When Audemars Piguet initially launched Code 11.59 three years ago – the brand’s first legitimately original collection in some 20-plus years – it’s fair to say that critical reception was less than stellar.
Following a few fits and starts, the avant-garde range is beginning to find its footing – not least because it has so often been the basis for exceptional craftsmanship, encapsulated in works like Anita Porchet’s Grand Feu enameling or a whole generation of modular in-house movement (a la Calibre 2948).
Now, the famed makers of the Royal Oak are dipping into the company archive; with the release of a new Code 11.59 reference that features its historic and (until now) seldom seen ‘Star Wheel’ complication.
The novel expression of time-keeping – first developed in the 16th century at Pope Alexander VII’s behest – was made for a decade-long interlude at Audemars Piguet, beginning in 1991. Yet even then, production numbers of the Ref. 25720, as it was then known, were painstakingly minimal (historians estimate no more than 30 pieces were made globally).
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The brand’s latest reincarnation marries the whimsy of the original complication with a contemporary design language and technology – possibly the best possible combination for exploiting the Code 11.59’s architectural, axis-bending aesthetic.
The titular Star Wheel module is enclosed by an appropriately spacy aventurine dial: a detail that’s given plenty of room to shine when contrasted against the watch’s gold-slash-ceramic case. The movement isn’t new, strictly speaking, but nevertheless derives from AP’s latest generation of in-house calibres – one that’s topped with a beautiful rotor in 22-carat pink gold, skeletonised with the familiar cursive logo.
And, in spite of its whirling somewhat steampunk-esque look, the Star Wheel display is incredibly easy to read. Essentially AP’s take on the classic ‘wandering hours’ complication, wearers tell the time by reading one of the three discs in the dial’s centre in conjunction with the aperture between 10 and 2 o’clock. (In the press image above, the time displayed appears to be 10:23.)
An interesting move on AP’s part, the new Star Wheel follows in the footsteps of other similar vintage-inspired launches in recent years, notably including the [Re]master01 that was based on one of the brand’s rarest mid-century chronographs.
Naturally, it’ll be some years before Code 11.59 overtakes the Royal Oak collection to become the crucial revenue driver at AP, but a more diverse and interesting skew of product – especially from a watchmaker with as rich a heritage – is always a good thing.
