ReviewAmbitious, Ingenious & Exclusive – The Limited Edition Manero Chrono Perpetual

Carl F. Bucherer has always had something interesting to offer to the world of horology: from a distinctly smart-professional diver’s watch to the most intelligent triple time-zone watch ever made. But this time on, they’re taking a bold leap by achieving a feat only a handful of watchmakers can boast of – a perpetual calendar. Perpetual calendar watches are particularly rare (considering the complexity of the complication) and it’s no surprise that the Manero ChronoPerpetual is a rare watch and a rare feat from the watchmakers back at Lucerne.

Perpetual Calendar – What it does:

Before we go in-depth about the watch, let’s clear out what a perpetual calendar complication actually does. Anyone who wears a mechanical watch with a date display will be familiar with resetting the date and months of the watch regularly, and at times, it gets confusing – particularly in leap years. A perpetual calendar mechanism, however, handles that independently.

The ‘perpetual calendar’ complication is a mechanism that recognizes different lengths of a month (according to the Gregorian calendar), which also includes leap years. You can call it a watch with a “mechanical memory” of 1,461 days because it will not require any manual adjustment until the year 2100 (AD)!  The mechanism of a perpetual calendar is so complex that even today it is considered a ‘technical achievement’ that has only been earned by a handful of watchmakers in Switzerland.

And in the case of the Manero ChronoPerpetual, not only does the in-house movement have the perpetual calendar, but it also has a flyback chronograph and a moon phase complication – all of these functionalities in a single watch!

The Dial – Easy as ever:

But all the hard work and complexity of this watch lies under the hood. The dial of the watch has been designed by Carl F. Bucherer to make life easier for the wearer, and the designers back at Lucerne met this challenge by giving the watch generous dimensions for quick references. The chronograph counters are at their usual 6, 9 and 12 o’clock positions for hours, minutes & small running seconds respectively, and are denoted by the black hands.
Whereas the day, month and date references are also at the 6, 9 and 12 o’clock positions, but they’re indicated by the gold hands.

“The Manero is virtuoso watchmaking – craftsmanship in its most authentic form – a timeless classic of discreet yet powerful elegance.”

The moon phase indicator at 3 o’clock features an ‘anthracite-coloured’ background and a silver-coloured moon disk. The hour indexes have been given a contemporary look with wedge-shaped markers, the hour and minute hands are standard, Super-LumiNova-coated. The chronograph seconds hand has been done in black as well.

A Precious Rose-gold case:

The case of the ChronoPerpetual has been crafted in 18-carat rose gold at a not too big-not too small 42.5mm diameter. The crown and polished chronograph push-pieces have also been done in gold. The bezel is concave in shape with the tachymeter reference engraved on it, and the dial is protected with domed sapphire crystal. You can also get a clear view of the movement with the see-through sapphire crystal case back, which also features a stunning 22-carat rose gold oscillator.

A Mechanical Powerhouse:

The perpetual calendar, fly back chronograph and the moon phase complications are a part of the automatic caliber CFB 1904 – which has been developed for Carl F. Bucherer by Vaucher Manufacture, featuring 49 jewels and an impressive power reserve of over 50 hours.

This watch is extremely exclusive, considering only 100 have been made for the world. The Manero ChronoPerpetual Limited Edition is available exclusively in India at Ethos Watch Boutiques.

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(Image Courtesy: Watch Anish & Carl F. Bucherer)