THE MILESTONE WATCHES OF AUDEMARS PIGUET

THE WORLD OF FINE WATCHES
SPOTLIGHT
www.watchtime.com
THE MILESTONE
WATCHES OF
AUDEMARS PIGUET
PRESENTED BY
WATCHTIME
MAGAZINE
AUDEMARS
PIGUET
al
c
i
log e the
o
r
ho re ar nd’s
r
fo He bra
n
s
.
ow ears Swis
n
k
y
en 120 n the
e
s b an es i
a
h
h
et ore t epiec
u
Pig r m t tim
s
ar s fo tan
m
de ation por ry.
u
A ov t im isto
inn mos us h
14 strio
er
nn
u
u
l
r
il
.B
tL
THE MILESTONE
WATCHES OF
AUDEMARS
PIGUET
er
isB
G
By
MILESTONES
Audemars Piguet
1892/1907
1921
MINUTE REPEATER
Audemars Piguet is among the pioneers of the minute-repeater wristwatch. The company completed its first such
timepiece, for Louis Brandt & Frère, in Bienne in 1892. The
first model to bear the Audemars Piguet signature on the dial
followed in 1906. The relatively small size of the movement
and its case appealed to connoisseurs of that era, who believed that genuine virtuosity expressed itself in uncommonly
small dimensions. Audemars Piguet delivered the wristwatch,
with its pillow-shaped gold case and its movement measuring
only 22.56 mm in diameter, to Gübelin Jewelers in Lucerne in
1906. One year later, Audemars Piguet cased hand-wound
caliber SMV, bearing the number 11649 and measuring
27.07 mm in diameter, inside a white- and yellow-gold case
and shipped that watch to Metric Watch in New York. The
American importer had specially ordered it for John Shaeffer,
a successful industrialist who wanted his name prominently
displayed on the dial. When the 12 indices are read clockwise,
they spell out his name.
1921
FULL CALENDAR
Calendar mechanisms rank among the
oldest complications that can be added to
mechanical movements. For technical
reasons, they are usually installed directly
below the dial. Full calendars indicate the
date, the day of the week, and the month,
but require manual correction at the end
of all months with fewer than 31 days
and on New Year’s Eve. This arrangement of functions is found in the handwound caliber that was completed in
1921 and bears the number 31996. Audemars Piguet bought the 10-ligne base
caliber (GHSM 17/12) from the move-
ment manufacturer LeCoultre. Three
hands indicate the day, date and month.
There’s also a moon-phase display at 6
o’clock; its disk has exactly 59 teeth, and
two small moons are positioned opposite
each other on the front of the display. The
watch thus approximates each lunar cycle to 29.5 days. Audemars Piguet also included two inset buttons in the flanks of
the rectangular, white-gold case to make
manual corrections easy. As was usual on
Audemars Piguet watches from this era,
the dial bears the signature of the retailer
— in this case, “E. Gübelin Lucerne.”
HEURE SAUTANTE
The manner in which watches display the
time has changed over the years with
fashions and tastes. In the early 20th century, digital time displays became a popular alternative to the classical analog style
with hands. Audemars Piguet introduced
its first wristwatches with digital “jumping hours” in 1921; the display’s unusual
appearance was a major selling point in
those days. But the little disk, printed
with numerals for the hours, also had its
shortcomings: reading the hour wasn’t always easy, especially in poor lighting. The
1926
CALIBER 2003
Extra-slim calibers are prized by horological connoisseurs. The reason:
tolerances shrink as constructive height is reduced, so very conscientious
craftsmanship is required from the movement’s designers and assemblers.
Audemars Piguet has specialized in such slim movements for generations.
It introduced the world’s thinnest pocketwatch, which contained a movement based on a LeCoultre ébauche, in 1925. The hand-wound movement is a mere 1.32 mm thick: it was completed and finely adjusted at
Audemars Piguet. Together with LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet developed
another milestone in the years prior to 1946: ultra-thin hand-wound Caliber 2003 is a mere 1.64 mm thick and 20.3 millimeters in diameter. Unlike other constructions, which sometimes malfunctioned under rough
wearing conditions, Caliber 2003 proved to be very reliable, which partly explains why this caliber is still produced today, and still used in elegantly slim timepieces like the two-handed wristwatch shown here.
version pictured here, which had windows cut into the metallic front of its
case, was delivered to the American retailer Metric Watch in 1926. Unlike the
fragile glass or Plexiglas crystals that
were commonly found on wristwatches
of that era, the little windows on the front
of this one are practically immune to
shocks and hard knocks. The rectangular,
white-gold case contains hand-wound
Caliber GHSM, which is 22.5 millimeters
in diameter and a mere 2.8 millimeters
thick.
MILESTONES
Audemars Piguet
1957
1972
PERPETUAL CALENDAR
Perpetual calendars “know” the various
lengths of the months in ordinary years
with 365 days and also in leap years with
366 days. Audemars Piguet debuted its
first pocketwatches with this complication
in 1883, but did not equip a wristwatch
with it until the mid-20th century, and then
only in very small numbers. To the best of
contemporary knowledge, AP only made
nine of these perpetual calendar timepieces
(all with manual winding) between 1957
and 1969. The base movement is the 13ligne Caliber VZSS, which shows the sec-
ROYAL OAK
onds on a subdial at 6 o’clock. With a
Dubois Dépraz calendar module mounted
on its front side, the 29.5-mm movement is
designated as Caliber VZSSQP. The screw
balance, which oscillates at a pace of 2.5
Hz, has a generous diameter of 12 mm.
Audemars Piguet offered these gold watches with two different calendar assemblies.
Both feature an ordinary month-hand at 3
o’clock as well as a leap-year indicator and
a moon-phase display, but one version
shows the moon at 12 o’clock while the
other puts it at 6 o’clock.
1967
AUTOMATIC
CALIBER 2120
Audemars Piguet took its first steps into the world of self-winding
watches with automatic Caliber 2499 in 1956. This movement was
supplied exclusively to Audemars Piguet by the LeCoultre ébauche
manufacturer. It measured 13 lignes in diameter and was relatively
thick, at 5.4 millimeters. Caliber family 207x, which AP first used in
1958, was also not particularly slim, measuring 5.1 mm. It wasn’t
until 1967 that Audemars Piguet could manifest its philosophy of ultra-slim construction in automatic movements. Caliber 2120, which
debuted in 1967, refutes the opinion that a functional thickness of
less than 3 mm can only be achieved by including a microrotor.
Equipped with a central rotor, this caliber is just 2.45 millimeters
thick – an unprecedented feat in mechanical watchmaking. Again,
LeCoultre assisted with the development of this 12½-ligne movement. The rotor has a 21k-gold segment and runs atop four peripherally arranged ruby rollers. It originally used a Gyromax balance
with a freely breathing flat hairspring paced at 19,800 vph, but this
initial version was succeeded by Caliber 2120/1, with a Glucydur annular balance and a regulator mechanism. (Caliber 2120/1 should
not be confused with version 2121, which includes a date display.)
In 1970, representatives from the French, Swiss and Italian
markets turned to Audemars Piguet in their common quest
for a new wristwatch that would be simultaneously elegant,
sporty and exclusive. When the object of their desire debuted
in 1972, it came as something of a surprise to visitors at that
year’s watch fair in Basel. The brand’s former chief Georges
Golay had commissioned designer Gérald Genta to create
the new watch, which boasted an appealing porthole-like appearance, a screwed octagonal bezel and a linked bracelet.
Audemars Piguet manufactured the entire piece from stainless steel. Despite its high price (for the time), the first series
of 1,000 watches quickly sold out. Connoisseurs called for
more – and Audemars Piguet responded by eventually developing an entire collection. The watch’s name was influenced
by its maritime design: England’s King Charles II, fleeing
from his enemies after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester in
1651, concealed himself inside the hollow trunk of a great
oak tree, which would later be known as the “Royal Oak.”
Several battleships of the British Royal Navy would later be
christened with this name. The apertures for cannons in the
hull of one such ship, the “HMS Royal Oak” (which was
built in 1862), were similar to the bezel of the iconic wristwatch that debuted 110 years later.
1986
TOURBILLON
Patent protection was granted in 1801 to
a rotating regulating organ that compensated for the detrimental effects of Earth’s
gravitational pull on the rate of pocketwatches. Tourbillons were first integrated
into a very small number of wristwatches
starting in 1945. Audemars Piguet produced its first such watch, in a very small
series, in 1986. The company invested
more than a million Swiss francs in the
project, which was the world’s first,
smallest and slimmest self-winding wristwatch with a one-minute tourbillon. The
overall height of just 4.8 mm was made
possible by a clever trick, first conceived
by the Swatch brand: the back of the case
also serves as the baseplate for the movement. A platinum-iridium rotor provides
the kinetic energy to automatically wind
the mainspring. A ratchet system conveys
kinetic energy to the barrel. The energy
stored inside the barrel keeps the watch
running for 50 hours. Audemars Piguet
fabricated the miniaturized, rotating carriage from titanium. The crown is positioned on the back of the movement,
which measures 32.5 by 28.5 millimeters.
MILESTONES
Audemars Piguet
2006
CABINET NO.5
1996
This wristwatch belongs to the Tradition d’Excellence series
and was produced in a limited series of just 20 pieces. The left
half of the transverse-oval Millenary case is reserved for a
special escapement that traces its ancestry to the year 1791
and to Robert Robin, watchmaker to the French royal court.
The construction saps significantly less energy than a Swiss
lever escapement. Reducing the energy requirement enables
movements to run noticeably longer with the same mainspring. Furthermore, its clever geometry makes lubricants unnecessary, even without the use of modern materials. As the
perfect partner for this unconventional escapement, Audemars Piguet chose a large balance with a variable moment of
inertia and a frequency of 21,600 vph. Two hairsprings positioned one atop the other, and with diametrically opposite
fixation points, “breathe” beneath the elongated balance
bridge of hand-wound Caliber 2899. Each of the hairsprings
oscillates in the opposite direction of its counterpart, thus
achieving higher equilibrium and also offering better opportunities for fine adjustment. Rather than advancing in the
rhythm of the balance’s oscillations, the seconds hand on the
subdial leaps forward in one-second increments. The Cabinet
No. 5, which has a power-reserve display and perpetual calendar, can store seven days’ worth of power.
GRANDE
COMPLICATION
Audemars Piguet presented its first pocketwatch with a grand
complication in 1889. A significantly smaller version for the
wrist debuted 107 years later at the Basel watch fair. The 42millimeter platinum wristwatch, with split-seconds chronograph, perpetual calendar and minute repeater, is even more
complex than the pocketwatches that preceded it: first, because its movement is equipped with an automatic winding
system and an indicator for the calendar weeks; second, because considerably more than 600 components are installed
into the smallest possible amount of space. The resulting caliber is small enough to power a timepiece that can be worn on
the wrist. With a diameter of 31 millimeters and a height of
8.55 millimeters, Caliber 2885 has a volume of just 6.45 cubic centimeters. An engraved, golden rotor winds the mainspring in one direction; when fully wound, the barrel stores
enough energy to keep the watch running for approximately
50 hours. Audemars Piguet chose a very traditional solution
for the design of the oscillating and escapement system: the
engineers opted for a screw balance with a frequency of 3 Hz.
A push-button integrated into the winding crown controls
the split-seconds chronograph hand.
2002
ROYAL OAK
CONCEPT
In anticipation of the Royal Oak’s 30th
anniversary, Audemars Piguet began the
creative process that would produce the
first ultra-sporty Royal Oak Concept
watch. While developing the case and
movement, the manufacture’s engineers
chose to work with innovative materials
from the worlds of aerospace, medical
and electrical engineering. The case has a
totally revised look and is fabricated
from alacrite 602, a notoriously difficultto-process alloy that was originally developed for aeronautical applications and
tool technology. Titanium was the material of choice for the octagonal bezel and
the movement. The resulting watch is water-resistant to an impressive 500 meters
and largely unaffected by stresses from
sudden acceleration and extreme shocks.
This is all the more surprising because the
movement also includes a tourbillon. In
addition to showing the time, this watch
uses a patented “dynamograph” to display the power reserve and the torque. Finally, the Concept also offers a unique
winding and hand-setting system: a button is pressed to pre-select each of the
crown’s three functions (winding, hand
setting, and neutral), so the crown never
needs to be extracted. In the button’s neutral position, the crown is completely uncoupled from the gear train.
2006
MILLENARY MC 12
This ingenious timepiece was created to demonstrate the technical potential of watchmaking in the 21st century. Traditional horological craftsmanship is united with high-tech elements
in AP’s oval-shaped, hand-wound Caliber 2884, which consists of 336 individual components and is fitted inside the case
of the Millenary MC 12. Two barrels amass 10 days of power
reserve. Plates made of carbon fiber and bridges made of blue
anodized aluminum provide a light but sturdy framework.
The spectrum of functions includes a linear power-reserve display at the left edge of the dial and a chronograph with hands
that start running without an undesired stutter. The oneminute tourbillon weighs a mere 0.45 grams.
MILESTONES
Audemars Piguet
2007
ROYAL OAK OFFSHORE
ALINGHI TEAM
After the launch of the ultra-sporty Royal
Oak Offshore in 1993, Audemars Piguet
introduced a further evolution of that
watch in 2007. This edition sold out
quickly, so a connoisseur could count
himself lucky if he was able to get his
hands on one of these regatta chronographs, each of which weighs a mere 100
grams. The watch’s primary draw was its
unique case, which was the first in watch
history made of wrought carbon, an ultralight and extremely tough material. Because it was without precedent, Audemars Piguet had to develop a new manufacturing method to ensure that the sharp
edges and surfaces were perfect right from
the start because post-processing wasn’t
possible. The quality and appearance re-
sult from the arrangement of pressed
pieces of carbon fiber. The process begins
with molds that are filled with carbon
threads measuring between one and two
mm in thickness. Each of these larger
threads consists of several thousand
fibers, which are held together by minuscule threads made from a special polymer.
The mold is filled with this mass, which is
then heated to around 240° Celsius and
compressed under more than 300 kilograms of pressure. The material generated
by this process consists of 76 percent carbon fiber; the remainder is polyamide.
Distinctive graining makes each carbon
case unique. Audemars Piguet went on to
use wrought carbon for the cases of several other subsequent watch models.
2011
MILLENARY 4101
The Millenary case offers a surprising number of options for
technicians to create watch movements that differ from conventional ones. At first glance, model 4101 looks like it has a
tourbillon. But it is actually only the oscillating and escapement system, which have been repositioned forward and
placed prominently alongside the dial. The oscillating frequency is 4 Hz. A balance with variable moment of inertia
eliminates the need for a regulator mechanism. The automatic movement is 7.46 millimeters thick and consists of 253
components. The unconventional construction is based on
manufacture Caliber 3120, which has a ball-borne rotor that
winds the mainspring in both directions. After its mainspring
has been fully wound, Caliber 4101 will keep ticking for approximately 60 hours.