Old-School Design: Laurent Ferrier Galet Annual Calendar School Piece “Vintage”

The newest version of Laurent Ferrier’s GPHG Award-Winning Galet Annual Calendar School Piece, previously offered with gold cases and black or white opaline dials, pays tribute to the champagne-dialed vintage models of the 1950s. Limited to just five pieces, the Galet Annual Calendar School Piece “Vintage” combines a 40-mm steel case with a new opaline dial finished in a matte yellow-gold tone.

The pebble-shaped “galet” case established in earlier versions of the Annual Calendar School Piece is notable for its straight, thin lugs, designed to evoke the look of early wristwatches, which were essentially converted pocketwatches, and its easy-to-grip ball-shaped crown. The pale, patina-look opaline dial, under a domed sapphire crystal, uses white-gold, ruthenium-treated “Assegai” hands to indicate the hour and minute, and a small baton hand, also ruthenium-treated, for the small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock. A white, center-mounted hand points to the date on a scale of vintage-style Arabic numerals, numbered 1-31, around the periphery of the dial, while the day and month appear in two beveled apertures above the center, below 12 o’clock. The calendar-display scale is composed of brown painted numerals from 1 to 30 and a red-painted “31” at the top.

Like its predecessors, the watch is equipped with Laurent Ferrier’s manual-winding Caliber LF126.01, visible through a sapphire caseback. In addition to its host of haute horlogerie finishes — côtes de Genève with ruthenium treatment on the bridges, circular graining on the mainplate, manually chamfered sides and angles, polished screw heads — the movement incorporates a very user-friendly integration of its annual calendar functions. A button on the side of the case advances the day of the week, while all other adjustments are made via the crown, which allows for moving the date and month backward and forward with a simple turn in either direction. Of course, like all annual calendar watches, this one requires only one adjustment per year — providing it remains fully wound during that period — from February 28 or 29 to March 1. Other technical elements worthy of mention include the long blade-type click ratchet, which is mirror-polished and boasts a “rounded off” finish; a variable inertia balance, with screws affixed to the balance wheel’s rim that allow easy adjusting of the rate; and an indicator of the movement’s 80-hour power reserve on the rear side.

The Laurent Ferrier Galet Annual Calendar School Piece “Vintage” is mounted on a honey-colored alligator leather strap with color-coordinated Alcantara lining, and offered with either a pin buckle or double-blade folding clasp to fasten it to its owner’s wrist. The five pieces in this ultra-exclusive edition are priced at CHF 50,000.