Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Audemars Piguet has unveiled a new generation of the self-winding perpetual calendar movement, Calibre 7138 – which, for the first time ever, enhances user comfort by making the corrections of all functions possible via its all-in-one crown – to mark the beginning of its 150th anniversary celebrations.
Looking to the future, the brand has rethought the perpetual calendar, which mechanically reproduces the movement of the celestial bodies, with ergonomics at its heart to adapt to evolving lifestyles and open up new technical and design avenues. The result? An intuitive complication that revolutionises the perpetual calendar experience while improving legibility.
The new movement makes its debut on a 41mm Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet in 18-carat white gold, on two 41mm Royal Oak models in a choice of stainless steel or 18-carat sand gold, and on three corresponding anniversary limited editions of 150 pieces, each featuring subtle aesthetic details that pay homage to the watchmaker’s 150 years of uncompromising craftsmanship. Five years of development went into the creation of this horological feat, which is protected by five patents and offers new creative horizons.
The perpetual calendar saw the light of day in its earliest form in the 18th century. This astronomical complication, one of the most complex calendar watches in existence today, has a mechanical memory capable of mapping 48-month time cycles, automatically adjusting the varying number of days in each month, even during leap years. This complex mechanism requires manual intervention only once every 100 years to keep it in sync with our solar time!
Building on its heritage and past developments while looking to the future, Audemars Piguet has reimagined the perpetual calendar mechanism with ergonomics in mind to adapt this classic complication to an ever-more flexible lifestyle. Traditional perpetual calendar wristwatches are usually equipped with correctors inserted in the side of the case, which are activated by using a small tool to adjust the various sub-dials.
This age-old system can make it cumbersome to set the watch, especially when left unwound for some time. To enhance users’ experience and streamline the design of the case, AP’s engineers have developed an easier and more intuitive correction system entirely controlled via the crown, to make this high complication adjustable anywhere without tools and without risk of damage. Audemars Piguet’s new in-house perpetual calendar movement combines state-of-the-art R&D technology with age-old horological expertise.
Calibre 7138 makes its debut with one Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet and two Royal Oak models, all available in 41mm. The absence of correctors on the side of the case reinforces the refinement of the three models as well as their water resistance, which has been increased to 50m for the Royal Oak models and 30m for the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet compared to the previous perpetual calendar models offered in the two collections (20m).
The new 41mm Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet timepiece continues the collection’s seamless blend of technical modernity and ancestral craftsmanship.
For more information, please visit www.audemarspiguet.com.