The Jubilee desktop perpetual calendar was produced to commemorate 300 years of the Royal House of Romanov on the Russian throne. The calendar is made of aluminium, at that time a rare and precious metal. The face of the metal body is a stamped decorative plaque featuring the profiles of two tsars of the Romanov dynasty: Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich, the first of the Romanovs to rule Russia, and Emperor Nicholas II, reigning monarch at the time of the jubilee. The face of the case is stamped with two dates, 1613, the ascendance of the dynasty, and 1913, the year of the 300th anniversary. The current date was displayed with the help of knobs turned by hand.

The first Romanov on the Russian throne was Mikhail Fyodorovich, scion of an ancient boyar family. He was elected to reign in 1613. By the 19th century, the royal family had expanded enough to warrant a special law detailing the rights and obligations of individuals related to august personages. Distant relatives of the monarch were granted the title of Princes of Imperial Blood.

The Royal Mint in St. Petersburg struck commemorative medals in precious metals with the profiles of Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich and Emperor Nicholas II; similar portraits adorned every shop window in the country. The mechanical perpetual calendar on display was part of the merchandise produced for the jubilee.