Audemars Piguet‘s 150th anniversary marks a remarkable milestone not just in the history of watchmaking but in the contemporary landscape of haute horlogerie. As the oldest fine watchmaking manufacturer still under the stewardship of its founding families, Audemars and Piguet, the brand continues to epitomise a harmonious blend of tradition and innovation. To celebrate this sesquicentennial, Audemars Piguet unveiled an exquisite collection of watches in Hong Kong, showcasing a thoughtful dialogue between its rich heritage and forward-looking spirit. This anniversary event was more than mere fanfare, it was a cultured celebration blending art, music, and culinary sophistication, perfectly reflecting the enduring heartbeat of the Manufacture’s legacy.
Founded in 1875 in the Vallée de Joux, nestled among the serene Swiss Jura mountains, Audemars Piguet has drawn continual inspiration from its natural surroundings: clear star-filled skies, deep forests, and rugged mountains have influenced generations of watchmakers there. The 150th anniversary festivities brought this rich history to life with an immersive exhibition at Phillips Gallery, West Kowloon Cultural District, hosted by CEO Ilaria Resta and the Greater China CEO Peggy Hu. The event welcomed more than 250 guests, including cultural icons and global luminaries, elevating the celebration to a refined and vibrant occasion. It was here that Audemars Piguet’s latest novelties were revealed, featuring highly contemporary and precise timepieces that marry the Manufacture’s ancestral savoir-faire with innovative technical prowess.
The three leading families of the launch are the new perpetual calendar models launched in both Royal Oak and Code 11.59 collections and an evocative trio of stone dial flying tourbillons within the Code 11.59 line. All these watches are housed in cases measuring 38 mm, a deliberate choice signaling a move toward refined ergonomics without sacrificing visual or mechanical grandeur.
The Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet flying tourbillon with stone dials stands out for its audacious elegance. Each limited-edition dial is flawlessly handcrafted from natural materials – ruby root from Tanzania, blue sodalite sourced in Brazil, and green malachite from Zambia. The dial’s inherent tonal variations and textures render each watch utterly unique, embodying a tactile vibrancy rarely seen.
These dials are artistically paired with 18-carat gold cases that complement the stone’s character: white gold for ruby root, pink gold for sodalite, and yellow gold for malachite. The seamless integration of the flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock is monumental from both a design and technical standpoint. The calibre 2968 movement is a marvel: an ultra-thin, 3.4 mm thick selfwinding flying tourbillon initially showcased in the Royal Oak RD3. Audemars Piguet’s innovative reengineering of this calibre allowed for a peripheral titanium tourbillon cage, reducing weight and enhancing escapement performance.
The elaborate finish on the movement is captivating, featuring fine chamfering, satin-finished bridges, and a 22-carat gold oscillating weight, visible through the sapphire caseback. The cases themselves feature an interplay of satin brushed and polished surfaces, enhancing the light’s dance over the gold, while luminescent hands provide functionality in low-light environments. The watches are completed with matching alligator leather straps or optional rubber-coated straps, delivering an exquisite blend of bold technical mastery and refined artistic expression.
Turning to the perpetual calendars, Audemars Piguet refines one of the most poetic complications in horology, now reimagined for a more accessible 38 mm format. This is a significant advancement, as perpetual calendars traditionally trend toward larger sizes, yet here they retain elegance and wearability.
Powered by the innovative Calibres 7136 and 7138, crafted with five patents protecting their sophisticated design, these movements are protected by a sapphire caseback that reveals meticulous finishings — from Côtes de Genève to circular graining and delicate chamfering. The perpetual calendar mechanism tracks the lunar and solar cycles with an automatic correction system that rarely needs human intervention, only once a century to remain perfectly aligned.
Notably, Audemars Piguet has eschewed traditional case-side correctors in favour of a more ergonomic, crown-controlled adjustment system, ingeniously allowing full setting of all calendar functions without separate tools. This harmonious combination of complexity and practicality is sure to delight enthusiasts who value mechanics made user-friendly.
In aesthetic terms, both Royal Oak and Code 11.59 perpetual calendar models are true shows of refined craftsmanship. The Royal Oak, a design icon, receives a classic update in stainless steel or 18-carat pink gold, each featuring a reworked Grande Tapisserie dial that enhances symmetry and legibility. The light blue PVD dial on the steel model and softer beige tones on its pink gold sibling blend technical precision with warmth. The dial’s layout optimises readability, placing the weekday, date, and month with natural, intuitive logic.
In parallel, the Code 11.59 references boast a delicately embossed green dial designed with guilloché specialist Yann Von Kaenel. The motif’s concentric circles punctuated by tiny holes are a masterclass in depth and luminescence, paired elegantly with gold hands and hour markers. Both models wear their complications with discreet confidence, marrying age-old horological techniques with modern aesthetic subtlety.
The cases for these complications continue Audemars Piguet’s philosophy of perfection in detail. The 38 mm cases maintain a slender profile: approximately 9.4 to 9.9 mm in thickness for the perpetual calendars and 9.6 mm for the flying tourbillons. Constructed from 18-carat gold in various hues or stainless steel, they display finely alternating satin and polished finishes across chamfers and flat surfaces, bringing the play of light to an artful crescendo on the wrist.
Sapphire crystals, both front and caseback, offer unimpeded views of the intricate dials and movements while ensuring water resistance up to 30-50 metres, depending on the model. These watches uphold the brand’s reputation for marrying robustness with elegance, enabling their complications to become wearable companions for everyday life.
The 150th anniversary collection by Audemars Piguet is a captivating journey where history, nature, and technical innovation coalesce. At the heart of these celebrations is a vision to bring ultra-complicated mechanisms into harmonious conversation with contemporary wristwatches that invite broader audiences. By reducing sizes and enhancing ergonomics, all while maintaining the utmost in craftsmanship and aesthetic sophistication, the Manufacture asserts its mastery and dedication to watchmaking as both art and science. This collection is both a tribute and a promise — a reminder that great watchmaking, rooted in tradition, thrives when it is continually reimagined. As Audemars Piguet so fittingly states, the beat goes on.
