Audemars Piguet CODE 11.59: A leap to the second stage

CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet was born from the concept of carefully extracting and re-examining Audemars Piguet's DNA from its vast archives to create a next-generation watch. The lineup in 2019, the year of its launch, already showed glimpses of its potential as a complication platform, but in 2020 it took a major leap forward. Audemars Piguet's coded DNA was once concentrated in CODE 11.59, and from there it began to spread to a variety of collections.

The latest information on CODE 11.59, which is evolving as a new hub station

　The 2019 release of the "CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet" (hereafter, CODE 11.59) was not merely Audemars Piguet's first new collection in a long time; it also served as a ray of light in the world of watch design, which had been stagnant throughout the 2010s. The fact that this rough new icon was instantly embraced, even by mechanical watch enthusiasts who are typically intolerant of drastic change, marked one of the most remarkable events of the final year of the decade. Shortly after the second season, COVID-19 hit the global market, and even the luxury watch world is reassessing its "new normal." Yet, CODE 11.59 continues to record strong sellouts. Perhaps this unique product, CODE 11.59, has already achieved greater market recognition as a new basic watch than we, as specialist journalists, realize.

　However, the CODE 11.59's multifaceted character embodies a depth that cannot be fully explained by the simple phrase "next-generation basic." For example, the coexistence of its authentic frontal appearance and the rich three-dimensionality of its profile is miraculous. The balance between the round bezel and the octagonal case middle is striking. The bezel is tapered to the utmost to create a bezel-less visual effect, and the skeletonized lugs are soldered to it. The lens effect is created by the sapphire crystal, with different curvatures on the front and back. The thick 24K gold galvanic logo, finally achieved in collaboration with Mimotech, is also featured. And the CODE 11.59 incorporates a myriad of innovations that are simply too numerous to mention. The background to the creation of this next-generation basic watch, encompassing all of these elements, is the tradition of innovation and unconventional watchmaking that Audemars Piguet has cultivated since its founding. The Maison's DNA, carefully extracted from the archives, is first collected in CODE 11.59, and then spreads out again to each collection... Now in its second season, CODE 11.59 has been given a new mission: to act as a hub station for this purpose. To put it simply, CODE 11.59 will now take on the role previously played by the Royal Oak Concept. As an aside, it is an interesting coincidence that Claude Emmaneguet was the key figure in the design work for both the Royal Oak Concept and CODE 11.59.

　Needless to say, the most prominent technology that spread from the CODE 11.59 as a hub station was the new core movement. As of 2019, the three-hand automatic "Caliber 4302" was simultaneously installed in both the CODE 11.59 and the Royal Oak. While the rotor design is different, the mechanism is completely identical. Meanwhile, the chronograph "Caliber 4401" was first installed in the CODE 11.59, and later a variation model was produced. This is the "Caliber 4409" installed in the "Remaster 01 Audemars Piguet Chronograph." In addition to the rotor design, this model also omitted the date display, so the caliber number was also changed. What's interesting is that the design approaches of the watches themselves are completely different between the CODE 11.59 and the Remaster 01. Both models have undergone the process of extracting DNA from past archives, re-examining it, and remaking it into a modern watch, but while the CODE 11.59 is a legitimate next-generation model that inherits Audemars Piguet's genes, the Remaster 01 retains the details while being reworked to fit modern proportions. This is why Audemars Piguet calls the latter design "remastered."

　CODE 11.59 is a hub station where new technologies are first introduced. One product that made a strong impression in this regard was the "CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Flying Tourbillon Chronograph," announced in September 20. Born from a completely different lineage from the existing Caliber 4401, the "Caliber 2952" is a tourbillon chronograph with an original totalizer gear train. The goal was thorough symmetry. The basic gear train, with the barrel at 12 o'clock, the second wheel in the center, and the tourbillon carriage at 9 o'clock, is a conventional design. However, the totalizer gear train layered on top of this is truly "unconventional." The column wheel that controls the start/stop of the totalizer is located at 2 o'clock, coaxial with the carriage. A conventional design would result in an incredibly thick watch, but the flying carriage keeps the thickness to a minimum. In the first place, there is data that shows that increasing the thickness of the carriage itself worsens attitude difference errors, so in a sense this is ``logically unconventional.''

If the thin carriage technology came first and then the unconventional design of the integrating gear train was layered on top of it, Audemars Piguet's complication development team must have been quite the force. While the actual design was handled by Audemars Piguet Le Locle, the team at the company's headquarters in Le Brassus is led by Michael Friedman, formerly the Musée's historian, making this a truly impressive feat for enthusiasts. The product of this unconventional project is the reset and flyback hammer, which extends from 12 o'clock to both sides. The mere fact that the CODE 11.59 was chosen as the platform for this new complication, which strives for perfect aesthetics, signals a generational shift from the Royal Oak concept. As I write this in November, it was announced that the Caliber 2950, ​​which was first featured in the CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Flying Tourbillon, part of the launch collection (2019), would also be featured in the Royal Oak. The proliferation of new technologies with CODE 11.59 as a hub will likely increase.

　The most striking feature of the 2020 CODE 11.59 was the introduction of a two-tone case and colored dial. At SIHH (now W&W) in 19, the company's final exhibition, it had stated that "while the first collection gave a somewhat subdued impression, the second and subsequent collections would add a playful touch." This leaked information was now a reality. The key feature is the beautiful gradation created by the translucent lacquer. First, the dial base is given a sunburst satin finish and then silver-plated. A translucent dial color is applied on top, and the outer periphery is then painted with a gradient paint. The top coat of Zapon (transparent lacquer) is also quite thick and meticulously polished. While the process is conventional, the depth and color development of each color are unmatched. Furthermore, for the gray without gradient paint, the sunburst background is intensified to enhance the brilliance, while for the chronograph, the glossiness of the subdials is reduced to improve readability. Furthermore, the dial's appearance changes subtly depending on the light source. For example, under fluorescent light or other light sources, the smoke purple appears black at first glance, but under strong light sources like sunlight, the vividness of the color becomes even more pronounced. Naturally, the impression changes depending on the angle from which you view the dial, and in the case of the CODE 11.59, the unique sapphire crystal with different curvatures on the front and back further enhances its unique character. Currently, Audemars Piguet has its own dial workshop in Geneva, and its quality control management capabilities are undoubtedly top-notch. What's even more interesting is that the smoke blue has been "re-imported" into the new Royal Oak Concept model. The evolution and deepening of each product, centered around the CODE 11.59, is likely to continue to grow.