There is no finer way to keep track of the date than a Pirelli Calendar. Unfortunately, the calendar has never been an item your mere dollars could purchase as it’s never been sold commercially. So your hopes of replacing the corporate gift 365 day golf tips calendar are far from being realized. For the lucky gentlemen that know someone that know someone that know someone that can get them one, you are envied.

The Pirelli Calendar has been a yearly gift to the company’s top clients and other VIPs. The calendar features world-renowned photographers such as Richard Avedon, Mario Testino, Herb Ritts, Norman Parkinson, Bruce Weber, and Annie Leibovitz showcasing names you might better recognize: Iman, Cindy Crawford, Sophia Loren, Naomi Watts, Penelope Cruz and Gisele Bundchen to name a few. Seriously, just look at that photograph. (French Riviera - March, 2006)

For the rest of us, our options of date-beauty-tracking are improved with the Complete Pirelli Calendar Collection, Years 1964-2007 (we’ve seen 2008’s calendar and you’re not missing anything, unless you have a fascination with Geishas). This book contains all the photographs of the calendars for the last 43 years and the never-published calendar of 1963. It also includes behind-the-scenes photographs as well as text (oh yes, you’ll be poring over the text… I’m sure of it) that follows the evolution of the calendar over the past forty years.

What this means to you: You may not be the VIP that gets one of these calendars but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the same love of, ahem, art as we do.

Cost: $54 @ Amazon