Every time a new Carl F. Bucherer hits our shores I endeavour to try it on. They’re not a watchmaker I get incredibly excited about, but I’ve yet to be disappointed. In fact, when it comes to their latest release, it’s one that I’m genuinely considering investing in myself – and for once, it’s not a Manero; it’s the Adamavi Full Calendar.
A full calendar is exactly the same thing as a complete calendar or a triple calendar; it just depends whose name is on the dial as to which terminology they use. It means it shows the date, here indicated around the edge of the dial; the day and month, shown through twin windows at 12 o’clock and a moon phase at six o’clock.
It basically has everything a perpetual or annual calendar does, minus the year, which is fine by me. If you need your watch to tell you the year, you’re either an unsuccessful time traveller or have just woken up from a coma. If the latter, don’t worry, you’ve not missed much.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a full calendar from Carl F. Bucherer, and not even the first using this movement as the CFB calibre 1966 was also used in the Manero Moonphase. In fact, the layout is exactly the same between the two. Yet while the Manero opts for a cool, retro racing kind of style, the Adamavi feels completely different.
The Adamavi is what I’d call a smart casual watch. The steel case feels nice and solid and the brushed finishing across the board is restrained and forgiving. At the same time, its 39mm sizing and gold indexes veer more towards eveningwear. As someone who’s insisted on shirts and jackets even throughout lockdown, it’s pretty perfect.
If there’s one downside to this particular full calendar layout, it’s the windows for day and month. They are incredibly small and make reading the lettering far harder than it needs to be. Sure, it keeps the elegant proportions of the dial and leaves room for that peripheral date, but I want legibility from my watch as a bare minimum.
Minor gripes aside, it is an incredibly handsome watch in both the black and silver dials. I’m a little split between the two dial variations though. I generally prefer the silver, which emphasises the brushed finish and trends closer towards the dressier end of the spectrum. The only downside though is that the day and month windows, already small, all but blend into the background.
Either way, I’d opt for bracelet over strap. Straps are fine and perhaps a bit more formal, but the key difference is that the case is slightly different between the two. The strap version is pretty standard with your usual, tapered lugs. The bracelet on the other hand opts for a module that connects directly to the case, stripping the lugs away. The result is a charming, more vintage feeling watch that emphasises the bold bezel. It’s downright lovely.
All in all, there’s a lot of watch here for what is, compared to other full calendars out there, not a lot of money: £3,200 to be precise. That puts them in the same kind of realm as Montblanc, though I’d probably go for one of these over, say, a Montblanc Heritage or Star Legacy.
In fact, if you’re insisting on a full calendar, the Adamavi is a solid choice – no matter what you stack it up against.
Price & Specs:
Model: Carl F. Bucherer Adamavi Full Calendar
Reference: 00.10324.08.13.21 (silver dial)
00.10324.08.33.21 (black dial)
Case/Dial: 39mm diameter x 10.10mm height, stainless steel
Movement: In-house CFB 1966 calibre, automatic, 21 jewels
Water Resistance: 30m (3 bar)
Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
Power Reserve: 42h
Functions: Hour, minute, seconds, date, month, day of the week, moon phase
Strap: Stainless steel bracelet
Price/Availability: £3,200
More details at Carl F. Bucherer.
