SIHH 2009: Audemars Piguet Tradition Perpetual Calendar Minute Repeater Watch

The Audemars Piguet Tradition Perpetual Calendar Minute Repeater watch is the most complex of three new creations which the illustrious watchmaking house of Le Brassus has made to commemorate a cushion-shaped pocket watch from 1923.  Like the original pocket watch, the Audemars Piguet Tradition Minute Repeater watch, Ref. 26052BC.00.D092CR.01, presents a glorious combination of perpetual calendar and minute repeater, two of the most difficult and celebrated complications in the realm of classical haute horlogerie.

Presented in platinum or 18-karat white gold, the 39mm case of the Tradition Minute Repeater is distinguished by its strikingly brushed broad bezel surfaces, which contrast distinctively against the polished case flanks and lugs.  In keeping with this understated theme, the dial showcases an opaline vertical satin-brushed finish, whose texture emphasizes the perfect finishing of the "Cathedrale" hands and Breguet-style Arabic numerals in pink gold; the small pointers for small seconds, day, date, month, and leap year are in blued steel.  A cutout at 9 o'clock features a classical moon phase indicator, whose gradual movement replicates the motions of earth's closest neighbor through a 29 1/2 day cycle.  A slide piece on the left side of the case actives the minute repeater, which chimes the hours, quarter hours, and individual minutes on two gongs.  

A sapphire crystal exhibition back in the caseback of the Audemars Piguet Tradition Perpetual Calendar Minute Repeater watch invites admiration of the masterful hand-wound Caliber 2855, with its 435 hand-finished parts.  Among the refinements which entreat the eye through the transparent back are bridges with Cotes de Geneve and anglage finishes, beveled screw and jewel settings, and repeater hammers that display an exceptional specular polish.  Balance frequency of the Caliber 2855 is 18,000 vibrations per hour, and power reserve is 30 hours.  

The Audemars Piguet Tradition Perpetual Calendar Minute Repeater watch is fitted with a hand-sewn strap in alligator leather, and an 18-karat gold or platinum buckle.  The case is protected against humidity.