The perpetual calendar with retrograde date
The perpetual calendar features an ingenious
function: a so-called retrograde date with a fly-
back hand that depending on the month and leap-
year cycle automatically flies back to the first day
of the month after the 28th, 29th, 30th, or 31st day.
A spiral spring is responsible for the fast flyback of
the date hand. The clever mechanism was devel-
oped by Patek Philippe in 1986 and further refined.
It requires only little energy and prevents the
flyback hand from bouncing forward after it has
Indications, functions, and settings
A
5
1
8
D
4
3
NOTE ON CORRECTING PERPETUAL CALENDAR DISPLAYS (PUSH PIECE A) AND MOON PHASE DISPLAY (PUSH PIECE C):
• TO PREVENT DAMAGE TO YOUR WATCH, PLEASE PERFORM ALL SETTINGS AND CORRECTIONS WITH THE CORRECTION
STYLUS THAT WAS SUPPLIED WITH YOUR WATCH. ANY OTHER TOOL COULD DAMAGE YOUR WATCH.
• DATE AND MOON PHASE CORRECTIONS MUST BE MADE AT 7 AM. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO ASSURE THAT THE DATE
CHANGE MECHANISMS ARE NOT ENGAGED AND CANNOT BE DAMAGED.
• THE SETTING SEQUENCE DESCRIBED BELOW MUST BE OBSERVED
2
6
7
C
B
jumped back to the first day of the month.
In leap years, the date hand first advances to Feb-
ruary 29 and then jumps directly to March 1 the
next day.
If the watch is worn or kept in a winder every
day, the perpetual calendar will not need to be
corrected until February 28, 2100. The year 2100
is a secular year in which the leap day is skipped
according to the Gregorian calendar.
DISPLAYS AND FUNCTIONS
1- Year (IV = leap Year)
2- Month
3- Moon phase
4- retrograde date hand
5- daY of week
6- wIndIng posItIon
7- handsettIng posItIon
8- slIde for actuatIng the strIkIng MechanIsM
SETTINGS
A-
push pIeces for calendar correctIons: daY of week (5), date
(4), Month (2), Year (1)
B-
push pIeces for Month (2) and Year (1) correctIons
C-
push pIece for Moon phase correctIons (3)
D-
push pIece for daY of week correctIons (5)