I got a sneak preview of this watch a few months ago and am happy to now be able to show it to you. This is the Artya Perpetual Calendar watch – it combines an exclusive manufacture movement with a surprisingly clean and technical design from the “art watch” brand. The Perpetual Calendar will be available as 10 limited edition pieces. Each piece will have its own materials and colors so that it is totally unique.
The first thing I noticed about the watch was the bezel. According to Artya’s Yvan Apra, the bezel was influenced by the art and style of Stargate – which is essentially futuristic ancient Egyptian. Aside from looking really cool, the engraved design includes hieroglyphics that actually say something (though I am not sure what). The motto of the watch is actually very ancient Egyptian in theme and is “Vita brevis, ars longa.” Thank you Artya for helping to keep my knowledge of Latin fresh – that means “life is short, but art is eternal.” We all need things to leave behind for the world to remember us by right?
The case here is in steel, in Artya’s standard case that I believe is 45mm wide. There will also be versions in PVD black steel as well as in rose gold. The dial is actually quite minimalist for Artya – who applies their decorative style sparingly. You really only see “Artya” in the hands (of which there are six). The focus is on the movement which is the Caliber MHO138 (more details below). The perpetual calendar movement is manually wound with 66 hours of power reserve. It has the time, date, day, and month. Reading the indicators is done by the hands – but they don’t move. You read where the hands are pointing, as the discs under them move. It is an interesting rendition on the skeletonized dial concept and feels in-line with Artya’s “organic aesthetic.” Also worth mentioning is that the movement uses silicum for in the escapement – which itself is said to be modeled after a system invented by watch maker Martin Braun.
While the watch feels very different from what I have come to expect from Artya, I do always expect to be surprised by the brand’s latest offering. The Perpetual Calendar is both weird and wonderful, and certainly polarizing. I love the look of the MH0130 movement as well as the bezel design. Not sure about price yet, but there will only be 10 ‘piece uniques’ in the set.
Movement tech specs from Artya:
Description Caliber MHO138
The movement series 138 is a Manufacture Handwinding movement with 39.5 mm Diameter and following equipment.
– 39.5 mm Diameter
– 8.00 mm Height of the movement
– 60 Jewels with 144 hours of Power Reserve
– 18.000 A/h (bph)
– Adjusted in 5 positions
– DYS Escapement (Dynamized Swiss Escapment after Martin Braun)
– Silicium Anchor
– Silcium Escapement Wheel
– Fine Adjustment System
– Power Reserve Indicator
– Balance with screws, made out of Glucydur
– All wheels made after Geneva Seal Standard with „Moulure“
– Zyclovente gear teeth. The teeth are modified by MHO, a mix between Zycloid and Involute teeth, combining the advantages out of both gear teeth kinds.
Perpetual calendar
Indication with hands on discs and engravings