A year after its official launch, Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet continues to evolve with five new Time and Date references and five new Chronograph models. Adorned with complex lacquered dials and a palette of deep colors, these novelties offer a new contemporary twist to this timeless round watch. Rising to a new challenge, Audemars Piguet craftspeople have affirmed their creative vision via new smoked lacquered dials with sunburst pattern in hues of blue, burgundy, purple, as well as light and dark grey. The dials’ artistry is enhanced by the watch’s extra-thin bezel and double-curved glare-proofed sapphire crystal. Playing with depth and light, this complex glass brings forward the detailed work adorning the dials, including the applied polished Audemars Piguet gold signature realized in galvanic growth.
The dials’ elegant colors complement the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet’s contemporary architecture and refined decoration. Composed of an octagonal middle case, a round extra-thin bezel, and stylized lugs, the unconventional case design pushed ancestral hand-finishing techniques to new heights with more details than meet the eye. The perfectly aligned alternation of satin-brushed and polished surfaces adorning the case was only achievable by hand.
Designed for both men and women, this collection also features an optimum curved ergonomics, making it comfortable for all to wear despite its 41 mm in diameter. Audemars Piguet has also enriched the Code 11.59 with two models featuring two-tone cases juxtaposing 18K white and pink gold —a first in the watch industry as two-tone watches are typically stainless steel and gold. The light and dark grey dial references —Time and Date and the Chronograph— feature two-tone cases as well as rose gold markers, hands, and numerals. The 18K gold bezel, lugs, and case back are subtly enhanced by an 18K pink gold middle case. This exclusive combination highlights the case’s multiple geometries, hand-finished to the nine, as well as the collection’s blend of age-old craftsmanship and innovative design. Each watch comes with a hand-stitched large square scale alligator strap matching the dial’s color.
Two-tone gold cases are extremely rare in the history of Audemars Piguet’s wristwatches. Out of the 550 wristwatches produced and sold between 1882 and 1969, only 8 examples combined two types of gold. The blend of white and pink gold was particularly rare, with only one wristwatch recorded in the Manufacture’s archives before 1978. Although, this combination has become more prevalent today, it remains a distinct symbol of refinement and elegance.
Fitted with a display case back the two-tone models are further enhanced by a 22K pink gold oscillating weight matching the middle case’s color. The two-tone models come with a matching grey or black hand-stitched “large square-scale” alligator strap.
As far as the other three new dials, they come in burgundy, purple, and blue. Portraying refinement and intensity, the sunburst smoked burgundy lacquered dial’s red shades, and rich nuances illuminate the 18K carat white gold case. The dial is complemented with 18K white gold hands and applied hour-markers.
Sun and ocean meet in the 18K pink gold model with a smoked blue lacquered dial. The dial’s sunburst effect recalls underwater sun rays. The black inner bezel provides depth and intensity, while the double-curved glare-proofed sapphire crystal offers a unique play of light.
Bringing together the calm stability of blue and the intensity of red, this model in purple hues suggests uncompromising elegance. The contrast between the watch’s smoked purple lacquered dial and 18K pink gold case is further emphasized by pink gold applied hour-markers and hands.
The Chronograph models are powered by the Audemars Piguet in-house calibre 4401, an integrated chronograph with column wheel and flyback function that enables to restart the chronograph without stopping and resetting it first. Additionally, calibre 4401 is endowed with a patented zero resetting mechanism which ensures that each one of the counter hands is seamlessly reset to zero. It is also equipped with a vertical clutch system that prevents hands from jumping when the chronograph is started or stopped.
Meanwhile, the Time and Date models are powered by the in-house Audemars Piguet automatic calibre 4302 with a 70-hour power reserve.
Both movements are equipped with a patented setting mechanism that brings stability and precision when adjusting the watch’s functions. With a large diameter of 32 mm, these movements also present reinforced chronometry. Visible through the watch’s case back, these two calibres uphold fine watchmaking tradition with refined hand-finishing techniques including “traits tirés,” “Côtes de Genève,” circular graining, circular satin, and diamond-polished angles.
Sticker Price $26,800 USD for Time and Date Models including the new Two-Tone references and $42,400 USD for the Chronographs. For more info Audemars Piguet click here.
