Say the phrases Audemars Piguet, and the Royal Oak immediately involves thoughts. Certainly, the Royal Oak assortment has change into so synonymous with the model, that when Audemars Piguet launched the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet again in 2019, it sparked a wave of shock – even resistance – throughout the watch group.
Maybe it was the preliminary shock of not seeing a brand new Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet, or the truth that the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet is so decidedly totally different from the Royal Oak that it led to a way of disconnect.
Nevertheless, by analysis for this text, I’ve discovered that whereas the aesthetics of the 2 collections are distinctly totally different, the strategy to their creation is remarkably aligned. Beneath this veneer of Royal Oak or Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet lies a core philosophy that I feel has allowed Audemars Piguet to outlive and thrive for so long as it has. The guts and soul of the model lies in its issues. Lengthy earlier than the Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet was recognized for its pioneering spirit, an organization constructed with tenacity and resilience, and an unwavering pursuit for excellence.
This yr, Audemars Piguet celebrates its a hundred and fiftieth anniversary, and to mark this momentous event, the model has been releasing a collection of outstanding timepieces all year long, from probably the most user-friendly perpetual calendar calibre to the introduction of a smaller 38mm perpetual calendar, and even flying tourbillons adorned with pure stone dials.
Amongst these celebratory creations, there may be one which, to me, symbolises the epitome of what the model stands for. In its everlasting quest for watchmaking innovation, it unveils the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Further-Skinny Self-winding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph RD#5.
This newest addition to the RD collection takes one of many oldest watchmaking issues, the chronograph, and appears at it by a distinctly futuristic lens. The result’s an surprising replace of a traditional operate. At first the innovation is probably not instantly obvious, however the technical ingenuity behind it’s good.
The Story Thus Far
To grasp how Audemars Piguet arrived on the RD#5, one should first look again. Now, on the a hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Audemars Piguet, we rewind the clock all the way in which again to the origins of the model to grasp how the founders integrated the pioneering spirit into their eponymous model, and the way that founding philosophy has endured over a century and a half. Within the nineteenth century, it was widespread for Swiss watchmakers to construct a model with a accomplice who was extra well-versed within the business realm of issues.
In 1875, Jules Louis Audemars began his watchmaking workshop in Le Brassus, and by 1881, he had partnered together with his childhood buddy and neighbour Edward Auguste Piguet, and the model Audemars Piguet was formalised and registered.
“Audemars Piguet’s a hundred and fiftieth anniversary celebrations are devoted to all the skills who have labored for the corporate since its beginnings. We’re all a hyperlink within the chain. Our mission, collectively, is that the model endures for future generations and remains to be going sturdy in 150 years”
– Jasmine Audemars, President of the Audemars Piguet Foundations
The corporate was established in tumultuous occasions. There was sturdy competitors from American watchmakers, and Swiss watchmakers had been beginning to industrialise their processes in response.
As a substitute of following the pattern, the 2 founders determined that they might as an alternative give attention to making one-off, difficult timepieces. Of the 52 watches they bought in 1882, 49 of them had issues. By 1899, many of the world’s difficult calibres had been made in manufactures within the Vallée de Joux, and Audemars Piguet was at its coronary heart.
In actual fact, it was round this time that they made the Universelle pocket watch delivered to Union Glashütte, which stays some of the difficult watches on this planet with 1,168 elements and introduced 26 capabilities, together with 19 issues.
The trail to greatness isn’t easy – and Audemars Piguet’s journey in no exception. The First World Battle broke out in 1914, which noticed Audemars Piguet lose half its workforce to navy service. And even because the founders handed on the reins to their successors and the following technology of Audemars and Piguet took to operating the model, they had been adopted by hardships each step of the way in which.
In 1929 the inventory market crash, which noticed the Manufacture operating at a loss for the following 15 years, and from 1939 to 1945, the Second World Battle as soon as once more introduced manufacturing to a close to standstill.
Every disaster noticed a pointy decline in watch gross sales. To profit from every watchmaker’s accessible time, the manufacture tasked their watchmakers to develop handbook watchmaking abilities in anticipation of higher days, a call that continues to be the driving pressure behind Audemars Piguet’s watchmaking innovation.
It was solely after the Second World Battle that Audemars Piguet skilled a brand new period of progress. Within the fingers of the second and third generations of members of the family, the corporate’s manufacturing grew tenfold within the span of 20 years, producing 5,500 watches per yr, and by 1971, it had an annual income of 10 million Swiss francs. It was in all probability this stage of success that prompted them to make the now world-renowned “costliest metal watch on this planet” – the Royal Oak.
The Royal Oak was a results of one more turning level in Audemars Piguet historical past the place in 1966 the legendary Georges Golay was appointed the Managing Director of the model, and the primary who did not come from the founding households. It was Golay who recognised the worth of gifted designers like Gérald Genta, and his in a single day creation of the Royal Oak 5402 has change into lore for the model.
Even with the success of the Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet has consistently pursued watchmaking innovation. When the quartz period got here alongside, the Manufacture responded with its personal high-tech creation – reference 6001, powered by the “megaqwartz” Calibre 2510, in 1974.
Within the Nineteen Nineties, underneath the route of Steve Urquhart and Georges-Henri Meylan, Audemars Piguet contributed to the revival of mechanical watches with issues reminiscent of tourbillons, chiming mechanisms, chronographs, and Grand Problems. Within the final 25 years, it has built-in its manufacturing capabilities and expanded them to what the model is as we speak.
Microcosm of Creativity
The trajectory of how Audemars Piguet grew as an organization is undoubtedly inspiring, however maybe much more essential is how the model has managed to protect the pioneering spirit instilled by its founders. In an attention-grabbing interview that the present CEO of Audemars Piguet, Ilaria Resta, gave to Revolution’s Wei Koh earlier within the yr, she mentioned the entry level into Audemars Piguet will not be by iconic designs, however by issues, which is uncommon on this planet of haute horlogerie.
It kind of is smart contemplating that issues had been the focus when Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet began the model in 1881, however to maintain issues as the center and soul of a model over 150 years, now that’s no simple feat.
“This firm’s philosophy is to go away no stone unturned and pursue all potential enhancements based mostly on analysis and apply”
– Le Journal Suisse d’Horlogerie, circa 1889
In response to Resta, this pioneering spirit can’t be pressured. And it’s true; there is not any system to construct a crew that’s immediately artistic and may robotically and persistently push the boundaries of watchmaking. Particularly when you think about that many of the rules of mechanical watchmaking used as we speak haven’t been modified within the final century or so. This takes out-of-the-box considering, a daring to try to fail, and above all, the monetary may to maintain these sorts of analysis and growth tasks.
This exists throughout the infrastructure of Audemars Piguet. The Manufacture has departments devoted to experimentation, on supplies, calibres and ending methods, which translate not solely to novelties throughout the model’s collections but in addition assist perpetuate watchmaking as an entire.
In that very same interview, Resta described the model’s artistic philosophy as a “playground” for innovation. Boundaries are outlined by core model values, however inside, there may be ample room for the thinkers and makers to manoeuvre. Additionally, management doesn’t place deadlines on their creations, which might generally be antithesis to the artistic course of.
A lot of this freedom is made potential by the model’s independence. They’re the one watchmaking firm at this stage that’s nonetheless within the fingers of its founding households. It’s astonishing how, after 150 years and the great progress the corporate has undergone, the illustration of the founding households remains to be consulted on the long run route of the model.
And though since 1966 Audemars Piguet has been led by non-family members, Jasmine Audemars, great-granddaughter of Jules Louis Audemars, and Olivier Audemars, great-grandson of Edward Auguste Piguet, nonetheless characterize the pursuits of each the Audemars and Piguet households.
The results of this ecosystem of innovation that Audemars Piguet has cultivated is a artistic atmosphere the place designers and engineers are empowered to develop issues that problem the conventions of watchmaking. Nowhere is that this extra obvious than Audemars Piguet’s RD (Analysis and Improvement) saga of watches.
The RD collection is the model’s platform to showcase its groundbreaking developments in watchmaking. Every creation introduces a breakthrough in engineering or efficiency – fixing longstanding horological challenges by innovation. It’s a testomony to the model’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of what’s potential, not just for the model itself, however for the development of the craft as an entire.
The RD#1 (2015) ‘Supersonnerie’ dramatically improved the sound high quality of minute repeaters, setting new acoustic requirements for chiming watches. The RD#2 (2018) broke watchmaking information with the world’s thinnest self-winding perpetual calendar, at simply 2.89mm thick. The RD#3 (2022) was the primary “Jumbo” to be outfitted with a self-winding flying tourbillon powered by the ultra-thin Calibre 2968 (first launched in 39mm, then in 37mm) and outfitted with an progressive high-amplitude escapement.
Subsequent, got here the RD#4 (2023) Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Extremely-Complication Universelle. The reference is the Universelle pocket watch, which we talked about earlier on this story, and the AP Calibre 1000 for the RD#4 integrated 40 capabilities, together with 23 issues and but was nonetheless designed to be simple to make use of and comfy to put on.
The Crux Of The Matter
Which brings us to the present chapter within the RD saga, RD#5. For the collectors, this new launch from Audemars Piguet encompasses a brand-new motion, Calibre 8100. It’s the first time within the Royal Oak “Jumbo”’s 50-year historical past that it’s outfitted with each a flyback chronograph (with an instantaneous minute leap) and a flying tourbillon, and the watch is proscribed to solely 150 items worldwide. For the true watch connoisseurs, nonetheless, the true gem within the RD#5 lies within the chronograph complication, which has been completely redesigned by Director of Watch Conception at Audemars Piguet, Giulio Papi, and his crew.
“In 1875, the primary Audemars Piguet workshop opened with the purpose of crafting one-off mechanical timepieces – defying mass industrialisation. For 150 years, watchmakers have responded to every crises with resilience, by no means wavering from their strongest convictions: independence, household, the search for perfection, the Vallée de Joux, artistic freedom, and openness to the world”
– Sébastian Vivas, Heritage and Museum Director, Audemars Piguet
Let’s begin then with the push-pieces. A typical pusher on a chronograph normally requires a major quantity of stress to interact, and its subsequent click on is probably not the smoothest or most pleasing expertise when in comparison with the finesse of all the pieces else in a well-finished haute-horlogerie timepiece.
As Papi explains, “Their journey – that’s, the gap they should be pressed – is usually 1mm or extra and requires a pressure of round 1.5 kilograms. Our purpose was to scale back these values to boost the shopper expertise, drawing inspiration from smartphone buttons which usually have a journey of 0.3mm and require 300 grams of pressure.” That is precisely why, once you have a look at the photographs of the watch, you see modern buttons as an alternative of the standard pushers discovered on the model’s chronographs.
The ingenious answer to allow this short-travel, low-force push-pieces comes by way of a brand new patented mechanism which replaces the typical coronary heart piece and hammer with a rack and pinion system. This intelligent system within the Calibre 8100 shops the vitality within the rack, which retains the gear practice underneath stress, stopping the chronograph fingers from shuddering. And this then eliminates the necessity for a friction spring.
The friction spring in typical chronographs acts as a relentless brake throughout operation and resetting of the chronograph, and with the rack, the vitality is saved slightly than dispersed, so with a lightweight contact of the pushers, this vitality might be re used to carry out the mandatory chronograph capabilities.
“Consider the standard chronograph as a automotive driving with the handbrake on. With Calibre 8100, the handbrake is gone, and the automotive is now tied to an elastic band when it leaves the storage. This elastic band will then be used to deliver it again to the storage. The vitality that was misplaced due to the friction of the handbrake is now saved throughout the elastic,” says Giulio Papi.
“When resetting the chronograph, the saved vitality is launched, and the hand returns to its place in lower than 0.15 seconds. An excessive amount of work has been carried out to grasp the behaviour of the fingers in order that the reset is nearly imperceptible to the attention, whereas delivering an instantaneous minute leap – a extremely coveted characteristic by collectors.”
One of many causes that the Jumbo has by no means had a chronograph and a flying tourbillon mixture was the problem of conserving the motion throughout the constraints of the smaller case measurement. Nevertheless, as we’ve established earlier with the RD#3, the teachings realized by that venture can now be carried out within the RD#5 and improved upon.
To additional protect the Jumbo proportions, the designers used glass-box sapphire crystals each on the dial facet and caseback, that are completely flat on the surface however hollowed out on the inside to offer the motion simply that additional little bit of house.
Moreover, the Calibre 8100 additionally utilised a peripheral oscillating weight in platinum, each to scale back the thickness of the watch and permit for an unhindered view of the motion. It’s fascinating to notice that each the RD#3 and RD#5 have the identical 8.1mm thickness, even with the added chronograph on the RD#5, demonstrating how Audemars Piguet continues to develop its watchmaking savoir-faire over time.
The case combines the tried and examined titanium materials with the uncommon use of Bulk Metallic Glass (BMG). BMG was first found within the Nineteen Sixties and has been used within the navy and house sectors. These are metallic alloys that, when quickly cooled, will tackle properties just like glass, turning them right into a high-strength materials with an amorphous construction.
As it’s composed of over 50 % palladium, what this implies in layman’s phrases is that the fabric can provide distinctive resistance to put on and corrosion, together with a particular reflective sheen. Audemars Piguet first launched this materials on its watches in 2021, with the distinctive Royal Oak “Jumbo” Further-Skinny (ref. 15202XT) created for Solely Watch, and then it made its approach into the manufacturing fashions in 2023.
For the RD#5, BMG is used for the pushers and the connecting hyperlinks on the bracelet, which permits for a incredible interaction of sunshine because it bounces off the polished and brushed end of the varied supplies. With the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Further-Skinny Self-winding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph RD#5, the following chapter of Audemars Piguet historical past has been written, and it comes on the good time when the model is celebrating 150 years of existence.
Because the model typically iterates the way it consistently strives for perfection, and since the idea of perfection is close to unattainable to realize, we are able to surmise that for Audemars Piguet, it won’t ever actually be capable of obtain the ultimate aim and may solely perpetually attempt in direction of this unattainable achievement, getting as shut as potential to the elusive good timepiece. And this may set its course, permitting it to transfer headstrong into the unknown for the years, a long time and maybe even centuries to come back.
This story was first seen as a part of the WOW #81 Autumn 2025 Problem
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