Ah, the perpetual calendar. A complication so arduous that its difficulty to assemble translates frustratingly into difficulty of use. Advance the date too far forward and there’s no turning back without a fair bit of hassle — or a visit to the service centre. Attempt an adjustment while the calendar works are mid-engagement and you risk damaging the movement (hello, service centre). Add in multiple correctors — many requiring their own tiny styluses — and suddenly water resistance is compromised, user confidence is shaken, any excessive force becomes a liability, and… well, you see where this is going.
So user-friendly perpetual calendars are real gems in the watchmaking world, and only a handful have cracked the code, among them H Moser, IWC, Ulysse Nardin, and FP Journe. In 2025, Audemars Piguet joined that very short list with the new Calibre 7138, whose calendar functions can all be adjusted via a single crown. In fact, it’s so straightforward to use that the brand went ahead and built a box that does it for you.
Two years after joining forces with the Dubai Future Foundation, Audemars Piguet has unveiled the first prototype of its “intelligent watch box.” Built for the newest 41mm Royal Oak Perpetual Calendars, operates on a blissfully simple principle: watch goes in, lid goes down, and five minutes later the box has analysed the calendar, decided what needs fixing, and executed the adjustments like a polite robot butler.