H. Moser makes perpetual calendar for dummies

The problem with grande complication watches from the likes of Patek Philippe, A. Lange & Sohne and Vacheron Constantin is they are so darn complicated with their dials crammed with subdials, tracks, extra central hands and other indicators.

Given the average age for somebody owning one of these timepieces is likely to be over 60, they are near impossible to fully appreciate and use without reading glasses.

They also have to be handled with extreme care, often requiring a trip to a skilled watchmaker to change the time or date if they run out of power.

The more complex (better), the more illegible (worse) they become.

H. Moser, the king of clean, set out to solve this paradox with its Endeavour Perpetual Calendar, which first launched in 2015 looking like a simple two-hander with large date and small seconds.

It does show the month with a stubby hand that jumps from hour to hour.

January is one, February is two and so up to December at 12 o’clock.

For 2022, Moser has made two new versions of the 42mm white gold Endeavour Perpetual Calendar with blue fumé sunray dials.

Both house the hand-wound HMC 800 manufacture calibre with its double barrel delivering seven days of power.

For the core collection version, Moser’s art in its simplicity, but the company has also shown its more playful side in a 20 piece limited edition, called The Tutorial, that has instructions on how the watch works scrawled across the glass — a sort of perpetual calendar for dummies watch.

“Virtually all perpetual calendars on the market require careful handling, with strict adherence to every step of their very precise instructions. This leaves many customers reluctant to take them out of their box and tackle this time-consuming process – and too afraid to risk changing the date,” a spokesperson for H. Moser notes.

“H. Moser & Cie. has revolutionised the perpetual calendar by transforming a complication designed for the most discerning of collectors into a watch that even a child could operate,” the company promises.