Marginal positive aspects — the world of Haute Horlogerie strikes ahead in little steps. That’s already a miracle since mechanical watchmaking is in its non-public universe the place performance shouldn’t be a vital survival software. Nonetheless, the main conventional watchmaking homes proceed to push the technical boundaries. You don’t get a way of evolution whenever you take a look at the three new perpetual calendar watches — two Royal Oaks and one Code 11.59. Nevertheless, nearer inspection of the dials tells you one thing is happening. When diving into the brand new Audemars Piguet Caliber 7138, you’ll uncover that the 422-part “QP” motion holding 5 patents shouldn’t be about marginal positive aspects however big leaps.
After I let you know the brand new Audemars Piguet Caliber 7138 is a perpetual calendar motion you possibly can function utilizing the crown, you’ll say this isn’t a novelty. And also you’re proper. In 1985, IWC launched the Da Vinci, the primary perpetual calendar designed by Kurt Klaus, by which all indications may very well be adjusted by way of the crown. Correctors on the aspect of the case should not that fairly to take a look at, and working them can be not a pleasure. Klaus designed a system so you could possibly use the crown to regulate the calendar, nevertheless it had a draw back. It had no “rewind” operate. Consequently, when you overshot one thing when setting it up, you’d must get IWC to readjust the motion.
Earlier than the brand new Audemars Piguet Caliber 7138
Ludwig Oechslin — a mathematical genius and restorer of clocks within the Vatican — devised a QP in 1996 to mark Ulysse Nardin’s one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, which made date changes ahead and backward by way of a single crown attainable. The watch didn’t have a conventional perpetual calendar format, although, and there was no moonphase indicator. The identical goes for the QP that H. Moser & Cie. launched in 2005. Once more, that is crown-operated QP, however unbiased watchmaker Andreas Strehler, who created the watch’s motion, didn’t make one thing conventional — you possibly can’t label a watch with a centrally mounted hand indicating the month “conventional.” Audemars Piguet made a one-crown-for-everything system and put it in a traditional-looking QP with a moonphase indicator and a few purposeful design tweaks to enhance readability.
Giulio Papi in the home
There’s so much to say about perpetual calendars, however “simple to function and browse” shouldn’t be a generally heard description. 5 years in the past, Giulio Papi, AP’s technical director, began work on a brand new QP motion. Papi is considerably of a legend. He’s one half of the well-known sophisticated motion maker Renaud et Papi, based in 1986. Each he and Dominque Renaud labored at AP earlier than establishing their workshop and went on to create great, sophisticated actions for nearly each main Haute Horlogerie model. In 1992, AP, with CEO Georges-Henri Meylan on the helm, purchased 52% of the corporate, and Renaud et Papi turned Audemars Piguet Renaud et Papi (APRP).
As we speak, APRP is not any extra. Renaud left, and in 2018, AP purchased out Papi. However Papi by no means actually left. He’s again with AP. “I’m not a trophy or an decoration,” stated famend and celebrated watchmaker Papi simply earlier than explaining how the brand new Caliber 7138 works inside a particular room inside the large new AP manufacture in Le Brassus. “I’m right here to work on attention-grabbing stuff.” One explicit subject that Papi is especially all for is ergonomics. This wizard of mechanical problems desires to make issues easy. A testomony to that’s the Code 11.59 Extremely-Complication Universelle RD#4. At first glimpse, the watch appears like a chronograph, however nearer inspection reveals that it options no fewer than 40 features, 23 of that are problems. Papi needed the watch to be simple to learn and function, and the identical precept is the muse of the brand new QPs.
It’s all within the “gearbox”
Giulio Papi is the legend, however we should additionally point out Lucas Raggi, the AP’s analysis and growth director, who performed a significant half in creating the brand new Caliber 7138. This 4Hz, 422-part motion has a 29.6mm (12¾-ligne) diameter, a 4.1mm thickness, and a 55-hour energy reserve. It’s an easy-to-use motion that works intuitively and permits all changes by way of the crown.
The crown has 4 positions to regulate all of the features. The primary place winds the watch clockwise. Within the second place, the crown units the date when turned clockwise and the month and the intercalary year by turning it counterclockwise. Pulling out the crown one little click on additional places it within the third place. Now, the time may be manipulated bidirectionally. When pushing the crown again in a single click on, you attain the fourth and final place. The crown is now in place 2’, which lets you set the day and week clockwise and the lunar phases counterclockwise.
Simply flip the crown
The system works intuitively and simply, however that’s due to the complicated mechanism. Driving it are an progressive lever and wandering wheels that mesh with the totally different calendar wheels within the 2 and a couple of’ positions. One patent protects the crown correction system with this 2’ place. The second patent is for the month and date correction by way of the crown. If you happen to make a mistake whereas setting the watch, you possibly can proceed turning the crown till you attain the specified setting.
What’s very reassuring is that there’s no threat of injury. The motion protects itself from mishandling and even tells you when it desires to be left alone. Within the sub-dial at 9 o’clock, there’s a no-correction zone marked in pink between 21h and 3h to indicate when the watch can’t be set. Nevertheless, when you haven’t observed or are significantly cussed and nonetheless begin pulling and turning the crown, the date received’t transfer. The great factor is you additionally received’t injury the motion.
Aesthetics and ergonomics
The pink warning sign brings us to the readability of this new QP with a conventional look. “Along with making this excessive complication simple to make use of, we additionally labored on the general aesthetics to mix excessive legibility with timeless refinement,” says Lucas Raggi. First, you could discover that AP did away with the American approach of displaying the calendar features (day, month, date) and opted for the European approach (day, date, month). Because of this, you will discover the day indicator at 9 o’clock, the date at 12, and the month at 3. The week numbers are nonetheless printed on the internal bezel, similar to in earlier perpetual calendar fashions.
The logic within the indications is new and improved, nevertheless it additionally makes you surprise why no one considered it earlier than. As in actual life, Caliber 7138 ensures that all the pieces begins with “1.” Additionally, the week begins on Monday. So, within the three new QPs, the primary week of the yr (“1”) seems at 12 and equally. And “Monday” (day) and “1” (date) have been aligned at 12 o’clock to mark the beginning of the week and the primary day of the month.
Extra legible spacing
One other improve when it comes to readability is seen within the sub-dial at 12 displaying the date. The numerals are extra evenly spaced, which provides to the readability. AP developed a date wheel with 31 particular enamel to attain this. The wheel has in a different way sized and formed enamel to permit the hand to maneuver accurately alongside the numerals. Not solely do the sizes of the enamel fluctuate, however so do the shapes and depth. There’s additionally so much taking place within the sub-dial at 3 o’clock. This sub-dial signifies each the month and intercalary year. The sub-dial at 9 o’clock additionally reveals multiple indication. It doubles as a 24-hour indicator and reveals the aforementioned no-correction zone.
26494BC.OO.D350KB.01
26674ST.OO.1320ST.01
26674SG.OO.1320SG.01
A number of fashions have undergone the Audemars Piguet ergonomics remedy. First, there’s the 41mm × 10.6mm Code 11.59 in 18K white gold (26494BC.OO.D350KB.01 / €109,800). Then, there are two 41mm × 9.5mm Royal Oak fashions, the metal ref. 26674ST.OO.1320ST.01 (€109,800) and the 18K sand gold ref. 26674SG.OO.1320SG.01 (CHF 130,000 ex. VAT). Lastly, there are additionally three corresponding “anniversary” restricted editions of 150 items displaying a cursive model emblem and bearing an anniversary rotor. You’ll find out extra about these three QPs and all different first-semester novelties right here.
