“… hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour.”
So goes the opening lines of William Blake’s “Auguries of Innocence,” but in triple calendar wristwatches like this one, Blake’s words are made manifest.
Calendar watches aren’t a new invention, necessarily. To the contrary, they even existed in pocket watches. Mr. Blake himself might have contemplated existence as he stared into the dial of one, watching the stately movement of the hands as the seconds ticked by.
But the complication found its niche in wristwatches in the middle of the 1950s.
Though this watch may not truly capture eternity, it reveals the catalog of daily existence. Seconds, which turn into minutes; minutes into hours; hours into days; days into months. All in a handsome, compact package that is as visually-appealing as it is a technical marvel (and looks much better than a calendar app on your phone).
This one was made by Movado, an old brand whose current status belies their history. While they were known mainly for their chronographs (which they made as a subsidiary of Zenith), watches like this one truly illustrated the brand’s capacity for innovation and refinement. We’ve offered versions in steel before, but this one in 18k gold is a simply splendid.
Though the complication is enjoying something of a resurgence thanks to brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre and Girard-Perregaux, mid-century examples like this one embody the style and precision that Movado mastered at the zenith of its power.