It's not uncommon to pay attention to sustainability and sustainable design these days. Fair enough, but what could then be perpetual design? Does such a concept exist or did the movement reach its pinnacle already when Pyramids of Giza were erected?

I ran across an advertisement from IWC, Swiss clocksmiths. The Portuguese Perpetual Calendar is an all mechanical watch with its dials programmed until year 2499. Part of the array is a moon phase display that deviates one day in 577 years. It's all very impressive – just take a look at their demonstration video (Quicktime, 22 MB).

What I don't get is, how does the use of crocodile leather in the wristband get along with the idea of half-millennial watch. Unless there's no idea beyond showing off, which would be a pity. Then again, what were the pyramids for?

Recently scientists figured out the workings of the Antikythera Mechanism, a 2000-year-old Greek analogue celestial computer – dragged from the Mediterranean in 1900. If an owner of IWC watch threw it into floodtide after its calendar had run out in 2499, how much could the archaeologists of 4499 recover and make out from its remains? Probably more than from his iPod's.

Picture from www.iwc.ch