Big Decision: Buying the Perpetual Calendar - Help Please

Hello All:

About to purchase the IWC Perp. Cal. Black Dial Rose Gold, Dual Moon

I have however heard some "horror" stories about problems with the moon phase being off a few days, date not correct and so fourth. I do understand there are some careful instructions about setting the date I believe never between 8 pm and 2 AM, and this may well be the cause of some of the issues. However I have also heard that many who have purchased have also had to send it in for repair as early as two days after purchase.

Appreciate all your inputs and thoughts.

Many Thanks All

I have had none of those issues with my PPC (Ref. 5021) and understand that many of the issues are caused by the user NOT following the instructions on setting.

These watches are mechanical pieces with the highest level of engineering, and of course being mechanical something can always go wrong - but believe me, if you see the the rigorous and prolongated series of tests that IWC put these watches through before they leave the manufacture - you will undersigned that the chances are small that you will experience any problem.

Go for it with confidence - and we loom forward to seeing some wrist shot photos soon.

Best regards
Mark

Are u referring to the one below in ? I could be mistaken - if memory serves me correctly there are two that are very identical in look differing only in the metal:
IW502119 in rose gold (caliber 50612)
IW503202 in red gold (caliber 51614)

I have the 502303, and basically the thing with perpetual calendars is
a) just to set it once, and then leave it alone
b) if you must "quick-adjust" the date, never to do so between 8 pm and 2 am. this is very normal for luxury mechanical watches (depending on the brand, the 'do not adjust' time period will differ)
c) here in the forum or other forums you will certainly read stories of quality issues - concerned owners with problems come here to seek urgent help and this is a great place to get it, but I do believe the much larger silent majority of the Portuguese Perpetual Calendar owners are happy with their watches (I certainly am :)).
d) by the moon phase being "off" do you mean it being identical to the actual moon phase (which through my own experience and usage depends very much on your exact location in the world) ?

Hope this helps !

Mark and Shing: Thanks for your time and comments and I guess I needed that little boost to go out and spend the $dosh$. I managed to negotiate quite well and well the watch is beautiful. Hopefully I will set it once and when not in use place in the windbox. This will officially be my last watch and having completed my MBA well I deserve it. I am going with the IW503202 in red gold, CAL 51614. I was considering the white gold, but I feel I will get bored with the blue.

Question Folks: Why is it the perpetual II model indicates the seconds on teh dial but the one I am contemplating does not? Do you know why IWC did away with them? And why did they not consider putting an arrowhead for the day indicator similar to the Pilot's Perp. Cal? Just curious. Thanks

I'm going to be following your adventures, so please keep us informed.

I love this watch (although I prefer the single moon) and keep thinking about getting one. If your experiences are good, it might push me over the edge. Of course that would mean that I'd have to find a good paying job for the cat, and perhaps put on a couple of bake sales during the year, in order to be able to afford it. I'd mortgage my birthright, but last time I looked, I didn't have one.

It is a magnificent device.

the hacking second is within the Day subdial I believe, yes ? you gave me a little jump there, lol ! that IWCs hack is something I love about them.

Hmmm. it think the arrow head is for the pilot's series, and personally I prefer it to be that way. is it ease of reading the subdials you are concerned with ? to be honest, perpetual calendars have much information within a 44mm casing - which still is quite tight. and with say, the ardoise dial (that I have for example), it makes it harder to read. so on reading it makes me pause 1-2 seconds to peer a bit harder. but i love those moments precisely because I have to slow down and look at that dial :)

OK Folks...it is decided "money transfer" here we go. Thanks to all. I will post a pic and more stories when I receive it Friday.

One last question: Say I don't use it for x amount off days and need to set it up again (day, date,etc..). Fairly easy? How about setting the moon phase - how do I suss out exactly what phase the moon is in? I know someone is either saying look out the window or surf the net! HAHA!

• Patrick

Hi Patrick,

If the power reserve runs out and the watch stops, "getting it up again" for me is just a matter of using the "normal adjust", turning the crown and moving the hour and minute hands forward until the correct date, day and time is reached - I tend not to use the quick-adjust mechanism to avoid potential problems. As you may have read, if you overshoot the date month year, you cannot "move the clock back" - only a skilled watchmaker should do that, in other words the IWC Service Center. The alternative is to let the power run out, and the watch stop, and then let real actual time catch up with the future date/mth/year captured in the watch.

The moon phase is already pre-set - and I believe according to the exact date (rather time in perpetuity), per the movement mechanism. This can give u an idea

Analogue date displays with hands have a long tradition in IWC watches featuring perpetual calendars. In the case of the Portuguese Perpetual Calendar, for instance, the date, day and month are to be found on three subdials and, thanks to the clear layout, are extremely easy to read. The classic moon phase display – whether a single moon, or a double one for the northern and southern hemispheres – is based on discs and is usually found at “12 o’clock”. The moon phase displays used in the Grande Complication and the Da Vinci Perpetual Calendar Edition Kurt Klaus are astonishingly accurate and deviate by just 0.002 percent, or one day, after 122 years. The Portuguese Perpetual Calendar is even more precise. Larger moon phase wheels with different numbers of teeth reduce the deviation so drastically that a future inheritor of the watch would theoretically need to take it to a watchmaker to have it adjusted by only one day in 577.5 years.

Thanks Shing: So let's recap.

1. Clearly you are correct moon phase must be pre-set based on the calender (not that hard considering it is cyclical).
2. Never adjust time between 8 pm and 2 AM
3. Don't overshoot date. If I do let the watch run out of reserve and re-adjust.

Thanks Interesting to see what happens when I travel forward to Europe and then come back..may just slap on the Rolex GMT!

Thanks Shing...highly appreciated.

Not owning a Perpetual Calendar (yet!) I may be wrong here and those who do have one please feel free to correct me but is it safe to say that you can wind the time forward / back as long as you dont try and go back over a date change? IE, you can wind the watch forward / back 1 hour to allow for DST changes as long as the winding back doesn't go past midnight?

Regards,

Ben

PS, congrats on the purchase decision, now the painful wait for it to turn up - a wait I am sure you will be more than pleased with!

re winding forward/back: I have nothing to back me up, but I have heard the same - that what Ben has said could be true. Would love it if this could be confirmed too.

btw, Patrick - congrats and welcome to the club. Time will certainly tell - as to whether that beauty is 'your last watch' :))). there is a disease that attaches itself to whoever roams in this forum or this website. The pictures, I am told, are particularly alluring, modern day sirens. beware !!! LOL.

congrats !

I own a "double moon" PPC and I can confirm that winding the watch back for some minutes or an hour is no problem provided you don't do it during the "prohibeted" time period.
The date and the moon phase are actually pre-set by the watchmaker during manufacturing. So you can be sure that the moon phase and the moon will be properly aligned. If not, such a deviation would be covered by the guarantee.
Any time / date setting is simply done by forward turning the crown, but never turn the calendar backwards. If you overshoot one day, then you can stop the watch by pulling out the crown in the time setting position. Of course you have to wait 24 hours. If the calendar is erroneously advanced weeks or even months, then you must be either very patient or send the watch to the watchmaker to have the calendar corrected.
Urs

I the PPC is within your budget, then get it. There is no perpetual calendar that is as nice at this price. I have the "value" IWC GST perpetual and love it. I did have one issue with the watch not changing dates correctly on a leap year which was quickly fixed by IWC. Since this time the perpetual calendar has been flawless. I do admit, changing timezones frequently with travel can be inconvenient depending on when you need move the time back. I have to admit that when traveling, I take one of my other IWCs. Look froward to photos of your new PPC.
Jeff

Patrick - congrats on your decision mate!!

I took the same one in July on a 502213, rose gold single moon phase PPC - and I have not regretted it for a single second, the PPC is simply to die for!!!

I actually took it from Europe to the US and back on its maiden voyage the day I got it, as I bought it at the Amsterdam airport. I can also confirm that adjusting the time 6 hours back and 6 hours forward, within the "allowed" time (not within 8 pm and 2 am), and not over a date shift (when adjusting the time back) was absolutely no problem.

Maybe I have one of the few PPCs that have seen different timezones - LOL??

I can also calm your nerves in saying that during the few months I have had it I have not had a single problem - FYI, I do keep it in the winder when I don't wear it. And my only regret is that I don't get to wear it enough :-)

Good luck, we look forward to the pictures!!!

I got my Portuguese Perpetual Calendar more than 7,5 years now without any problem at all. It keeps on running and running, without any mistake on date and moon. And when it stops because I am away on holiday, after winding the watch the quick set mechanism over the crown is very easy. As stated by me before, this mechanism is so easy to handle, that you could say the watch is boring, if it wouldn't be so excitingly beautiful.

Kind regards,
Paul

Patrick

Many congratulations on the completion of your MBA and also choosing such a honorable way to celebrate with such a magnificent watch.

I am restricted to admiring this masterpiece for the moment.

Hope time passes quickly until it is with you - looking forward to you forum follow up. Welcome to the forum family.

It is mainly the aquatimers and modern Ingenieurs with the arrow head on the second hand. The VC ingenieurs as well - as I look down on my wrist to my Laureus Ingenieur. In the archive you can find - with your exquisite skills - a post with many photo examples - I think it may have been my post.

Thanks Andrew, you're right - I thought only about other perpetuals given the topic, to the exclusion of other series which slipped my mind, like the Big Pilot Perpetual Calendar.