The most sensible way to build a watch is, of course, the most direct, the simplest, and the safest. From this point of view, creating a watch with all visible components from a single metal is a romantic idea. We have succumbed to the charm of this idea on several occasions.
In 2015, we built an annual calendar with all visible parts in sterling silver 925 for the first time, and in 2017, we manufactured a perpetual calendar in pure titanium.
Now a customer from Hong Kong challenged us to build the first perpetual calendar in sterling silver 925 for him.
That means that the case, the crown, the buckle, the dial, the month wheel with integrated gear teeth, the date disc with integrated gear teeth, the hands, the two discs for the power reserve display as well as the excentric second indicator had to be made in sterling silver 925. All these parts are functional and do not just cover the mechanics like in a conventional construction – they are visible.
All parts designed by Ludwig Oechslin for this perpetual calendar were individually manufactured for us by the company Helfenstein Mechanik AG in Alpnach, Switzerland, and we offer a lifetime guarantee on them.
Our customer asked for his silver dial to be patinated in shades of brown. So far, our silver patinations had always been in shades of dark grey, but never in brown. The development of new patination methods for different metals is one of the core competences of our watchmaker Kevin Hoffmann. Thanks to the valuable advice of an ochs und junior customer and friend from Portugal who holds a degree in chemistry, this work of art was created: the first perpetual calendar in sterling silver 925.
The question whether we will continue to build such watches, if requested, is one that we can answer with yes. Each watch will be different, each watch will have its own unique character, for each watch will be made individually by hand.
So perhaps, this watch might not strictly follow the dictate of reason, but rather, be a piece of luxury – and thus something that is not easily found today, something that has to be discovered.
How do we, as a small watch company committed to innovation and personal customer contact, define luxury?
In an upcoming blog post, we will elaborate on this.
perpetual calendar in sterling silver 925
CHF 29’000 (incl. 7.7% VAT)
CHF 27’000 (excl. VAT)
Additional options available upon request.