yachtstyle2020

For the contemporary collector, a complication is more than a feat of engineering; it is an invitation to seek out a lineage of excellence.

By Ashok Soman

•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  
•  

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II in Oystersteel

 

Whether it is Advanced Research at Patek Philippe or Hybris Inventiva at Jaeger-LeCoultre, here is a look at the specific breakthroughs – in sound, speed, and celestial tracking – that serve as the definitive anchors for the next era of watch collecting.

 

This story on complications started several issues ago, but it goes without saying that one can jump into this at any time and still have everything make sense. The watches featured here run the gamut from the most recent – from Watches and Wonders Geneva (WWG) 2026 – and, in one case, from five years ago. The rationale here is simple: innovations take time, and if you need proof, consider how long Rolex said it worked on its seminal Land-Dweller. Complications are also consequential, sparking a trail of innovations like the horological equivalent of a Perseid shower. For evidence there, look back to our Autumn issue last year for our brief rundown of the ultra-thin battles of the last 15 years or so.

 

The short of it is that innovations can shift the game in ways both subtle and profound, and complications are an important part of the story. After all, complications are where collectors and watchmakers came together, at one point in history. The convergence is no less a contemporary phenomenon. Where the pursuit of precision in chronometry has the support of state actors, often by way of the sciences and their frequent travelling companions, the military, complications such as the chiming watch remained the preserve of the wealthy. Think Breguet’s watches for the Capet and Bonaparte dynasties versus Berthoud and Harrison’s efforts in solving marine navigation problems.

Thus, patronage has always been a mainstay, even if the client today is often simply wealthy, not royal – the famous example of King Charles III and Parmigiani Fleurier notwithstanding. As we and others have written before, the most significant thing about James Packard and Henry Graves – the reason they are remembered – is their watch collecting hobby. And yes, it is a hobby, much like collecting stamps, cars and art are hobbies.

 

We are reminded recently that collectors are an important force in watchmaking. We cite two examples in the following story that we will extract briefly for this introduction. First, the Audemars Piguet RD#5, which builds on a series of experiments by the manufacture, as the name suggests. While it is certainly possible to admire the RD#5 for what it is, collectors might be inspired to seek out the other four RD watches. We can easily see the appeal of this, just as we might see other collectors looking out for innovations in coming watches that build on the promise of the RD#5. The watch would then become a sort of anchor piece, so to speak. By way of extension, this applies to all the RD watches of course.

 

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II in Oystersteel

Second, the new IWC Perpetual Calendar ProSet, currently only in the Pilot’s range. This innovation finally solves the only drawback of the Kurt Klaus perpetual calendar: advancing the calendar too far. IWC now has three perpetual calendars – four if you count the Eternal Calendar – and collectors might be motivated to build an entire collection of said calendars. This could easily form the basis of a perpetual calendar theme, with other examples from other brands easily slotting in. Without getting into the weeds here (see the descriptions of the individual complications for more details), the idea we are interested in is complications that could motivate collectors by dint of their existence. In a nutshell, that is the point of this list, which is by no means expansive or exhaustive. This rationale means that some complicated watches do not qualify, like the Jacob & Co Bugatti watches; the Astronomica, on the other hand definitely qualifies but is not here because it did not debut last year or this year. The same is true of the Patek Philippe inline perpetual calendar too, in case anyone wonders about our biases, except we have a relevant category there.

 

On the other hand, we are looking at innovations across a number of years – as the earlier story in Autumn indicated – and have opted to include Ref. 5750 from the Advanced Research department here. Like the Audemars Piguet RD series, each Advanced Research model offers collectors the chance to seek out the others. In this way, the two selections speak to the same point, even if the most recent Advanced Research watch was revealed to the world in 2021.

We make a special note in this introduction for some promising new developments that may be isolated spectacles…unless they are not. Chief amongst these is the Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II, which features a special chronograph function. As we noted in our online and social media coverage, a chronograph that counts down rather than up is actually quite useful. While we do not expect watchmakers to respond to Rolex here with competing regatta watches, perhaps the countdown chronograph might yet have its day. In terms of use cases, it is at least as useful as the current standard for the mechanical chronograph.

 

All this aside, Rolex is using a new movement for the revived Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II – the automatic calibre 4162 – because the watch also has a mechanical memory and “on-the-fly” synchronization. We will have more to say about this watch later but for now, it is a one of a few serendipitous novelties in 2026, all taking the chronograph in brave new directions. Fairly or unfairly though, Rolex tends to dominate any conversation so we opted to give it its own space in the introduction. The TAG Heuer Monaco Evergraph is another important chronograph yet it too has a special place in this issue, which you cannot have failed to notice. Well, if you are reading this online, the Evergraph is our cover watch so it would be unfair to give it the leading role for chronographs here too. Happily, there is still one more significant player here that we can rely on.

 

Patek Philippe Ref. 6105

Moving on, another watch – or duo rather – that we wanted to include here could not do so without creating another category for them are the new creative and technical highlights from Van Cleef & Arpels. While we typically join the chorus of praise for the brand’s novelties and then proceed to wonder who they are for, the question does not emerge this year. Both the Midnight Jour Nuit Phase de Lune and Midnight Heure d’ici & Heure d’ailleurs are men’s watches, with no diamonds in sight and distinctly masculine vibes about them. Now, we are not saying that gem-setting is some kind of visual code for ‘feminine,’ because that is another kind of story, and maybe we will get to that later in the year. However, the two Midnight watches are men’s watches simply because they are not in the Lady Arpels collection – and do not have Vendome lugs. As a matter of fact though, the latter watch does get its own space this issue because watches with jumping time indicators are having a moment.

 

In any case, Van Cleef & Arpels has a habit of making unclassifiable watches – one can only call them beautiful – and this makes them quite difficult to sort into stories with categories like this one. It is clear though that no brands are following in Van Cleef & Arpels’ poetic complications footsteps, even if the public might be interested. This brings us to another singular sort of proposition, kinetic sculptures and automatons. There is a fantastic reference from Patek Philippe this year, but this is a category we are eschewing. We foresee no return to the days of wild mechanical automatons dominating wrists everywhere, as was the case, well, never.

 

Another related category of complicated watches that might yet make a breakthrough is the astronomical variety, but this might deserve its own story. This year included one Patek Philippe reference – the brand is certainly having a moment but nothing much from anyone else. Given that we cannot open a section just for Ref. 6105 – and plenty of Patek Philippe models are represented here – we are opting to illustrate the introduction with a shot (or two) of this very unusual 47mm white gold watch that tracks the nighttime skyline of Geneva. Again, we hear the arguments in favour of Van Cleef & Arpels here, but this is not the best place for any such watch to shine, and we have given the Heure d’ici & Heure d’ailleurs its own headline space elsewhere this issue. The same is true for the Franck Muller Aero Revolution 3, multi-axis tourbillon though it is.

 

Assembly of the calibre powering the new Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight Jour Nuit Phase de Lune

Another couple of watches that deserve a space but are not getting it here because of coverage elsewhere are the Blancpain Double Grand Sonnerie and the Girard-Perregaux Minute Repeater Flying Bridges. We must include them here for the record though, even if we may lack even the space for images. See our interview with Marc A. Hayek elsewhere this issue, and Girard-Perregaux Managing Director Marc-Michel Amadry in a coming issue for more on their respective standout strikers.

 

Finally, we will take a moment to explain the watches we are including here in the context of watchmakers rather than collectors. To be blunt, we were not looking for the most timely (no pun intended) and mind-blowing watches. Instead, we wanted to focus on consequential watches – watches we think moved the needle in their own spaces. To be clear, we are not claiming that any one watch resulted in more such watches – no such evidence exists, as far as we know. But maybe a watchmaker – or a future one – somewhere saw Ref. 5750 and thought, ‘Wow, that’s cool…I can make that better.’ You might call that a visionary moment, which is what this story ultimately celebrates.

 

Spinning Right Round

 

We open this complicated spread of horological delights with no mere amuse bouche or even an appetizer, but the mighty tourbillon. Well, this is more like a degustation menu of all the familiar hits so starting anywhere is just fine; just reiterating that in case anyone skipped ahead. Since we have not (yet) covered the tourbillon in depth in one of our specials, it seemed apt to give it some love here. The last 12 months have seen the debut of some very impressive tourbies, as no one calls them, but we will roll with it here. One of the craziest is without a doubt the Breguet Experimentale 1, which is too much watch for any one man’s wrist – for a Breguet it is also pretty wild in terms of looks. We open with this piece, and promise to revisit it, because we just did not know how to react to it when we got word of it in December. There is so much happening here that we wish the 10 Hz magnetic escapement itself was given the room to speak for itself rather than struggle for top billing.

Nevertheless, the Experimentale 1 is the first of a series and that bodes well – it even has a few prequels but that is another story. For now, we have to move on to our main event, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hybris Inventiva Gyrotourbillon a Stratosphere. As the name suggests, this watch continues a relatively recent phenomenon where watch brands try to demolish our minds with creative word salad. Seriously though, it is just the Gyrotourbillon part of the name that seals the deal and Jaeger-LeCoultre could have just called the watch the Gyrotourbillon 6, just because there have been six iterations of them since 2004.

 

The Gyrotourbillon takes shape – note the wheels all set an angle

The name packs a Mona Kimura-style karate kick, but its history is where the technical chops are to be found. The Gyro Strato, as we will address it, is a masterclass in the manufacture’s ongoing obsession with defeating the force that is not a force. This is the first piece in the newly minted Hybris Inventiva collection—a sub-line Jaeger LeCoultre has carved out specifically for watches that focus on a single, isolated mechanical breakthrough rather than a stack of complications.

 

Inside the 42mm platinum case beats Calibre 178, a triple-axis tourbillon that effectively turns the concept of positional error into a statistical rounding error. While the original Gyrotourbillon of 2004 achieved roughly 70 percent positional coverage, the Stratosphere reaches a staggering 98 percent. It does this through an orthogonal X/Y/Z architecture where three titanium cages rotate at 20, 60, and 90 seconds respectively. The use of titanium there indicates something significant: the entire assembly, comprising 189 components, weighs a mere 0.783 grams. That is less than a single paperclip, for those of you who still remember what one of these feels like, or a coffee bean.

 

To ensure the energy-hungry 4Hz balance maintains its isochronism across those axes, Jaeger-LeCoultre has fitted it with a cylindrical balance spring. The visual payoff is the real key here and the watchmakers know it; spending precious moments watching the gyrotourbillon assembly spin is the entire value here, not whatever measure of precision is achieved (although that is there too). Adding more visual appeal here are the white gold movement plates, which are treated to sunray guilloché and then coated in translucent blue enamel; this is a nod to the stratospheric theme, which we need not explain. There is much more to say of course but for now, the Gyro-Strato is a piece of kinetic art that justifies its existence not by shock and awe, but through a 22-year refinement of a single idea. That is real commitment to excellence in traditional watchmaking, and we suspect that collectors will appreciate it.

 

From the clinical yet theatrical precision of the Vallée de Joux, we turn to the disruptive laboratories of Le Locle. If the Gyro-Strato is an evolution of a lineage, the Ulysse Nardin SuperFreak is a high-octane celebration of an anniversary. Marking 180 years of the brand and 25 years since the first Freak shattered the watchmaking status quo in 2001, the SuperFreak represents the most mechanically dense iteration of everyone’s favourite carousel-tourbillon to date. As some observers have noted, this might be the most complex time-only watch ever made – in terms of technical drama, its only competition in the Palexpo is the aforementioned Gyro-Strato.

 

All the parts of the Ulysse Nardin SuperFreak

The SuperFreak continues the story of the watch with no true hands, dial, case or crown in the most complicated way possible. Its new UN-252 calibre is a seven-plane construction where more than 97 percent of its 511 components are in constant motion. The core attraction is a double tourbillon system: two titanium flying tourbillons, inclined at 10 degrees and rotating in opposite directions, are integrated into the hourly carousel. To manage the output of these two regulators, Ulysse Nardin has engineered a 5mm differential – the smallest of its kind, according to the brand – to average their rates.

 

Perhaps the most surprising “innovation” here is the inclusion of a seconds display. In any other watch, this would be a footnote; in a Freak, it requires a patented gimbal system with miniature bevel gears just to transmit force at 90-degree angles to a rotating vertical cylinder on the minute hand. Efficiency is handled by the Grinder automatic winding system, and the aesthetics are dominated by a blue Nanosital hour disc that appears to glow from within. Limited to just 50 pieces, the SuperFreak proves that even after a quarter-century, the movement-as-display concept still has plenty of room to move the needle.

 

Patek Philippe Ref. 5750

Chimes at Midnight

 

If for no other reason than this reference to the Orson Welles film, we absolutely had to include chiming watches here. As Blancpain President Marc A. Hayek notes, the chiming watch is the most complicated of all complications and the proof is in how few are made every year, and how many brands even try to make them – the answer is not many, if you wonder. Entire years go by without significant new repeaters of any kind, much less sonneries; hour strikers and alarm watches are the easiest and most accessible of the chiming set but even these are rare, compared with dual time and chronograph models.

 

Given the quixotic movie reference, and the fact that we are limiting an already limited selection (because super complications are listed separately), we open this salvo with the dulcet tones of the Patek Philippe Advanced Research Ref. 5750. This is a watch we heard once – at Baselworld at its launch – but its spirit lives on in a number of important chiming watches from the last five years or so. Well, we think so anyway so we are running with the idea!

 

The Patek Philippe Ref. 5750 “Fortissimo” serves as the perfect case study for the contemporary mechanical challenge: how do you make a minute repeater loud enough to be practical without resorting to a “resonating” case material like titanium or steel? Patek’s “ff” module achieves this by decoupling the sound amplification from the case entirely. Instead of the gongs transmitting vibrations through the caseband, they are connected to a steel sound lever that vibrates a 0.2mm thick sapphire-glass oscillating wafer. This wafer acts like a speaker cone, with the sound waves exiting through four apertures in a titanium ring at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions. Ok, so titanium has not been sidelined here but it is in the engine, doing its work quietly.

 

Patek Philippe Ref. 5322

Ref. 5750 was released as a 15-piece limited edition in platinum that promised to sound as robust as a pocket watch, proving that even the most traditional houses are looking toward “Advanced Research,” with patent-protected techniques, to solve age-old acoustic limitations.

To be clear, there are valid commercial reasons here, including that bit about resonating materials. Such materials may not be suitable, prestige wise, for a chiming watch – at least for the case. They might also yield unpleasant tones, as the experts at Patek Philippe, Blancpain, Girard-Perregaux and A. Lange & Söhne have told us over the years. It is important to recall that absolute decibel count is not the only metric in chiming watches… In fact, prestige value in case materials is also not a universally recognised virtue.

 

The pursuit of volume and clarity at Patek Philippe has a parallel in Le Brassus with the Audemars Piguet Supersonnerie. While Patek opted for sapphire amplification, Audemars Piguet’s patented technology uses a “soundboard” system. In the 2021 Royal Oak Minute Repeater Supersonnerie, this was famously executed in black ceramic – it might well have been the first major chiming watch in this material – where the gongs are attached to a titanium membrane rather than the movement’s mainplate. By 2023, the technology reached its zenith in the Code 11.59 Universelle (RD#4), where the gongs were attached to a 0.6mm sapphire crystal membrane (note the similarity here to what Ref. 5750 did). This iteration added a “secret” caseback cover that can be opened to further boost sound propagation, allowing the wearer to choose between a muffled chime for private moments and a booming (relatively) one for a crowded room.

 

Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto Rosa

If Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe are focused on volume, Bulgari is focused on the architecture of thinness. Now, we have already noted that this story does not even try to address ultra-thin watchmaking – both this and openworking are explored elsewhere this issue, and back in September last year. The Octo Finissimo Minute Repeater remains a benchmark, utilizing the now-legendary 3.12mm-thin Calibre BVL 362, housed in a standard titanium case. Titanium is favoured here for its low density and high resonance, with the brand debuting the calibre in 2016 in a titanium Octo Finissimo case, also with what was the masterstroke at that time: the dial itself. The hour markers and small seconds sub-dial are cut out, turning the entire watch into a resonance chamber that allows sound waves to escape effortlessly.

 

For 2026, the brand has completely messed with our pattern-recognition systems by releasing a 37mm version (more this just below). With all other elements preserved from the landmark 2016 version, the new watch proves that even the world’s thinnest repeater has room to shrink without losing its voice. That last bit is important because logic dictates that a bigger case means a bigger sound – just think of a musical instrument. The extra space between the movement and the case here was touted as a boon, allowing as it did for more of a boom. That Bulgari has found a smaller size acceptable is interesting because no brand needs to adjust sizing on chiming watches to sell more of them. To be clear, chiming watches take so long to develop that they can only be trendy by accident.

 

Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto Rosa

Returning to the Resonance 12:59, the 42mm case houses the Calibre ARR25, featuring four hammers and four gongs; it is part of a series of unconnected watches that are all confirming the fact that titanium might just be the best metal for the chiming segment. What makes this specific watch consequential is its 12:59 mode – not a joke at the expense of another rather famous collection. Quite seriously, it is a dedicated selector that allows the wearer to activate the longest possible striking sequence (12 hours, 3 quarters, and 14 minutes) on demand. This genius on-demand feature is the ultimate striking watch flex, ensuring that any given listener can appreciate the full complexity of the four-note chime regardless of the actual time.

 

Patek Philippe returned to the conversation this year, not with a minute repeater or anything like that (so far), but with the Ref. 5322G-010, a watch that reminds us that striking watches are not one trick ponies. This Ref. 5322 is what Patek Philippe calls a Grand Complication (emphasis: the brand’s) featuring a 24-hour alarm that chimes on a classic gong. We got personal with this watch at the presentation in Geneva, because this is the successor to a watch we admire very much: Ref. 5520. Back in the day, we were impressed that this reference, which was new in 2019, and its unprecedented four-crown arrangement.

 

With Ref. 5322, Patek Philippe has streamlined this to just one crown and a pusher, while maintaining the water-resistance rating of 30m. While this protection is basic, it is still the most water-tight of all Patek Philippe chiming watches; all such watches are about as water-resistant as sponges, across most brands. The sound of the reference is uncompromising, in our opinion, and we still think it shows that Patek Philippe is looking for a way to offer better protection for its chiming/striking models.

Finally, we must mention one of our favourite chiming watches, the Christopher Ward Bel Canto, which happens to be a highly popular model amongst local enthusiasts. The author himself has one, as do many people in the trade. To paraphrase a number of pundits, the Bel Canto is the watch that effectively democratized the chiming complication. This argument is undercut, ever so slightly, by the fact that no other brands have decided to follow Christopher Ward’s lead. Note how many brands rushed to get colourful dials to market; are still continuing to deliver integrated bracelets; and embracing stone dials. A Sonnerie au Passage (striking once on the hour), the Bel Canto’s seminal impact is nevertheless undeniable.

 

Christopher Ward C1 Bel Canto Rosa

By combining a modified Sellita movement and an ingenious (proprietary) module to strike a chime in the key of D, the maverick British brand brought the “songbird” bridge-and-hammer aesthetic to a price point previously unimaginable for mechanical chiming watches. Like the Ref. 5750, it relies on a Grade 5 titanium case to maximize resonance, proving that whether at the top or the entry-point of Haute Horlogerie, the physics of sound remains the ultimate judge.

 

Writing in Time

 

We have opted to keep the hero complication of the year right in the middle of this discussion. The chronograph is already the knockout star of our upcoming Summer issue and it will likely be even more dominant later this year. As we noted elsewhere in this story, and on plenty of occasions in other issues, the chronograph is hugely important for many brands, including all the major ones. We would even venture to say that watchmakers who want to play at the highest level need to have an excellent chronograph – even better if said chronograph is special in some way. Yes, that is need to have because this weapon is essential for a top-billed performance.

 

Aiming straight for the top is exactly what you get with the MB&F LM Sequential Evo, which is a bit of a cheeky fellow. The first chronograph from MB&F does not even have the word ‘chronograph’ in its name – and then it demonstrates why. It essentially reinvented the category in 2022 by providing two independent column-wheel chronographs linked to a single oscillator, controlled by the brilliantly named “Twinverter” binary switch that allows for simultaneous, independent, or lap-timer modes. However, the story reaches its apex in 2026 with the LM Sequential Flyback Evo. This new iteration adds a flyback function to both chronographs, managed by a specialized jewelled roller for better energy efficiency – all while maintaining the Evo robustness, including the FlexRing shock absorber and 80m water-resistance.

 

MB&F LM Sequential Flyback Evo

If MB&F is about visual theatre with the LM Sequential, Audemars Piguet has used its research division to redefine the physical interface of the complication and reimagined the architecture of the movement. The Royal Oak RD#5 (Ref. 26545XT) and its new Calibre 8100 includes a flying tourbillon as almost an afterthought because the real “needle-moving” innovation is the chronograph’s ergonomics. It features a world-first in touch-sensitive, “haptic” push-pieces inspired by smartphone technology, offering a smooth tactile response unlike any traditional mechanical click. Internally, the Calibre 8100 reimagines the reset mechanism – a system largely unchanged for 150 years – by optimizing energy storage and release to ensure a more precise and effortless return to zero.

 

Taking a different path toward technical differentiation from the user perspective is Parmigiani Fleurier, which has at least two good chronographs of its own to top. Well, the Tonda PF Chronograph Mystérieux, which we crowned as one of two “winners,’ of the watch fairs, is like no other chronograph ever made. Created for the brand’s 30th anniversary, this watch plays a high-stakes game of “hide-and-seek” with the world – only the owner commands even its presence. At rest, the dial is a pure three-hander, and looks for all the world like the Fleurier brand’s first Tonda PF with central seconds; however, there are actually five hands here, two of which are hidden. One might even say that all the hands are being a bit devious and hiding secondary roles.

 

Activating the monopusher at 7:30 causes the rhodium-plated hands to “flyback” and begin their roles as chronograph indicators, while rose gold hands emerge (these are usually always below the now-chronograph hour and minute hands) to maintain the time. By eschewing traditional sub-dials and scales, Parmigiani allows the chronograph to perform its measurements across the entire grain d’orge guilloché dial, restoring it to a sense of serenity once the timing episode is concluded. Both the Chronograph Mystérieux and the RD#5 aim to improve the user-experience of the function, and both are exactly the sorts of chronograph that its creators need.

 

Audemars Piguet Calibre 8100

When it comes to TAG Heuer, one has to wonder what can be done. The brand was once all about the chronograph, and our cover story is dedicated to this. Well, the watch is the other “winner,” of WWG 2026 because it has delivered the first true 21st century chronograph with the Monaco Evergraph. This is largely because of the Calibre TH80-00 developed by the firm’s movement director Carole Forestier-Kasapi <it is complicated and we recommend you read the cover story for more – Ed>. The short of it is this: the movement replaces traditional friction-prone articulations with a flexible mechanism that has either an “on” or “off” state – bend one way and it is on, bend the other and it is off. This architecture significantly reduces wear and mechanical play, creating a chronograph that feels entirely different under the thumb than any cam- or column-wheel system before it.

 

Finally, we have the H. Moser & Cie Streamliner Flyback Chronograph, which in some ways foreshadowed the rise of new thinking and execution with this complication. This is because the watch remains one of the most consequential applications of the AgenGraphe movement. Developed by the specialist agency Agenhor in 2017, the Calibre HMC 907 features an integrated architecture that completely rearranges the traditional layout. (Agenhor is today fully owned by the family enterprise that runs H. Moser & Cie).

 

The most obvious result is the central display, where both the elapsed seconds and minutes are coaxial, making it as intuitive to read as a standard clock. More subtly, the automatic winding system is hidden beneath the dial, providing an entirely unobstructed view of the movement’s column wheel and horizontal clutch through the caseback—a visual reward for those who appreciate the technical guts of the machine. As you might imagine here, the architecture of HMC 907 means that it too could be more of an on-demand feature, with a little more engineering…

 

The new IWC Perpetual Calendar ProSet Calibre

 

For All Time

 

The perpetual calendar has a problem…that masks several problems! Until recently, it was a mechanism that would have been accurate long past any owner’s lifespan. Well, most perpetual calendars will need a visit to the watchmaker at 2100, so things are coming to a head soon…of course, soon is relative. The main issue is found in the name of the watch – the “perpetual” bit – because that is a big claim and one that digital competitors do not even have to make. Obviously, a looming sword of Damocles is a great motivator, and the watch world expects an inspired escape…or should that be expected?

 

The so-called secular calendar does solve the problem, in part, and IWC reminded us of this with the Eternal Calendar a couple of years ago. The same brand also holds the key, partly, to another problem: the unwieldy correctors for the calendar. The problems facing the top-of-the-line calendar mechanism have been around a long time, and some even plague simple date functions. By the way, this recap is just an explanation of why “expected” is justified. Better chronographs and striking watches are great and all, but all mechanical watch enthusiasts deserve better calendar functions; Rolex is the only large-scale maker of traditional mechanical watches that makes simple quickset date changes possible at any time, with the 32xx calibres.

 

All right, rant (mostly) over because IWC did indeed deliver with a better calendar at WWG this year. The IWC Perpetual Calendar ProSet mechanism represents a fundamental shift, and might be the brand’s best calendar yet. Its marvels are the result of being built in a totally contemporary way. While Kurt Klaus’s original 1985 design was a marvel of synchronization, its primary weakness was the inability to go backward – if you advance it too far, you either wait for time to catch up with your watch, or you send it to watchmaker for adjustment. So, not quite marvelous, but here comes a solution that was only decades in the making.

 

H. Moser & Cie Endeavour Perpetual Calendar

The new ProSet system utilizes a patented gear architecture with multiple functional levels and flexible, spring-loaded “fingers” that enable bidirectional adjustment via the crown in precise daily steps. We will have this mechanism and the watches it powers covered in more detail in Summer, but here is the short of it, consequence-wise: IWC has made a perpetual calendar easier to use than most standard date watches.

 

This technical ease of use is the logical successor to the IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar, which addressed the aforementioned 2100 problem with a secular gear train designed to skip three leap years every 400 years. While the Eternal Calendar offers a “set it and forget it” solution for the next four centuries, other brands have focused on making the process of setting more foolproof before IWC itself. H. Moser & Cie has long championed this with the HMC 800 “Flash Calendar” movement. Found in models across the Endeavour and Streamliner collections, this movement allows for bidirectional setting at any time of day – even at midnight, when most calendars are in their “danger zone” – without risk of mechanical damage. It is arguably the most intuitive display on the market, using an unobtrusive central hand to point to the 12 hour markers to indicate the month.

 

A. Lange & Sohne Lange 1 Tourbillion Perpetual Calendar “Lumen”

For those who prefer a more cinematic approach to the passage of time, the Patek Philippe Ref. 5236P offers an “in-line” perpetual calendar. This platinum masterpiece displays the day, date, and month in a single, large aperture at 12 o’clock, utilizing four rotating discs on the same plane. It is a study in legibility that hides the immense mechanical tension required to jump four discs simultaneously at the stroke of midnight. It is an instant jumper, but the watch does have a danger zone where the calendar indications cannot be set. Given that Patek Philippe does have a system to counteract this, seen in the Travel Time Annual Calendar Ref. 5326 a couple of years ago, we have every reason to be optimistic that perpetual calendar models will get this upgrade too.

 

A similarly theatrical display can be found in the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar “Lumen”. Updated for 2026, this 50-piece limited edition utilizes a translucent sapphire dial that reveals the luminous outsize date and moon phase discs beneath. The 2026 edition is further distinguished by the movement side, where the tourbillon and intermediate-wheel cocks are crafted from black-polished steel and hand-engraved with a star and shooting star motif.

 

On the functional front, Panerai and Audemars Piguet have both moved towards all crown-control systems that eliminate the need for unsightly case-middle pushers. The Panerai Calibre P.4100, used in the Luminor Perpetual Calendar, allows the day, date, month, and year to be set entirely via the crown. It even includes a “date shock protection” system to prevent the calendar from skipping during impacts. Similarly, the Audemars Piguet Calibre 7138, appearing in the Royal Oak and Code 11.59 collections, features a single-level calendar construction that keeps the movement height to a slim 4.1mm. Audemars Piguet’s innovation includes a “no-correction” indicator on the 24-hour counter, though the movement is engineered to be foolproof even if the user ignores the warning. In a world of digital perfection, these mechanical safeguards prove that the perpetual calendar is finally growing up.

 

Panerai Luminor Perpetual Calendar GMT Platinumtech PAM1575

 Grander Scales

The era of the supercomplication is over, at least as far as it might be a race to see how many complications can coexist in the same case. Simultaneously though, perhaps complications will become a better proposition for more enthusiasts, thus fuelling a return to some kind of technical race. Well, that is getting ahead of ourselves slightly because we are not only predicting the end of supersized maximalist complications…

 

Perhaps even the era of big record-busting feats is done. This might be for the best as the last such race, for the thinnest mechanical ticker, had surrendered all claims to rationality. In our view, the last true wristwatch to be the thinnest in the world was the Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept Tourbillon watch – as the only properly water-resistant one that looked and felt like a wristwatch, it remains the best demonstration of being as lean as possible. While a special tool is recommended to use the crown, there is actually a crown – all other extremophiles in this segment drop this feature.

 

We begin this final segment on superwatches with this mention for a reason. Just as carmakers are no longer chasing land speed records, watchmakers are apparently leaving this to superlative objets – singular creations that might even be unique pieces. As a consequence, Vacheron Constantin is the unchallenged record holder for the wristwatch with the most complications in the world. The Solaria is the brand’s anniversary piece from last year, and it will likely spawn other more accessible creations over the years, just as the anniversary piece in 2005 did. The Solaria was present at Vacheron Constantin’s booth for a victory lap, along with the brand’s other stellar creations from last year. Since these were all present to remind the world that they will reverberate across the years, we will recap the key highlights of the Solaria, without knowing anything about the brand’s innovation road map.

 

Vacheron Constantin Solaria Ultra Grand Complication “La Premiere”

The Vacheron Constantin Solaria Ultra Grand Complication “La Première” arrived in 2025 as a definitive declaration of mechanical supremacy, claiming the title of the world’s most complicated wristwatch. Developed over eight years by a single master watchmaker, the piece houses the Calibre 3655, a massive technical undertaking comprising 1,521 components and protected by 13 patent applications. Despite the staggering 41 complications – nearly double that of its closest rivals – the watch is more wearable than some dive watches, at 45mm in diameter and 14.99mm in height.

 

The Solaria’s true innovation lies in its five rare astronomical complications, four of which track the Sun’s path across the sky in real-time, displaying its position, height, culmination, and declination. It also features a world-first “temporal tracking” function that uses a split-seconds chronograph to calculate when a specific star will appear centred in an observer’s field of vision. All of this is anchored by a Westminster carillon minute repeater with four hammers and four gongs, utilizing sapphire components for optimal energy transmission. That last bit reminds us not only of Patek Philippe’s approach but also Chopard’s and Jaeger-LeCoultre’s.

 

To understand how a technical monolith like the Solaria might evolve, one only needs to look at the Patek Philippe Ref. 6300 Grandmaster Chime. Since its debut, the Ref. 6300 (housing 20 complications) has transitioned from a purely horological masterclass into a platform for the Genevan manufacture’s highest decorative arts. We have seen this technical anchor-piece move from the standard white gold models to the “Rare Handcrafts” Ref. 6300GR in rose and white gold, and most recently into the realm of high jewellery.

 

Patek Philippe Ref. 6300/403G

The “Haute Joaillerie” iterations—such as the 6300/400G set with 409 baguette diamonds, the sapphire-laden 6300/401G, and the emerald-clad 6300/403G—showcase how Patek uses its most complex movement as a canvas for invisible settings and rare gemstones. Patek’s 2026 Rare Handcrafts Exhibition in Geneva further emphasizes this focus, turning these mechanical wonders into one-of-a-kind treasures before they vanish into private collections.

 

This evolution provides a likely template for the Solaria. While “La Première” was a showcase of raw chronometric and astronomical power, the future of the Solaria likely lies within Vacheron Constantin’s Les Cabinotiers department. Much like the Ref. 6300, we expect the Solaria to eventually emerge from its laboratory-pure platinum case to be reimagined with hand-engraved mythological scenes, grand feu enamel dials, or intricate gemsetting. By following the customisation roadmap, Vacheron Constantin can ensure that its record-breaking movement remains a “living” complication, shifting the conversation from what the watch can do to what the watch can be as a piece of singular art.

This story was first seen as part of the WOW #84 Vision 2026 issue.

For more on the latest in luxury watch reads, click here.