Kong introduces the Audemars Piguet Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph, references 26564RC and 26564IC, a limited-edition masterpiece inspired by a 1920s cushion-shaped pocket watch. This article delves into the intricate details of these exceptional timepieces, highlighting their complex complications—a tourbillon, minute repeater, and chronograph—all housed within a single, hand-wound movement. Kong emphasizes the meticulous hand-finishing and the acoustic properties of the titanium case, designed to enhance the minute repeater's sound.
As company still in the hands of the founding families, Audemars
Piguet cultivates its original traditions by producing, with the help of
brillant,devoted and manually gifted watchmakers, an array of works
that are admired by the most discerning collectors and connoisseurs.
This
year, in order to express the very best in watchmaking, the Manufacture
in Le Brassus has decided to develop a model equipped with
complications and clothed in a case inspired by that of a 1920s
cushion-shaped pocket-watch belonging to its private museum. The result
is the Tradition Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph, produced in two
10-piece limited editions : one in pink and white gold, and the other
in titanium and white gold.
The first version, featuring a pink
gold case middle topped by a white gold bezel, associated with an
anthracite dial, pink gold hands and hour-markers, lends the model an
original and timeless charm. The other version with its titanium case
middle and white gold bezel offers the wearer the best possible auditory
experience when the minute repeater is in operation. Few people are
aware that the quality of the sound emitted by a watch largely depends
on the metal from which the case is made, as well as its volume. The
larger the case and the lighter and harder the materials, the more it
enables the acoustic waves to expand. The 47 mm titanium case thereby
maximises the sound volume, thus enhancing connoisseurs’ listening
pleasure.
In addition to its original design, this extraordinary
instrument also houses an exceptional movement combining highly
sought-after horological complications including a tourbillon regulator
and a minute repeater mechanism. Assembled within a single mechanism and
complemented by a chronograph function, they form a rare and
outstanding whole.
The appealingly curved case of the Tradition
Tourbillon Minute Repeater Chronograph accommodates a mechanical
hand-wound 13 ÂĽ-ligne (29.90 mm) calibre that is 7.65 mm thick and
comprises 504 parts – of which some of the individual elements and
mechanical subsets are visible through the transparent case-back.
Moreover, the 83 parts composing the one-minute rotating tourbillon with
its balance oscillating at a rate of 21,600 vibrations per hour may be
admired through the dial opening, thus enabling the owner of this
fantastic instrument to revel in the sight of this 0.4 gram regulator of
which the constant revolutions are designed to enhance the precision of
the watch. This exceptional timepiece is also superbly crafted by hand
according to the highest Fine Watchmaking standards in order to reveal
meticulously worked parts fully respectful of tradition.
The
patient finishing work, to which specialised artisans devote hundreds of
hours, is clearly visible through the transparent case-back. Finishes
such as bevelling, recesses, sinks and sandblasting call for countless
hours of fine craftsmanship and incredible dexterity, in a process
amounting to around one-third of the price of the movement. Among the
techniques used to make this movement visually appealing, bevelling is
undoubtedly the most highly appreciated manual technique, as well as
that which requires the greatest accuracy. This exercise, which calls
for years of experience, consists in using a file to cut down the edges
of components and in polishing them with a slightly curved burnisher, so
as to highlight the rim by enabling the light to play across the
bevels. These finishes serve historically functional purpose, by
protecting the movement against dust and humidity, and thus any risk of
oxidation. Nonetheless, these finishes and decorations will only
effectively magnify the beauty of the mechanism if the technique
involved in this art is fully mastered. It is indeed a form of art fully
mastered by Audemars Piguet and continually applied to our products.
Functionality meets aesthetics in these infinitely delicate operations.
This aesthetic treatment of the mechanism powerfully reveals this
meticulous workmanship, executed to perfection at Audemars Piguet. In
the case of this model, each part has been treated with infinite care.
Some components, such as the hammers of the minute repeater striking
mechanism which are visible through the case-back, combine two finishes
entailing highly complex execution : a mirror polish that is so fine
that artisans even joke among themselves that “a glance is enough to
scratch it” ; along with a bevelling featuring interior and external
angles embodying the ultimate expression of the artist’s mastery. These
specific angles, which can be easily pinpointed in the mechanism, may be
viewed as the secret signature of the artisan, and provide undeniable
proof of the authenticity of a work performed by hand because no machine
could possibly produce this type of finish.
These two intense
and exceptional models, with their cases featuring a particularly
distinctive design, share the same Manufacture Audemars Piguet
hand-wound Calibre 2874, partially visible through the case-back and
ensuring a 48-hour power reserve. This watch interpreted in pink and
white gold version fitted with an alligator strap is secured to the
wrist by a pink gold folding clasp, while the titanium and white gold
version of this Tradition watch comes with a white gold folding clasp.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS CASE 18-carat
pink gold case (47 mm), glareproofed sapphire crystal and case-back,
18K white gold crown, bezel, pushpieces and case-back. Not
water-resistantDIAL Satin-brushed anthracite dial, pink gold applied Arabic numerals and hands.FUNCTIONS Tourbillon, chronograph, minute repeater striking on 2 gongs, hours, minutes, small seconds.SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS • Triple complication movement• Column-wheel chronograph mechanism• 30-minute counter• Hand-finished bridges and mainplate• Hand-finished cut-out parts (polished bevels, straight-grained on top and matt surface underneath)STRAP Hand-sewn black “large square scales” crocodile leather with 18K white gold AP folding clasp.REFERENCE 26564RC.OO.D002CR.0110-piece limited editionTECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS CASE Titanium
case (47 mm), glareproofed sapphire crystal and case-back, 18K white
gold crown, bezel, pushpieces and case-back. Not water-resistantDIAL Silvered opaline dial, pink gold applied Arabic numerals and hands.
FUNCTIONS Tourbillon, chronograph, minute repeater striking on 2 gongs, hours, minutes, small seconds.
SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS • Triple complication movement• Column-wheel chronograph mechanism• 30-minute counter• Hand-finished bridges and mainplate• Hand-finished cut-out parts (polished bevels, straight-grained on top and matt surface underneath)STRAP Hand-sewn black “large square scales” crocodile leather with 18K white gold AP folding clasp.REFERENCE 26564IC.OO.D002CR.0110-piece limited editionCalibre 2874
Proprietary Calibre 2874, hand-wound
