Audemars Piguet creates a rule-breaking complicated watch: the CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Flying Tourbillon Chronograph.

Since its founding, Audemars Piguet has continued to create unique watches. The Royal Oak, launched in 1972, and the CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet, released in 2019, are good examples of this. However, the company's forte is complicated watches. Its ability to add something extra to watches, rather than simply creating complications, has become even more pronounced in recent years. The culmination of this is the CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Flying Tourbillon Chronograph.

Audemars Piguet Creates a Rule-Breaking Complicated Watch

　The company Audemars Piguet has an extremely unique history. Founded by Jules-Louis Audemars and Edouard-Auguste Piguet, the two men founded the company with the goal of creating complicated watches rather than ordinary timepieces. In fact, from the company's founding in 1875 until the end of the 1940s, every watch Audemars Piguet produced was a unique piece, and the majority of these were complicated. Today, Audemars Piguet has become a major maison, home to the Royal Oak. However, the company's culture of creating something unique has remained unchanged since its founding. In the 30s, they introduced skeletonized wristwatches, began mass-producing perpetual calendars in the late 70s, and in the 80s, they perfected the automatic tourbillon and the first wristwatch with a sonnerie. It may sound cliché, but the history of Audemars Piguet could be described as a history of continually creating something unique.

　The "CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet" (hereafter "CODE 11.59"), released in 2019, is a watch that could only be made by this company. When viewed head-on, it appears to be an authentic round watch. However, its three-dimensional aspects give the watch an extremely unique look. The Royal Oak from 1972 and the CODE 11.59 from 2019 share a sense of three-dimensionality. The former was an attempt to incorporate three-dimensionality into a thin watch, while the latter was an attempt to incorporate three-dimensionality into a basic round watch. Both were previously considered impossible within the watch industry.

　In 20, Audemars Piguet added a new complication to the CODE 11.59: the "CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Flying Tourbillon Chronograph." I assumed it was either a repurposed existing movement or a tourbillon version of the new caliber 4401. The two subdials located at 3 o'clock and slightly above 9 o'clock are enough to lead one to believe it's based on the 4401. However, being Audemars Piguet, they didn't take the conventional approach. The Flying Tourbillon Chronograph, with its flyback and automatic winding, is an entirely new movement. The company's goal was to create a thoroughly symmetrical design.

　The barrel that drives the movement is located at 12 o'clock, with a second wheel in the center and a tourbillon carriage at 6 o'clock, just like existing tourbillons. Layering the chronograph mechanism on top of this is also a specialty of Audemars Piguet. However, the reset hammers that reset the two counters are arranged like two wings, connected by a round central part. So where is the column wheel that controls the chronograph? It's located beneath the tourbillon carriage at 6 o'clock. It's generally considered best to reduce the thickness of a tourbillon carriage, as increasing thickness exacerbates positional error. However, Audemars Piguet has deliberately broken this rule for aesthetic reasons, and perfectly so.

　That said, the design is by no means tricky. By placing the column wheel at 6 o'clock, a large gap was created at 12 o'clock, where Audemars Piguet aesthetically positioned the split reset hammer. The lever and carrying arm connecting the pusher and column wheel are also comfortably positioned, demonstrating a layout that is anything but eccentric. The simplicity of the design is evident when you press the chronograph button. The start feel is extremely light (a hallmark of Audemars Piguet chronographs), and the flyback mechanism operates with just the right amount of restraint, yet with a very smooth movement. Since its founding, Audemars Piguet has pursued unique creations. The CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Flying Tourbillon Chronograph is the culmination of this endeavor to date. I honestly take my hat off to the company's ability to achieve such a high level of both aesthetics and functionality.