Berneron Quantieme Annuel: A New Benchmark In Calendar Watchmaking
- December 23, 2025
Berneron’s Next Chapter in complications
When Berneron unveiled the Mirage, it felt like a manifesto for what modern independent watchmaking could be. The Quantieme Annuel is not just the “next model” but the moment the brand steps confidently into high complication territory while keeping its collector friendly ethos completely intact.
Founded by Sylvain Berneron in Neuchatel, the brand still operates like a true microbrand in spirit, with production measured in dozens of pieces per year and components sourced within a tight radius in the Jura and Neuchatel region. That local, almost artisanal approach is now pointed at one of the most misunderstood but rewarding complications in everyday watch life the annual calendar.
Presented here in its silver opalin 38 millimeter execution, the Berneron Quantieme Annuel aims to be the complicated watch you actually wear daily rather than a safe queen you are scared to set or scratch. And the more time you spend with its Caliber 595 and clever “steel layer” case construction, the more that promise feels very real and very deliberate (time will definitely tell on this one).
A Case of discreet complexity
On paper, the case sounds almost conservative 38 millimeter diameter, 45 millimeter lug to lug and only 10 millimeters thick, with 30 meters of water resistance. In the metal, it feels like a quiet flex, because this is a full platinum Pt950 case wrapped in a removable 904L steel “exoskeleton” that exists for one purpose long term protection for a very serious piece of watchmaking.
Platinum is glorious but notoriously soft and tedious to refinish, so Berneron’s steel layer concept uses six individually replaceable steel components that take the abuse while the noble metal beneath stays pristine. It is a very collector centric solution, the kind of idea that clearly comes from someone who has lived with precious metal watches and worried about desk diving scars.
Then there is the crown activated officer case back, a charming nod to pocket watches that is also entirely pragmatic. A discreet action opens the hinged back to reveal the movement, while in daily life it shields Caliber 595 from shocks and UV light and it also gives future owners a poetic canvas for engraving.
A Dial that Guides the Eye
The dial of the Quantieme Annuel is where the user experience brief really comes alive. In silver mat opalin over an 18k gold base plate, the layout “reads” almost from left to right like a sentence, with sequenced information and enlarged apertures that make this one of the most legible annual calendars on the market.
Four instantaneous jumping apertures carry the key calendar indications, supported by two sweeping hands and a retrograde date that arcs elegantly and then snaps back at the end of the month. The digital jumping hour, running minutes and calendar indications share the space without crowding each other which is no small feat when you remember that an annual calendar must encode months of varying length as well as the quirky February logic.
Legibility is enhanced by the careful hierarchy of fonts and framing, so your eye always knows what to read first, then second, then third. It feels almost “designed from scratch” rather than a traditional three hand watch with windows slapped on which, for anyone who has ever squinted at a busy perpetual calendar in low light, is a huge quality of life upgrade (think of it as calendar UX rather than just a dial, if that is even a thing..).
Caliber 595 and its Cross Architecture
Perhaps the biggest distinction lies under the hood, where Caliber 595 brings a genuinely original architecture to a complication that is usually handled in fairly traditional ways. This manually wound annual calendar movement uses a cross shaped layout with a double regulator one dedicated to timekeeping, the other to the calendar which allows Berneron to sequence the dial indications exactly as intended.
The movement is built on an 18k gold mainplate and bridges, spans 30 millimeters in diameter and just 5.95 millimeters in thickness, and packs 476 components and 33 jewels. It beats at 21,600 vibrations per hour, stores 100 hours of power reserve via twin barrels and relies on a free sprung balance and traditional Swiss lever escapement, so the fundamentals are classic even if the overall construction is quite radical.
Energy management is where things get properly geeky. To guarantee stable amplitude even during heavy “jump moments” such as midnight on December 31, Caliber 595 stores energy simultaneously in four different places over 12 hours, 24 hours, 7 days and 31 days, feeding it into four remontoirs or equivalent spring cams for the jumping displays. The result is a choreography of jumps that is both precise and mechanically kind to the movement, rather than the usual amplitude dive many calendar watches suffer.
A smarter Annual Calendar
Fundamentally, an annual calendar is designed to know which months have 30 or 31 days and to only require correction once a year at the end of February. In the Quantieme Annuel, the logic is optimized so that the calendar is effectively programmed for 29 days in February, requiring three quick corrections over four years, even in leap years where some classical systems display impossible “30 February” indications.
The safety system is another area where Berneron has done the hard thinking on behalf of the owner. Try to perform a dangerous correction such as changing the month on January 31 and the mechanism simply “refuses” to create a non existent date, instead jumping cleanly to 1 February with all interactions buffered by break proof protections. It is the kind of mechanical nanny that means you can set your watch after a long stint in the safe without that familiar anxiety of “am I about to wreck this.”
Despite all of this sophistication, daily use is intentionally straightforward. Setting is concentrated into a logical quick set sequence, and day to day interaction is reduced to winding and glancing the watch does the rest, quietly handling the messy realities of the Gregorian calendar. If the Mirage felt like wearable art, the Quantieme Annuel feels like a high complication deliberately tamed for everyday wrist time.
Strap Comfort and wearing Experience
Berneron pairs the Quantieme Annuel with a 20 to 16 millimeter Barenia leather strap, a material choice that fits the brand’s discreet luxury language perfectly. Barenia, with its famously soft hand and graceful aging, makes the watch feel more like a cherished object from day one rather than something you need to “break in” over months.
The 45 millimeter lug to lug keeps the watch well within the sweet spot for a broad range of wrists, and at 10 millimeters thick it slides neatly under a cuff despite the officer back and complex movement architecture. The 904L steel buckle and spring bars echo the protective steel layer of the case and give the whole package a pleasing material coherence once you notice those details you cannot unsee them.
On the wrist, the weight of platinum combined with the compact footprint is intoxicating. It is dense, reassuring and absolutely not shouty in the way some large complicated pieces can be this feels more like a deeply personal object that just happens to encode an absurd amount of thought and engineering (it’s the kind of watch you find yourself checking even when you already know the time).
Why the Berneron Quantieme Annuel is Special
What Berneron has built here is not merely another high priced independent watch but a coherent answer to how complicated calendars should work for actual collectors. Several aspects stand out in a crowded field of annual and perpetual calendars from big group brands and old school maisons.
- User centric calendar logic the sequenced dial, large apertures and intuitive cross architecture make this one of the most legible annual calendar watches on the market, especially compared to traditional multi sub dial layouts
- Foolproof safety and setting the built in protections and intelligent reset behavior dramatically reduce the risk of owner error, which is a historic Achilles heel of complicated calendar watches
- Precious metal movement and case the combination of a platinum case with 18k gold movement plates and bridges places the Quantieme Annuel in rarefied company even among independent watchmakers and elevates the tactile experience
- Steel layer longevity concept the six part 904L steel exoskeleton that can be replaced over the life of the watch is a genuinely fresh idea that puts long term wear squarely at the center of the design brief
- True independent ethos limited to around 24 pieces per year per dial color and built within a small geographic radius in Switzerland, this is a watch that retains the soul of a microbrand while operating at haute horlogerie levels.
Closing Thoughts
The Quantieme Annuel feels like the moment Berneron proves that its breakthrough debut with the Mirage was no accident but the opening chapter of a much larger story in high end independent watchmaking.
If you are the kind of collector who actually wants to live with an annual calendar on the wrist rather than worry about it in the safe, this is one of the most compelling takes on the complication right now combining real mechanical ingenuity, precious metal opulence and an almost obsessive focus on user experience (the sort of watch that quietly rewrites your expectations of what a “complicated daily wearer” can be).
Specifications:
Brand – Berneron
Model – Quantieme Annuel (Silver)
Case Material – Pt950 platinum core with 904L steel protective layer components, officer case back
Case Dimensions – 38 millimeter diameter, 10 millimeter thickness, 45 millimeter lug to lug
Water Resistance – 30 meters 3 ATM
Strap – Barenia leather, 20 to 16 millimeter, 904L steel buckle and spring bars
Crystal – Sapphire front and back, inner anti reflective coating
Movement – Caliber 595, hand wound annual calendar and jumping hour, 18k gold mainplate and bridges, free sprung balance, 21,600 vph, 476 components, 33 jewels
Power Reserve – 100 hours
Limited Edition – Yes, approximately 24 pieces per year per dial color
Price – CHF 140000 list (~€150000) excluding VAT
Official store link here.
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About Berneron Quantieme Annuel: Key Questions Answered
Is the Berneron Quantieme Annuel suitable as a daily wearer
From a comfort and functionality perspective yes the dimensions are compact, the calendar logic is user friendly and the steel layer plus safety mechanisms are specifically designed to make daily wear and setting stress free, though the platinum and pricing inevitably make it a considered choice for most collectors.
How often does the calendar need correcting
The annual calendar only needs regular correction once per year around the end of February, with additional minor adjustments spread over the four year cycle because the mechanism is effectively programmed for a 29 day February baseline.
How does it compare to the Mirage
The Mirage is a purist time only statement with asymmetrical case and Caliber 233, whereas the Quantieme Annuel brings a more classical round case, more traditional wrist presence and a far more complex movement oriented around calendar function and daily usability.
