Watch Dandy

When I say “perpetual calendar,” this probably isn’t what comes to mind. You’re likely imagining something like the ceramic Royal Oak Perpetual calendar or the more traditional Patrimony Perpetual. But this little desk-top device of the same name is a manual timekeeper that the user sets each morning and then references throughout the day. It’s called a perpetual calendar because, in theory, it will work forever. The Perpetuum Calendar comes to us from 3D-printed design firm OTHR and Spanish designers Studio Yonoh and it’s about as cool a balance spring–free perpetual calendar as you’ll find anywhere.

In the 21st century, mechanical watchmaking has become almost exclusively a thing of luxury and curiosity. It has very few practical purposes that cannot be better served with electronic timekeepers of various kinds. But, scientists at the University Hospital of Bern have discovered a way to use the most basic of automatic watch winding technology – the swinging rotor – as a power source for pacemakers, reducing the need for battery changes and possible failures.