OK, here we go: this is simply the most arresting watch I have seen all year. And I have seen quite a few. 

Perrelet have created what they describe as “[t]he world’s first automatic Regulator watch with retrograde hours with its unique combination of separate hour and minute displays”.

Some more detail from Perrelet about the retrograde hours concept:

Within Perrelet’s new, exclusive calibre P-221, manufactured in the finest watchmaking workshops in the Vallée de Joux, the ‘Retrograde Hours’ model is equipped with an impressive aperture which is split into 12 zones for the 12 hours and corresponds to half a day.

When the hour hand reaches the end of the 12th segement and the minute hands arrives in the 59 minute zone, the hour hand performs a retrograde jump, moving to the beginning of the 1st segement to resume its twelve-hour cycle until the next jump between 12:59 pm and 13:01 pm or between 00:59 am and 1:01 am. The minute hand is located in the central axis of the watch within a large counter positioned at 6 o’clock.

This model will be available in the summer, in either a pink gold or stainless steel case. I think I’ll prefer the pink gold. Watch this space, I’ll be writing an update when the watches become available.