SIHH 2009: Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Watch With AP Escapement

Following upon their groundbreaking achievement in crafting an in-house escapement that circumvents watchmaking's age-old enemy of friction, Audemars Piguet reveals a stunning new reference with this exclusive horological technology--the Jules Audemars Watch With Audemars Piguet Escapement.

The Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Watch With Audemars Piguet Escapement features the manually wound Calibre 2908, which comprises 267 individual components, and animates off-centered hours and minutes, a small seconds display, and a power reserve complication that shows the status of the 56-hour reserve. Undoubtedly however, the technical star of this exceptional caliber is the Audemars Piguet escapement, which operates free of lubrication and employs a direct impulse balance. Also unique to the AP escapement is the exceptionally rapid balance frequency of 43,200 beats per hour, a factor which contributes to stellar timekeeping precision as well as improved stability and enhanced resistance to shocks. In all, more than a decade of research and development was invested to take the Audemars Piguet escapement from a concept to functional reality--just one reason this rapidly pulsating tour-de-force is given a place of prominence on the front of the watch.

Beyond any functional advantages, the Calibre 2908 and the Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Watch With AP Escapement represent an exceptional marriage of advanced technique and artistic watchmaking. The smooth contours of the brushed 46mm platinum case emphasize the unique three-dimensional architecture of the movement, whose finishing techniques are inspired by the greatest examples of traditional watchmaking. The sapphire crystals fitted to both sides of the watch expose a fascinating landscape of guilloche-decorated surfaces, screwed jewel chatons, polished screws, and satined bridges with chamfered edges and beveled jewel settings. Refuges of pure classicism reveal themselves in the off-centered Roman dial in genuine white enamel and hands whose lustrous blued finish is achieved via meticulous heating by flame.

The Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Watch With Audemars Piguet Escapement will initially be offered solely in platinum. Each timepiece is fitted with a crocodile leather strap and a platinum folding clasp shaped in the form of the Audemars Piguet initials. The model is water resistant to 20 meters.