On the Sky-Dweller and Annual Calendars

[FrontHeadlock]

The Annual Calendar has always struck me as one of the "least bang for your buck" complications available, and it that vein I think it makes the Sky-Dweller a bit overrated from a complications perspective.

First, consider the lack of importance of an annual calendar. While one might wish to time something on a chronograph, or have a reference timezone on a GMT, the annual calendar is surprisingly useless. When it comes to the calendar, having a date complication is useful, because especially if one is not near an electronic device, remembering the exact date can sometimes be a pain. It's quite common for people to forget the date, and so having the date on one's watch can solve that problem. Similarly, one can also easily forget the day of the week, and so even the Rolex Day-Date is a complication of some use.

But how often does one forget the MONTH? I'd guess almost never. And even at the end of a month into a new month, the date complication tells you all you need to know. Is today May 1? You aren't sure. A quick look at your watch will show "31" and the absurdity of April 31 will lead you to conclude quickly that it's May 1.

Some might say that an annual calendar is a benefit because you only have to change the date once a year, but that is overstated. Because most months have 31 days, you only have to change the date on a watch with a date complication 5 times per year compared to once for an annual calendar. And on any watch with a quick date set, it's as simple as advancing the date by a single day 4 times per year. Not too big a deal. On the other hand, a perpetual calendar is actually quite impressive not only for its feat of engineering, but also because an owner quite possibly will not have to change the date for his entire life, or only once at the absolute most.

Once a watch has a date complication, pretty much ANY other complication is more useful to me than an annual calendar, and if I want a calendar complication, the perpetual is vastly superior.

For those reasons, the annual calendar complication on the Sky-Dweller is fairly overrated. In fact, given that the watch is marketed as the ultimate watch for frequent travelers, I actually think the day of the week combined with the GMT and the date would have been more useful, or even a complication that would give the wearer the day of the week (or the date) for both the current time zone as well as the 2nd time zone, since someone who travels long distances might forget that the other time zone is a different date or day of the week.

Any arguments to the contrary?