Audemars Piguet - Jules Audemars
Some stories are akin to legends...
Passed down from generation to generation, they cross the centuries untouched by the passing years, while daily shaping their extraordinary destiny. In the domain of fine watchmaking, the Audemars Piguet Manufacture has been writing its legend since 1875 and has been constantly innovating, while displaying technical excellence matched only by its rare, exclusive nature. Almost as if the human hand were merely an extension of the high-precision tools required to achieve authentic mastery of time.
It all began in the mid-18th century. At the heart of the remote Vallee de Joux with its long harsh winters, the inhabitants, mostly farmers, were accustomed to spending their evenings making movements to meet orders from various Geneva-based companies. Mastering the entire production process in accordance with hand-workmanship techniques handed down from father to son, they gradually began making their own movements and subsequently entire watches. Some of the boldest even founded fullfledged manufactories or "Manufactures", as they became known.
It was thus in 1875 that Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet joined in founding the company bearing their names. Building on their passion for their profession and their mastery of this art of precision, the two watchmakers set themselves the challenge of making watches from initial design through to the final product under a single roof. This was at the time both a brave choice and a somewhat daring wager. The legend has been steadily written ever since, through the intimate mingling of ancestral know-how and technological progress. The resolutely independent company is still in the hands of the families that founded it a little over 130 years ago.
Elegance and Excellence...
Having played a key role in numerous sporting and cultural partnerships for many years, Audemars Piguet is now a patron of an internationally renowned institution: the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna. For four centuries, this institution has remained the only one in the world to perpetuate classic equestrian art using the same, traditional rules.
The Swiss Manufacture is proud to sponsor this renowned school which, through spectacular equestrian choreography, offers a way of experiencing Austrian culture at its very best.
"White ballets", performed by Lipizzaner Stallions from the world's most celebrated manege, skilfully illustrate the virtuosity and affinity that unite riders with their mounts. This breed of stallion - the longest-established in Europe and one of the rarest - has always acted as a trademark of the school. The precision with which the riders and horses perform their movements in perfect time to the music recalls the dexterity and expertise of the Le Brassus watchmakers when producing certain petite and grande complication calibres.
The partnership between Audemars Piguet and the Spanische Hofreitschule, two prestigious names in their respective fields, reflects the values shared by the two institutions and their mutual desire to safeguard their traditions and history throughout the ages. The timepieces in the Jules Audemars collection also reflect the excellence and transmission of unique expertise that is passed down from one generation to the next.
Stemming from an unparalleled history of family watchmaking, the new Jules Audemars collection perpetuates this tradition and the groundbreaking expertise that bring the world's most complex watches to life in the Vallee de Joux. Taking on a new dimension this year, the collection has maintained this remarkable heritage and transformed it into classic and elegant expressions. From the extra-thin model to the most accomplished complication movement, the Jules Audemars collection provides a wealth of items to choose from.
Jules Audemars Extra-Thin
The jewel in the crown of the collection, the Jules Audemars extra-thin is a magnificent example of formal purity housing one of the world's thinnest selfwinding movements, the 2.45 mm Calibre 2120. Considered by specialists as one of the finest selfwinding movements, Calibre 2120 finds its natural place within an historical lineage that has forged the brand's formidable reputation. With its slim bezel, white gold case and beautifully understated silver-toned dial, the Jules Audemars extra-thin discreetly features pink gold applied baton-type hour-markers and hands, without any minute circle. The Jules Audemars extra-thin owes its innate nobility to this extreme purity that endows it with undeniable elegance and an incredibly modern appearance.
Jules Audemars Self Winding
This distinguished-looking model features a round case, a streamlined case and an exquisitely subdued dial. A subtle interplay of colour nuances and an inherent sense of discretion form a pure design concealing Calibre 3120, a selfwinding Audemars Piguet movement. Hand-assembled in the Le Brassus workshops, Calibre 3120 boasts exceptional quality of workmanship and finishing. The visual pleasure it procures is matched by the genuine emotions that are perpetually elicited by authentic great classics.
Jules Audemars Moon-Phase Calendar
The Jules Audemars Moon-Phase Calendar contributes to the renaissance of this key collection and stands out for its elegant 39 mm-diameter pink gold case, enhanced by a slender bezel that enables the dial to be displayed in all its glory. This model houses selfwinding Calibre 2324/2825, which offers a power reserve of 40 hours and a frequency of 28,800 vibrations/hour (4 Hz). Its silvered sunburst dial features pink gold applied hands and hour-markers and displays the hour and minute functions, as well as the date, day of the week and moon phases in three counters.
Jules Audemars Dual Time
The Jules Audemars Dual Time model comes in an elegantly simple pink or white gold case measuring 41 mm in diameter. At its heart beats Calibre 2329/2846, a selfwinding mechanical movement comprising 261 parts with a power reserve of 38 hours and a frequency of 28,800 vibrations/hour (4 Hz). This movement offers hour and minute functions, a date display at 2 o'clock, a semi-circular power-reserve indicator at 10 o'clock, and a second hour and minute time-zone counter at 6 o'clock, coupled with a day/night indicator.
Jules Audemars Large Date Tourbillon
As the icing on this wonderful cake, the Le Brassus Manufacture is also unveiling the Jules Audemars Large Date Tourbillon model: a double complication timepiece that is as sophisticated as it is elegant. Available in a simple and refined 41 mm-diameter pink gold case, this latest addition to the Jules Audemars collection is in a class of its own, with a wide tourbillon at 6 o'clock - featuring a small-seconds hand positioned on the carriage - and a large, extremely easy-to-read date.
At the heart of this exceptional timepiece resides the new Audemars Piguet Calibre 2909, a mechanical hand-wound movement composed of 228 parts. A development based on the iconic Manufacture movement used to power the Edward Piguet collection, this new Calibre 2909 stands out for its hand-finished decorations, which remain the signature of fine watchmaking movements. These include rhodium-plating, polished bevelling, concentric circular-graining and "Côtes de Geneve" motif on the bridges. This new Calibre 2909 beats at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations/hour and offers a power reserve of 72 hours.
The design of this newest watch in the Jules Audemars collection showcases the tourbillon at 6 o'clock through a wide opening that gives admirers a perfect view of the escapement's beating heart. An integral part of the harmony that emanates from the dial, the large date - which does not separate the tens from the units - is unveiled by two superposed discs. To ensure it has the capacity to house numerals of this size, Audemars Piguet has chosen to display nine numerals on the lower disc (1 to 9, without the 0), rather than 10 as it is often the case. While this enables the size of the digits, and thus the readability of the watch, to be increased significantly, this system requires the upper disc to incorporate not only the 0, 1, 2 and 3 of the tens, but also the numbers 10, 20, 30 and 31. This technical feat is further enhanced by an ingenious system that allows the date to be changed manually - without any risk of malfunction, unlike most mechanical movements - even when the date changes automatically between midnight and 1 am.
Gracefully blending technical complexity with pared-down beauty, the Jules Audemars Large Date Tourbillon comes with a hand-sewn brown or black "large square scale" crocodile leather strap with a pink gold AP folding clasp. This outstanding model is available in two limited editions: each is restricted to 25 timepieces and one features a silver-toned dial, while the other a black dial.
The Le Brassus Manufacture majestically blends pure classicism and proven technical mastery in the Jules Audemars collection. In addition to its extra-thin and selfwinding classic models, it now also offers the moon-phase calendar and dual time models together with a rare item, the large date tourbillon, which embodies its expertise so elegantly.
[Rating: 5 / 5 stars]
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