The FirsT

As mentioned earlier, the first perpetual calendar wristwatch that came out in 1925 was a Patek Philippe. Interestingly, the movement used in the watch was actually made in 1898, albeit for a women’s pendant watch. The latter remained unsold for quite a while, so the brand put the movement—which, by the way, was quite compact—in a wristwatch. The resulting watch (No. 97 975, case No. 222 033) was sold in October 1927 to Thomas Emery, an American with an extensive Patek Philippe collection.

The watch is powered by the Caliber 12’’’ movement which is put inside a 34.4mm case in yellow gold—or vieil or, to be exact, which translates to “old gold.” It shows the day, date and month, and—naturally—takes into account leap years.