By almost any standard, the luxury watch world enjoyed a successful year in 2021 despite the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and its worldwide economic consequences ? with high-profile retailers reopening and expanding, new auction records set, some large-scale industry events (like our own WatchTime New York) returning, and of course, a host of notable timepieces launched. As we wrap up 2021 and look ahead enthusiastically to 2022, we take our annual look back at some of the year’s notable timepieces in various popular categories. Today we showcase five of the year’s outstanding perpetual calendars.

Housed in a 41.9-mm gold case, the A. Lange & Söhne Lange 1 Perpetual Calendar stands out from the pack with its use of a peripheral month-indicator ring that advances every month rather than the 48-step cam control system ? a more challenging mechanism that requires substantially more power than the traditional one. Along with this ring-shaped display, the dial features a retrograde day-of-the-week display at 9 o?clock, a leap-year indication at 6 o?clock, and the hallmark ?outsize? date display at 10 o?clock, in addition to the time display on the large, off-center subdial at 3 o?clock. Complementing the perpetual calendar functions is the sophisticated and ornate moon-phase display at 7 o?clock, which also includes a day-night indicator. Beating inside is A. Lange & Sohne?s 67th(!) in-house caliber, the automatic L021.3, with a 50-hour powe...