Audemars Piguet's New Ultra-Complication: Code 11.59 Universelle RD#4
More than a century after producing its ultra-complicated Universelle pocket watch, the Swiss Haute Horlogerie manufacturer Audemars Piguet is pleased to present its first ultra-complicated wristwatch (RD#4), with the highly contemporary design of the Code 11.59 collection. While paying tribute to the manufacture's legacy of high complications, the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Ultra-Complication Universelle RD#4 was created with full respect for ergonomics and contemporary use, so as to offer unprecedented comfort and ease of use.
This new creation brings together the savoir-faire of the manufacture in a single movement, Calibre 1000, which comprises more than 1,100 parts. A feat of engineering and fine watchmaking tradition, this pioneering mechanism builds on three generations of research and development innovations and incorporates 40 functions, including 23 complications, among them a Grande Sonnerie Supersonnerie, a minute repeater, a perpetual calendar, a flyback chronograph and a flying tourbillon. Engineers, designers, watchmakers and craftspeople worked hand in hand for more than 7 years to bring this RD#4 chronograph to life, continually broadening their skills to take the limits of haute horlogerie to a new level.
The 1899 L'Universelle pocket watch, which stands at the centre of the AP Museum's Atelier, and the new Code 11.59 Universelle RD#4.
We all love ultra-complications, and this one is the culmination of several decades of research, design and manufacture of many different types of complicated mechanisms that have always placed ergonomics at the forefront of the whole process.
“To achieve the highest level of reliability while keeping the thickness of our calibres to a minimum, we believe that a ‘mechanical function with an ergonomic focus’ opens a new path for Audemars Piguet and for the watch industry as a whole.” Giulio Papi, Technical Director, Audemars Piguet
GENESIS OF AN EXCEPTIONAL ULTRA-COMPLICATION
The project began in 2016 with the aim of developing a highly complicated wristwatch suitable for everyday wear, striking the right balance between complexity, ergonomics and aesthetics.
Going beyond traditional construction norms, the teams blurred the line between movement and case, developing ergonomic correctors and crown push-pieces that allow users to activate the watch's multiple functions with ease. The watch also incorporates the Supersonnerie technology unveiled in 2015 (RD#1), the ultra-thin perpetual calendar movement launched in 2018 (RD#2), and the oscillator with increased amplitude that debuted in the two RD#3 Royal Oak selfwinding ultra-thin flying tourbillon models launched in 2022. In 2023, this project led to RD#4 and to the creation of a remarkable wristwatch powered by an ultra-complicated selfwinding movement counting more than 1,100 components. Calibre 1000 incorporates 40 functions, including 23 complications, as well as 17 special technical devices, paving the way for a new generation of R&D movements.
Seven years later, Calibre 1000 sees the light of day in the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet collection, itself a bridge between past and future, between the classic and the contemporary.
Although the case has retained both the ergonomic curvature and the design codes of the collection, its proportions have been slightly adapted to accommodate this ultra-complicated mechanism. This new case, measuring just 42 mm in diameter (instead of 41 mm) and 15.55 mm thick, represents a true feat of engineering.
“The Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Ultra-Complication Universelle RD#4 is our quest for the Holy Grail, with an incredible amount of savoir-faire fitted into a very small space! We dreamed of it for 100 years, thought about it for 20 years, and it took us seven years to bring it to life.” François-Henry Bennahmias, Chief Executive Officer, Audemars Piguet
CROWNS AND PUSH-PIECES - WHEN TECHNICAL COMPLEXITY MERGES WITH ERGONOMICS
The manufacture's uncompromising approach, technical skills, watchmaking expertise and engineering guided the development of this ultra-complicated watch at every stage. The teams involved combined some of the most prestigious horological complications in a single selfwinding movement, less than 34.3 mm in diameter and 8.75 mm thick, while improving the comfort and experience of its users. One of the main technical developments consisted in simplifying the use of the functions for the client, reducing the large number of push-pieces usually found on highly complicated watches to just three crowns and three push-pieces.
The push-pieces, discreet yet large enough to be activated with a finger, have been integrated into the left-hand side of the case. While the top one starts the minute repeater function, the next two serve respectively to correct the moon and day indications - a system entirely rethought to make correction easier without resorting to pointed tools, which are naturally riskier.
Audemars Piguet Ultra-Complication Universelle RD#4
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