Swiss fine watchmaking brand Parmigiani Fleurier has taken one of the very finest complications – the perpetual calendar – and placed it at the heart of its most classic, timeless watch: the Toric.

With a precision moon phase and retrograde perpetual date, this watch is the most complex and accomplished of calendar timepieces, says the watchmaker.

The perpetual date function automatically adjusts the date to precisely the number of days in each month, including February and its varying length over the course of the leap year cycles. At the heart of the calibre PF333, the cam which governs the months is equipped with a planet gear which controls the variable number of days in February. The indication for this device is released from the central wheel at the right point in time, jumping the date instantly to the first of the next month. This type of mechanism is highly complex to create on the minute scale of a wristwatch.

The device governing the precision moon calendar is integrated into the same module as the date calendar. By virtue of its gear system, which is much more complex than on a conventional lunar calendar, it tracks the moon phases accurately, with only one correction needed every 122 years.

The distinguishing feature of the Toric Quantième Perpétuel Rétrograde is its two dial versions which offset the red gold of the case. The first is white grained, which uses expertise specific to the Parmigiani Fleurier manufacture to lend the material a striking brilliance. The second dial has a guilloché finish, with a pattern representing the concentric arrangement of the scales on a pine cone.