BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
I keep saying in my articles that now is probably the best time for watchmaking since the Quartz Crisis began in the 20th century. We’re experiencing a renaissance of watchmakers all coming to the table with their unique and creative approaches to modern horology. Today, we’re looking at a watchmaker I’d never heard of before writing this called Hulsman, and they’re bringing forth their new Easy Perpetual watch.
Founder & Owner, Machiel Hulsman
It’s fair to say that the perpetual calendar is one of the “big daddy” complications when it comes to mechanical watchmaking, you see them paired often with tourbillons or chronographs or even minute repeaters to make “grand complication” watches. The perpetual calendar is probably the most useful complication of all those ones unless you really have a use for your chronograph, but setting them after they stop can be a chore.
White gold version
Hulsman’s Easy Perpetual simplifies the setting-up process and does away with the dinky pushers you often find on the sides of calendar watches. Instead, the crown has a special position which, when set, advances the entire calendar forwards by four days at a time. If you go too far, there is a separate position in the crown allowing you to wind the calendar backwards, eliminating the need to tediously go forwards all the time like on most calendar watches. Have you ever used a watch with a date window that lets you set it backwards as well as forwards? It’s convenient, and Hulsman’s Easy Perpetual is like that but, like, way more convenient given the extra complications. Intriguingly, the crown’s mechanism also knows if the date isn’t quite set properly, as sometimes the date wheels can “slip”. If that happens, the system blocks the crown, meaning you can’t damage it by setting it when the date isn’t correctly aligned. I’m still not going to test that, though, if I get my hands on one.
Rose gold version
The Easy Perpetual’s display is also quite intriguing. The dial is a curious setup featuring the time with a pointer date going around the dial edge. Two small round cutouts at the 12 O’clock position show more information, with the one on the left being the power reserve indicator which turns orange and then red when the watch needs winding, while the one on the right is a day/night indicator. The 6 O’clock position reveal’s the watch’s balance wheel which appears to be floating, I assume it’s attached to the sapphire crystal insert for stability and a great view.
Yellow gold version
Of course, the most noticeable parts of the display are the date and day indicators, which utilise specifically designed prisms and lenses to magnify the text onto displays on the side of the case. I can’t think of a reason why Hulsman would do this other than because they can. It seems like a lot of extra work, but it does look good. Something to connect with your emotions rather than follow your brain’s logic. It’s also a nice touch that the date hand jumps over the cutouts for these displays. The leap year indicator is displayed through the caseback.
Despite the apparent complexity of it all, the case of Hulsman’s Easy Perpetual measures just 39mm x 9.5mm with 30m of water resistance, and the open lugs are a nice detail too.
Perhaps the nicest part of all this is that these watches will be made to order, meaning they’re somewhat customisable. They’re making 13, with 12 going to customers and one being auctioned to raise money for charity. The 12 watches will be quite customisable with details such as the colour of gold the cases use and the dial materials being left to the customer. The customer will need to have some cash, though, as the price for one of these is €138,000 excluding VAT.
