Say the phrases Audemars Piguet, and the Royal Oak immediately involves thoughts. Certainly, the Royal Oak assortment has grow to be 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 completely different from the Royal Oak that led to a way of disconnect. Nevertheless, by analysis for this text, I’ve discovered that whereas the aesthetics of the 2 collections is distinctly completely 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 center and soul of the model lies in its problems. Lengthy earlier than the Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet was identified for its pioneering spirit, an organization constructed with tenacity and resilience, and an unwavering pursuit for excellence.
This 12 months, Audemars Piguet celebrates its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, and to mark this momentous event, the model has been releasing a sequence of outstanding timepieces all year long. From probably the most user-friendly perpetual calendar calibre to the introduction of smaller a 38 mm perpetual calendar, they even made flying tourbillons adorned with pure stone dials. Amongst these celebratory creations, one which, to me, symbolises the epitome of what the model stands for. Of their everlasting quest for watchmaking innovation, they unveil the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Additional-Skinny Self-winding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph RD#5. This newest addition to the RD sequence takes one of many oldest watchmaking problems, the chronograph, and appears at it from a distinctly futuristic lens. The result’s an sudden replace of a traditional perform. At first the innovation will not be instantly obvious, however the technical ingenuity behind it’s sensible.
THE STORY THUS FAR
To grasp how Audemars Piguet arrived on the RD#5, one should first look again. Now, on the one 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 included 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 associate 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 pal and neighbour Edward Auguste Piguet, and the model Audemars Piguet was formalised and registered. The corporate was established in tumultuous occasions. There was sturdy competitors from American watchmakers, and Swiss watchmakers have been beginning to industrialise their processes in response. As a substitute of following the pattern, the 2 founders determined that they’d as a substitute concentrate on making one-off, difficult timepieces. Of the 52 watches they offered in 1882, 49 of them had problems. By 1899, a lot of the world’s difficult calibres have been made in manufactures within the Vallée de Joux, and Audemars Piguet was at its coronary heart. In truth, it was round this time that they made the Universelle pocket watch delivered to Union Glashütte, which stays one of the crucial difficult watches on the earth with 1,168 parts and introduced 26 capabilities, together with 19 problems.
The trail to greatness is never clean – and Audemars Piguet’s journey in no exception. The First World Struggle broke out in 1914, which noticed Audemars Piguet lose half its workforce to army 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 have 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 Struggle as soon as once more introduced manufacturing to a close to standstill. Every disaster noticed a pointy decline in watch gross sales. To take advantage of the watchmaker’s obtainable time, the manufacture tasked their watchmakers to develop guide watchmaking expertise in anticipation of higher days, a call that continues to be the driving drive behind Audemars Piguet’s watchmaking innovation.
It was solely after the Second World Struggle that Audemars Piguet skilled a brand new period of development. Within the fingers of the second and third technology relations, the corporate’s manufacturing grew tenfold within the span of 20 years, producing 5,500 watches per 12 months, and by 1971, it had an annual income of 10 million Swiss Francs. It was in all probability this degree of success that prompted them to make the now world-renowned “costliest metal watch on the earth” – the Royal Oak. The Royal Oak was a results of one more turning level in Audemars Piguet historical past the place in 1966 they appointed the legendary Georges Golay because the Managing Director of the model, and the primary who didn’t 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 grow to be 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, beneath the course of Steve Urquhart and Georges-Henri Meylan, Audemars Piguet contributed to the revival of mechanical watches with problems similar to tourbillons, chiming mechanisms, chronographs, and Grand Problems. Within the final 25 years, they’ve built-in their 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 12 months, she stated the entry level into AP is just not by iconic designs, however by problems, which is uncommon on the earth of haute horlogerie. It kind of is sensible contemplating that problems have been the main target when Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet began the model in 1881, however to maintain problems as the center and soul of a model over 150 years, now that’s no simple feat.
“This firm’s philosophy is to depart no stone unturned and pursue all doable enhancements based mostly on analysis and follow.”
Le Journal Suisse d’Horlogerie, circa 1889
In accordance with Resta, this pioneering spirit can’t be pressured. And it’s true; there isn’t any method to construct a staff that’s immediately artistic and may robotically and persistently push the boundaries of watchmaking. Particularly when you think about that a lot of the ideas of mechanical watchmaking used as we speak haven’t been modified within the final century or so. This takes out of the field pondering, a daring to try to fail, and above all, the monetary may to maintain these sorts of analysis and growth initiatives. This exists throughout the infrastructure of Audemars Piguet. The Manufacture has departments devoted to experimentation, on supplies, calibres and ending strategies which translate not solely to novelties throughout the model’s collections but additionally 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’s ample room for the thinkers and makers to manoeuvre. Additionally, management doesn’t place deadlines on their creations, which might typically be antithesis to the artistic course of.
A lot of this freedom is made doable by the model’s independence. They’re the one watchmaking firm at this degree that’s nonetheless within the fingers of its founding households. It’s astonishing how, after 150 years and the great development the corporate has undergone, the illustration of the founding households continues to be consulted on the long run course 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 represents the pursuits of each the Audemars and Piguet households. The results of this ecosystem of innovation that Audemars Piguet has cultivated is a artistic surroundings the place designers and engineers are empowered to develop problems that problem the conventions of watchmaking.
Nowhere is that this extra obvious than their RD (Analysis and Growth) saga of watches. Their RD sequence is the model’s platform to showcase their 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 doable, 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 data with the world’s thinnest selfwinding perpetual calendar at simply 2.89 mm thick. The RD#3 (2022) was the primary “Jumbo” to be outfitted with a selfwinding flying tourbillon, powered by the ultra-thin Calibre 2968 (first launched in 39 mm, then in 37 mm) and outfitted with an modern 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 included 40 capabilities, together with 23 problems and but was nonetheless designed to be simple to make use of and cozy 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 incorporates 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 immediate minute bounce) and a flying tourbillon, and the watch is restricted to solely 150 items worldwide. For the true watch connoisseurs nevertheless, the actual 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 staff.
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 will not be the smoothest or most fulfilling expertise when in comparison with the finesse of every little thing else in a well-finished haute-horlogerie timepiece. As Papi explains, “Their journey – that’s, the space they should be pressed – is usually 1 mm or extra and requires a drive of round 1.5 kilograms. Our purpose was to cut back these values to boost the consumer expertise, drawing inspiration from smartphone buttons which usually have a journey of 0.3 mm and require 300 grams of drive.” That is precisely why, while you have a look at the pictures of the watch, you see glossy buttons as a substitute of the normal 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 traditional coronary heart piece and hammer with a rack and pinion system. This intelligent system within the Calibre 8100 shops the power within the rack, which retains the gear practice beneath 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 power is saved fairly than dispersed, so with a lightweight contact of the pushers, this power might be re-used to carry out the mandatory chronograph capabilities.
“Consider the normal chronograph as a automobile driving with the handbrake on. With Calibre 8100, the handbrake is gone, and the automobile is now tied to an elastic band when it leaves the storage. This elastic band will then be used to convey it again to the storage. The power that was once misplaced because of the friction of the handbrake is now saved throughout the elastic,” says Giulio Papi. “When resetting the chronograph, the saved power 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 sort of imperceptible to the attention, whereas delivering an instantaneous minute bounce – 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 retaining the motion throughout the constraints of the smaller case measurement. Nevertheless, as we’ve established earlier with the RD#3, the teachings discovered by that undertaking can now be applied within the RD#5 and improved upon. To additional protect the Jumbo proportions, the designers used glass field sapphire crystals each on the dial aspect and caseback, that are completely flat on the surface however hollowed out on the within to provide the motion simply that additional little bit of house. Moreover, the Calibre 8100 additionally utilised a peripheral oscillating weight in platinum, each to cut 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 8.1 mm 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 Sixties and has been used within the army and house sectors. These are metallic alloys that, when quickly cooled, will tackle properties much like glass, turning it right into a high-strength materials with an amorphous construction Composed of over 50% palladium, what this implies in layman’s phrases is that the fabric can supply distinctive resistance to put on and corrosion, together with a particular reflective sheen. Audemars Piguet first launched this materials on their watches in 2021, with the distinctive Royal Oak “Jumbo” Additional-Skinny (ref. 15202XT) created for Solely Watch, and made its means into their 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 improbable interaction of sunshine because it bounces off the polished and brushed end of the assorted supplies.
With the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Additional-Skinny Selfwinding 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 usually iterates the way it consistently strives for perfection, and since the idea of perfection is close to not possible to realize, we are able to surmise that for Audemars Piguet, they’ll by no means actually be capable of obtain their closing aim and may solely perpetually attempt in the direction of this unattainable achievement, getting as shut as doable to the elusive good timepiece. And it will set their course, permitting them to maneuver headstrong into the unknown for the years, a long time and even perhaps centuries to return.
This text was first seen on Watchwow.com
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