What’s the Date? Breaking Down Calendar Complications
How many times have you thought to yourself “what’s the date today?” One highly sought after and frequently used watch complication, or a feature other than telling time, is a calendar indicator. Scroll through to learn about the different types of calendar complications, and see some of our favorite watches that have this feature.
Date
The most straightforward and common type of calendar complication is the date display, which is essentially just means that the watch displays the numbers 1-31 to indicate what date of the month it is. The date is most often displayed on a wheel through a window, and can gradually change over time or instantaneously change with a jump at midnight. One downfall is that if the month is less than 31 days, the wearer must manually adjust the date at the end of the month.
Day Date
Day date complications are similar to dates in that they display the numbers 1-31 to indicate the date of the month. However, day date watches also display the day of the week, usually in a separate window. These watches also must be manually adjusted if the month is less than 31 days.
Triple Date
A triple date complication, or a “complete calendar,” displays the day, date and month. In order to keep the dial from looking too cluttered, the numbers 1-31 are commonly displayed around the outer edge with a separate hand that indicates the date, while the day of the week and month of the year are displayed through windows on the face.
Annual Calendar
A bit more advanced, an annual calendar complication is an accurate calendar for all non-leap years, meaning it doesn’t have to be adjusted if a month is less than 31 days. This complication only needs to be adjusted manually at the end of each February.
Perpetual Calendar
A perpetual calendar does everything an annual calendar does and it also accounts for leap years. It is the most complex type of calendar feature. It only needs to be adjusted manually once each century when the leap year is ignored.
Do you have a watch with a calendar complication? Which one? Share with us in the comments section below!
