radiomir case wears quite a bit smaller than the numbers would indicate, because thanks to the ...
Revolution
Patek Philippe combines its Annual Calendar and Travel Time complications in a new watch that is very elegant, very dynamic, and in the words of its president Thierry Stern, “very Patek.”
Revolution
Patek Philippe launches 12 novelties at their first Watches & Wonders, with the 5326G-001 – Annual Calendar Travel Time that combines the two complications in a watch for the first time.
SJX Watches
Launched in 2016, Globemaster Annual Calendar has remained under-appreciated, despite the distinctive design that combines several elements from historical Omega watches – most notably the “pie pan” dial of the Constellation – and perhaps more importantly, a practical complication. Originally available in the same muted colours as the base-model Globemaster, the Annual Calendar has been refreshed with dials in striking colours and in different metals, including a striking burgundy and of course an olive green. The burgundy dial in a two-tone case Initial thoughts The Globemaster Annual Calendar is an interesting proposition. The complication is unusual – it’s the only annual calendar offered by Omega – while the design is vintage-inspired but quirky. But the Annual Calendar has been overlooked perhaps because of the brand’s wide-ranging catalogue that is packed with more famous models like the Speedmasters, and also because of its old-school case design and restrained colours. So the new trio is certainly a good addition to the line, especially since each of the new colours are striking and relatively unusual. The olive-green version immediately stands out, not only because it’s the year’s most fashionable colour, but also the fact that the shade is perfect – it’s restrained but rich. And it’s in steel, which makes it the most affordable of the variants. Most interesting in terms of aesthetics is the two-tone version. The pairing of a burgundy dia...
SJX Watches
A model often overshadowed by “hot” watches or more complicated ones, the ref. 5905 combines a pair of useful complications into an everyday dress watch, but it was previously available only in a conservative, luxe guise of precious metal case and classical dial colours. But now Patek Philippe is changing up the feel of the model with the Annual Calendar Chronograph ref. 5905/1A. Now cased in steel and matched with a three-link bracelet inspired by the Aquanaut, the ref. 5905/1A retains the sectored dial found on earlier versions of the model, but now in olive green – the same shade found on the Nautilus ref. 5711/1A-014. Initial thoughts Patek Philippe’s opening act for the year was the Nautilus ref. 5711/1A with an olive-green dial (and with the option of a diamond-set bezel), an immediate hit that has become one of the most sought-after watches of 2021. The Nautilus was already hot, as all sports watches with integrated bracelets are, but bestowing the most fashionable colour of the year on the “final edition” of the Nautilus ref. 5711 escalated its desirability to the stratosphere. That bodes well for the ref. 5905/1A. The ref. 5905/1A will be instantly attractive since it caters to current tastes. Its inevitable desirability will overshadow its intrinsic qualities (and also the accessible price), which is a bit of a shame. While intriguing it is not, the ref. 5905/1A is a good-looking watch, and one executed in a practical material while offering usef...
SJX Watches
Parmigiani launched its first sports watch, the Tonda GT, last year. It has an integrated bracelet naturally – inevitable given current trends. Parmigiani is, however, pretty late to the game, since the high-end sports watch with an integrated-bracelet is well used idea. The big names have been doing it since the 1970s, courtesy of Gerald Genta, but the recent popularity of the style means many brands have had a go. Notable new entrants include Chopard, H. Moser & Cie., and even Citizen. Now their ranks are joined by Parmigiani, which, against the odds, has pulled it off with an original, high-quality luxury-sports watch. The Tondagraph GT in its original iteration that was a limited edition of 200 The origins of the Tonda GT might not seem promising. Lacking a historical sports watch design, Parmigiani elected to instead transform one of its dress-watch cases into a sports watch. Surprisingly, the Tonda GT is arguably better looking than the Tonda dress watch. The most compelling offering in the sports watch line is the Tondagraph GT, which combines a chronograph, annual calendar, and sensible pricing. Initial thoughts On paper the Tondagraph GT might not seem interesting. It’s yet another integrated-bracelet luxury-sports watch – and it’s powered by a modular movement. But in hand, the watch is surprisingly appealing. The case is big but thin, with a bracelet that’s equally slim, creating a watch with a comfortable, streamlined profile on the wrist. Even th...
SJX Watches
Kennsen Watches makes its debut with a notably clever and well-priced annual calendar chronograph powered by a patented calendar module on top of a Valjoux 7750. Though Kennsen is newly set-up, its founder David Lea specialises in constructing complications for other brands, explaining the surprising degree of technical innovation for a small start-up. Annual calendar chronographs are relatively uncommon on the market and most are fairly costly – Patek Philippe and Ulysse Nardin are amongst the handful of brands that offer one – making the new Kennsen the most affordable example today, with a retail price of just over US$5000. Despite its affordability, the Kennsen annual calendar chronograph is entirely Swiss-made. The case is produced by Victorinox, the famed maker of Swiss army knives and also watches, while the module was designed by Lea & Associé – Mr Lea’s design outfit – and manufactured by a firm in the Vallée de Joux. Made of stainless steel, the case is 42mm in diameter, with a polished bezel and case back, while the case band has a brushed finish. The dial, available in either black or champagne, has a clean and pleasant design. It features recessed sub-dials, applied indices and a telemeter scale in miles and kilometres on the outer rim. At one o’clock is a day and night indicator displayed in a small aperture, and nestled subtly next to the central axis of the dial is the month display, aligned on the same axis as the date at three. ...
Deployant
The 1815 Annual Calendar or the Ref. 5396, which annual calendar watch will reign supreme? We took a hard look at both contenders and bring you our verdict.
Deployant
Detailed hands-on analytical review of the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Annual Calendar with live high resolution photos from SIHH 2017.
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