The last days of the SIHH turned out rather strange for me, as I was down with a severe flu, and unable to publish anything about the new timepieces. I’ll make up for that with a very nice black & white (monochrome!) impression from the fair and loads of articles and hands-on reports next week. 

One of the remarkable developments was that both Montblanc and Baume & Mercier launched a very nice automatic timepiece with a full calendar. Meehna Goldsmith from the Christies Blog also noticed this and did a nice write-up about it (check it here). Both watches are priced below $ 5,000 USD and feature a complete calendar and moon phase.

The Montblanc Star Quantième Complet (complete calendar in English) sports the typical Montblanc style that we can recognize in more models, including in the new Nicolas Rieussec Rising Hours. The Montblanc comes in either red gold or stainless steel and the case measures 42 mm in diameter.

On a Full Calendar watch the date has to be adjusted for every month with less then 31 days. With an Annual Calendar you just have to adjust the date for the month February. Only a Perpetual Calendar doesn’t need a bi-monthly or yearly adjustment.

Baume & Mercier found inspiration in their own history for the Clifton Complete Calendar Moon Phase as it features a lovely retro 1950′s style. It’s an addition to the previously released Clifton that we told you about here. The B&M is available in stainless steel only, with two dial colors, being silver/white or blue. As you could see in that previous Clifton artcile, Baume & Mercier invested in some great mood photos.

Judging from the dial layout, both watches feature the exact same movement and/or calendar module. The stainless steel models are both priced just below $5k USD. Great watches, great value for money, so the choice for either of these two boils down to your personal taste.

More info through the Montblanc website here or the Baume & Mercier website here.

This article is written by Frank Geelen, executive editor for Monochrome Watches.