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None of these watches are necessary. That’s why I love them. 😆

First of all, many thanks to KMII for hosting this month’s WS. 🙏

What an interesting topic.

Complications are one of those subjects where every collector seems to have a different answer.

Some are fascinated by chronographs, others by perpetual calendars, minute repeaters, tourbillons, astronomical displays, or simply by ingenious solutions to obscure mechanical problems. That’s what makes this hobby so endlessly interesting.

For me, complications have always been among the most fascinating aspects of watchmaking. Not because they are necessary, but because they represent the triumph of mechanical ingenuity over practicality. Every one of these watches solves a problem that nobody really has anymore. And that is precisely why I love them. 😊🙏

The order is entirely arbitrary. Ask me tomorrow and I will probably rank them differently.

For this weekend’s WS, I thought I would share a few pieces from different corners of complicated watchmaking.

IWC Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Rattrapante (Platinum)

For me, one of the great achievements of Kurt Klaus.

A perpetual calendar combined with a split-seconds chronograph, yet remarkably intuitive to use. Even decades later, the engineering remains deeply impressive and the platinum case gives it the presence such a watch deserves.











IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar (Platinum)
















The watch that currently defines what is possible in a mechanical calendar wristwatch.

Its moonphase is accurate for approximately (completely senseless!!) 45 million years, while the calendar mechanism correctly accounts for the Gregorian calendar rules until the year 3999. It is one of those watches that stretches beyond watchmaking and enters the realm of mechanical obsession.

A masterpiece in every sense of the word. I love this watch!! ❤️

Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon with Three Flying Bridges Bucherer Blue (Titanium)

Some tourbillons hide their complexity. This one for sure not. 😎











The flying bridges of GP are among the most recognizable architectural elements in all of horology. The movement looks like a three-dimensional sculpture.

The watch is made of titanium and for sure no safe queen. It’s very easy and - you wouldn’t have believed it - indeed uncomplicated to wear.

Hautlence Linear Series 2










The chain-driven linear jumping hour display offers a completely different way of reading time and demonstrates that watchmaking creativity did not end with the perpetual calendar and the tourbillon.

I was fortunate enough to see the movement being assembled at Agenhor, part of the MELB Holding group (Moser!) . Seeing the mechanism in person only increased my appreciation for this remarkable watch.

One of the most unconventional watches in my collection. And not everyone likes it. 🙏


Blancpain Villeret Moonphase Quantième Perpétuel 8 Jours 42















For me this is a very underrated brand. I don’t understand why almost nobody seems to be interested (except for the FF models). For me it’s deeply irrational.

An eight-day movement paired with a perpetual calendar and moonphase is already impressive enough. Blancpain somehow packages all of this into a watch that remains refined and discreet rather than flashy. And it’s soooo refined!! 👏

Breitling Navitimer B19 Perpetual Calendar









Ironically, the newest perpetual calendar in my collection has become my most worn watch since I bought it one month ago.

It may not be the most exotic piece here, nor the most expensive, but it does something remarkably well: it combines a genuine perpetual calendar with everyday usability.

A complication you can actually LIVE with.

IWC Minute Repeater (Platinum)

For this watch I flew to Milano and sold my only Patek (an annual calendar in white gold).

It was my first grail watch and I was so obsessed by it. 🙏












A minute repeater is perhaps the purest expression of traditional haute horlogerie.

With absolutely NO practical advantage in these modern times.

Just pure magic and romantic.

Panerai Luminor Equation of Time















A wonderfully …. eccentric …. complication. And I love the symmetry of the dial of this watch which seems (too) complicated. But if you look closer everything is in perfect order.

Most watches tell civil time. This one also tells solar time. 😊

An unusual complication from a brand not normally associated with such things.


So. I have to stop now.

Looking at these watches together, I realize that my fascination has never really been with luxury.

It has always been with ingenuity, craftsmanship, history and the technical approach behind a watch.

Its all about human creativity.

All the best Thomas