Complications Explained: The Triple Calendar

The triple calendar is a complication that is often times overlook by those looking for a calendar function. Most of the time, collectors land on the annual calendar which is much easier to use. The triple calendar, or triple date as it is also referred to, displays the month, day and date on the dial of the watch. It was originally created and implemented in pocket watches but took off in wrist watches in the 1920’s. It became an extremely popular complication in the 1940’s.

Obviously it was much more useful during this time because smartphones were not invented which can tell you all the necessary information right on the home screen. Vacheron Constantin was an integral part of the triple calendar movement - their reference 4240 is considered one of the best and is extremely desired by collectors due to its rarity.

The complication, as mentioned previously, displays the month, date and day. It does not track the amount of days in each month, so there is some manually changing that must occur. The annual calendar complication does keep track of the amount of days in each month which minimizes the amount of manual intervention. There are various ways to display the month, date and day. You can have separate sub-dials, window displays, or even the date around the outside of the watch.

The triple calendar often is put with a moonphase complication which creates a super classical and romantic looking watch. A chronograph is also often put with the the triple calendar, like in the Rolex 4767, which is one of our favourite complications.

Enjoy!