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https://www.barrons.com/articles/audemars-piguet-flexes-its-horological-muscle-with-six-colorful-technical-watches-01663956493

If it’s fall, it’s time for new complications at Audemars Piguet, which flaunted its technical mastery with six new iterations of complicated models infused with color in its flagship Royal Oak lineup, as well as the CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet collection. 

The brand presented the new watches this week at its Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus, Switzerland, against a backdrop of verdant fields dotted with grazing cows. The museum, which opened in 2020, displays important vintage and historical pieces from the brand as well as others from the Vallée du Joux, a historic watchmaking capital located just over an hour’s drive from Geneva. 

As it marked its half-century milestone, the dominant Royal Oak has been in the spotlight all year with a host of special-edition anniversary models. This month, it followed up with three additional new complicated pieces infused with color. 

First up is a smaller version of last spring’s 39mm Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Extra-Thin (RD#3) “50th Anniversary,” which is the first “Jumbo” with an automatic flying tourbillon. Intended for smaller wrists, the new 37mm version is distinguished by its Petite Tapisserie, grid-patterned dial in a regal shade of plum, replacing the classic blue of the 39mm version. 

Blue was the color of choice for a new Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar in lightweight, durable ceramic—from the slender 41mm case to the glossy ceramic link bracelet painstakingly finished to accentuate light play. Just achieving the exact same shade of blue from component to component is a challenge, since the colored ceramic is made from a complex process, akin to a pastry recipe, where even slight variations, such as oven temperature, can change the result. 

Despite the difficulty of working with the hard, brittle material, the brand’s experts finish each ceramic component just as they would steel or titanium. In keeping with a monochromatic aesthetic, the Grande Tapisserie dial, sub-dials and inner bezel are tinted blue using Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) to complement the blue ceramic case. A clear sapphire case back reveals the ultra-thin Calibre 5134 perpetual calendar mechanism, which automatically adjusts for months of varying lengths, as well as leaps years, theoretically if kept running, until the Gregorian calendar breaks its pattern in 2100. 

Even the brawny 44mm Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon GMT in sandblasted titanium got a color update with the bezel, crown and push-piece in green ceramic, the shade du jour in high-end watches. Matching green accents stand out amid the black architectural movement, showcased through the dial and sapphire case back. And a matching green rubber strap completes the picture.

When it comes to the contemporary CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet range, the brand stuck to variations within its tourbillon lineup. The latest Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Chronograph, limited to 50 pieces, looks sharp in a two-tone black ceramic and 18-karat pink gold case, highlighting the complex case architecture and the intricate three-dimensional Calibre 2952 movement. 

Open-worked bridges in black and pink-gold tones complement the pink gold-toned balance wheel, while white gold hands and other white accents lighten things up. Hand decorating the movement with more than 100 V-angles requires more than 70 hours of labor. Making sure none of this artistry goes unnoticed, transparent chronograph counters and the flying tourbillon cage at six o’clock reveal the mechanism below. 

Also limited to 50 pieces, the airy Tourbillon Openworked has a sporty new look with a blue ceramic inner bezel, marking the first time the blue material has been used in the CODE 11.59 line. 

But designers didn’t stop there. The brand treated the open-worked mainplate and bridges of the hand-wound Calibre 2948 with a process called ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) to tint them blue, and then fitted the 41mm 18-karat white gold case with a blue textured rubber-coated strap lined with calfskin. For heightened contrast, delicate pink gold hands and a pink-gold-toned balance wheel pop to accentuate the depth of the multilayered movement, which is only amplified by CODE 11.59’s double-curved sapphire crystal.

The  latest 41mm Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon takes minimalism to the max with a polished black onyx dial combined with two-tone metal and black ceramic to make a contemporary, purist expression of high horology. Designers chose white gold for the the bezel, lugs and case back and black ceramic for the octagonal case middle, then added pink gold accents for a contrasting au courant flourish. Each glossy black onyx dial is unique thanks to Mother Nature endowing every stone with its own natural composition. 

If it’s fall, it’s time for new complications at Audemars Piguet, which flaunted its technical mastery with six new iterations of complicated models infused with color in its flagship Royal Oak lineup, as well as the CODE 11.

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