Two years ago, the Manufacture in Le Brassus launched the Code 11.59, a contemporary version of the classic round watch. Audemars Piguet is now adding two high-performance chronographs to the collection. The two-tone watches combine a ceramic middle case – designed in collaboration with Bangerter, a Swiss family-owned company specialising in ceramic, tungsten carbide and other extra-hard material precision components – with lugs and caseback in rose or white gold. An ultra-complex industrial process was developed to produce the middle case using zirconium oxide powder with a binder that remains a closely guarded secret. The caseback worked on state-of-the-art machines require various manipulations before being hand-finished. Perfectly aligning the gold and ceramic components, round and angular surfaces, that provide the piece with a captivating play of light is another challenge the Manufacture’s craftsmen have taken up.
Play of light
The black flange and counters on the smoked dark grey dial add even more depth, while the gold or white gold hands and hour-markers add a touch of brilliance. And the calibre 4401 powering these fiendish watches, an integrated flyback chronograph with column-wheel, is visible through the sapphire caseback. With their 70-hour power reserve and water resistance to 30 metres, these models are the perfect accompaniment to the hectic lives of modern men and women. Purists will notice the 22-carat pink gold oscillating weight and stylish Côtes de Genève decorations, also visible through the sapphire caseback. Black textured rubber-coated straps with calfskin lining, perfectly integrated in the continuity of the open worked lugs, complete the pieces’look.
