With a Simple Twist, Audemars Piguet Revolutionizes Perpetual Calendar Watches
The Swiss brand introduced a range of new timepieces in honor of its 150th anniversary—including the calibre 7138 movement, which solves a pesky problem with perpetual calendars.
An Audemars Piguet Royal Oak perpetual calendar watch in sand gold with the calibre 7138 ticking away inside. All date functions can be set through the crown, a totally new innovation in watchmaking.
Source: Audemars PiguetWatch brands love an anniversary, big or small, and treat them as a way to showcase their technical skill. This year, Audemars Piguet celebrates its 150th, so it’s no surprise its research and development teams worked for five years to create something they believe might change watchmaking for the next 150.
On Feb. 17, AP showcased the fruits of that labor at the Arc, the watchmaker’s nearly 194,000-square-foot new manufacture in Le Brassus, Switzerland. The futuristic building (which is still only partially open) curves around the existing Manufacture des Forges and brings much of AP’s production across the Vallée de Joux under one roof. Here, Chief Executive Officer Ilaria Resta and her team showed new watches and celebrated the brand’s history.