{"id":97913,"date":"2026-11-06T15:48:27","date_gmt":"2026-11-06T07:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=97913"},"modified":"2026-11-06T15:48:27","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T07:48:27","slug":"from-the-sky-to-the-wrist-how-perpetual-calendars-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=97913","title":{"rendered":"From the sky to the wrist: how perpetual calendars work"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Since the earliest times, humans have looked to the skies to measure time. The movements of the sun, moon and stars helped them determine the precise day, date and time, something that still inspires wonder \u2013 from children gazing up at the night sky to astronomers charting distant galaxies.<\/p>\n

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Lucas Raggi, chief industrial officer at Audemars Piguet, likens the perpetual calendar to a \u201ctiny astronomer on your wrist who never sleeps\u201d.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Perpetual calendars, including those crafted by Audemars Piguet, translate the principles of astronomy and the Gregorian calendar into high watchmaking \u2013 an intricate blend of art, mechanics and design.<\/p>\n

At the heart of each perpetual calendar is a complex mechanism known as a cam, which has a 48-month mechanical memory that automatically accounts for the varying lengths of the months and leap-year cycle.<\/p>\n

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A perpetual calendar has a mechanical memory that can indicate the days of a particular month, even during a leap year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It knows whether a month has 28, 30 or 31 days and, because the Earth takes 365.25 days to orbit the sun, it also accounts for leap years, automatically adjusting February to 29 days every four years. A perpetual calendar is so accurate that it can operate for a century before any manual correction is required.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can follow the stars\u2019 secret code all by itself until the year 2100,\u201d Lucas Raggi, chief industrial officer at Audemars Piguet, says. \u201cIt\u2019s like wearing a tiny astronomer on your wrist who never sleeps.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In certain timepieces, the Swiss haute horlogerie manufacturer pays further tribute to astronomy with a moon-phase complication tracking the 29.5-day lunar cycle, which depicts the moon\u2019s changing appearance as seen from Earth in a striking visual expression of watchmaking artistry.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery night, the moon and stars move across the sky in patterns that have never changed,\u201d Sebastian Vivas, heritage and museum director at Audemars Piguet, says. \u201cIt\u2019s like a graceful ballet that\u2019s been going on for thousands of years.<\/p>\n

\u201cLong ago, we realised we could track their steps, and that could be used as a code to count days, months and even years. The stars served as the world\u2019s very first clock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucas Raggi and Sebastian Vivas answer questions from a curious young mind in a series of four videos that break down the complexities of watchmaking. Watch the first episode to find out more about perpetual calendars.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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