Habring² Teams Up With SJX To Add a Perpetual Calendar to the Monopusher Chrono Felix

Habring² is the two-person workshop of Richard and Maria Habring in Völkermarkt, Austria, and it makes some of the most interesting watches in independent watchmaking. They're simple but complicated and all together very delightful. SJX is the Singapore watch publication run by journalist Su Jiaxian. The two have already collaborated on the Erwin “Star”, a dead-beat seconds watch with star indices, and the Chrono Felix “Medicus”, a monopusher chronograph. This Habring² x SJX Chrono Felix Perpetual “Star” is the third and final watch in the series takes the stars from the first and the monopusher from the second, then adds a perpetual calendar, and at $28,500 it will set you back a fraction of what the big houses charge for the same combination.

The steel case is 38.5mm wide and 13mm thick, with polished and brushed finishes. Those are excellent numbers for a chronograph QP. 13mm might be on the thicker side for a watch in general, but a bezel that steps down three times hides much of the height, and if you look at the 4 o'clock position on the bezel you'll see recessed correctors for the perpetual calendar. Great work on that. Sure, you'll need a stylus to set the calendar, but that's the price of using a module rather than an integrated movement. There are sapphire crystals on both sides, domed and anti-reflective up front, and water resistance is not spectacular at 30 meters. But come on, a hand-built chronograph with a perpetual calendar. What more could you want?

The dial is glossy black lacquer, and every printed or applied element on it is gold colored. That includes the moon disc, which would usually be blue, with a tone-on-tone frosted moon on top. The sub-dials are matte with concentric rings and sit slightly recessed. Eight applied gold stars are used as hour markers. The layout is as follows: moon phase and 30-minute counter at 12, day at three, month and leap year at six, date at nine. On paper it should be too much. In practice it looks fantastic.

Inside is the hand-wound calibre A11CP. The A11 chronograph base started life as a Valjoux 7750, but Habring² has replaced most of its parts with components made in-house or by independent suppliers, and it is a far better movement for it. On top sits a Dubois-Depraz perpetual calendar module, adapted to work with the monopusher and to let the crown handle the day correction, so there’s one fewer corrector in the case. It beats at 4Hz with 48 hours of power reserve, and the steel chronograph levers are finished by Pöhlmann-Bresan, visible through the caseback. The strap is brown calfskin with an aged look and a steel pin buckle stamped with a star.

The Habring² x SJX Chrono Felix Perpetual “Star” will only be made in 30 pieces, each numbered on the caseback and sold exclusively through SJX, priced at $28,500 before tax. See more on the SJX website.