Audemars Piguet

SIHH Novelties Preview at AP Boutique, Paris

 

I found it perfect so I use the same title than Goh ! But I change the city: yesterday in Paris, the AP Boutique organized an event to present the 2011 SIHH novelties to its customers.

Actually, there were two surprises: the first one was the wide range of novelties & prototypes which were available. The guests could judge, handle the novelties from all the collections: Jules Audemars, Millenary, ROO.

The second surprise was the presence of Giulio Papi! And it was a wonderful surprise. We could discuss with him during all the event about the novelties, the projects, the partnerships with other brands... what a pleasure !

I propose you to browse these novelties. I didn't shoot the watches I saw at the SIHH, you will be able to see them in this thread:
ap.watchprosite.com

If I had to sum up my feelings about the AP novelties in a few words, I would say:
- a new ambition for the Jules Audemars collection
- at least, a great use of the Millenary case with the 4101
- a new dynamic for the Offshore

Let's start with the Jules Audemars Selwinding.

This watch is a very classic one, well done, with a 39mm case (it looks a bit smaller IMHO). The interesting point is the use of in-house caliber 3120. Despite its qualities, I find it a bit too reasonable to be really exciting: I much prefer the Extra-Thin with its gorgeous 2120 caliber, its pure dial and its bigger size.

I like the silver-toned dial:

The 3120 and its beautiful rotor:






Nice, elegant... but also a lack of character for my taste:

Let's stay with the Jules Audemars collection with the Small Seconds. The watch is dedicated to the small or to women wrists. Again, the finishings, the overall quality are flawless but the same remark can be done with this one: the watch is a bit too "sober". Anyway, it is nice to see the caliber 3090 in this context.

We enter another collection now with the new ROO.

5 points can be underlined to describe them:

- a 44mm case
- a perfect integration of the pushers into the case
- different combination of materials with a constant: ceramics
- a see-through caseback
- the combo 3126/3840 modular movement which was used for the Trulli Offshore.

So, as I said for the Trulli, the 3126 base brings to the owner of the watch the ability to see a very well finished movement. But as the module is located dial side... you don't see the difference with a simple 3 hands movement. Anyway, the 3126/3840 is not shocking in this context.

3 variations are available and each one is very different from the other 2.

The most discrete is the Ceramics and Steel version:

The most luxurious is the Ceramics and Pink Gold version:

The most original is the Ceramics and Forged Carbon, maybe the best combo for this type of design and at the end, my fav of these new ROO:

I really appreciated to wear it:

Let's stay in the ROO collection with a timepiece I really like: the Schwarzenegger The Legacy Chronograph.

This watch is a LE of 1500 pieces. It has a 48mm case which combines Ceramics, Titanium and Pink Gold. And do you know what? Despite its size, I was seduced by it. The watch has a slender style which was possible thanks to the use of the modular 2326/2840 caliber. The JLC base leads to an overall caliber thickness of 6,2mm (while the 3126/3840 is 1 mm thicker). So the case is a bit thinner than the ROO with a much wider diameter. At the end, the watch gives a  visual result which is very different than the ROO... I won't say it is an elegant watch, the word is not correct here but I suggest to say that the watch has smooth and aggresive designs at the same time. A sort of mix between fire and ice which makes the ROO Legacy very attractive.

You will notice the case design and the parts on the left size which purpose is to give a sort of symmetry:

The Tour Auto watch is in 2011 a Millenary. We find the classic Tour Auto colours but I have to confess that I was not convinced by this watch... I found the 2010 Tour Auto so beautiful that this one was a sort of disappointment. Maybe after all it is due to the Millenary 4101. Once you see it, you never forget it !

As I said at the beginning of the post, we discussed with Giulio Papi during the event. I would like to thank him a lot for his availability and his freedom of speech. We had an open talk about the past, current... and future projects.

What can I say is that AP works a lot to improve its standard calibers. If before AP was a brand which was able to deliver impressive complicated and high-end calibers against a rather simple offer of entry level calibers, things have change (thanks for example to the 3120) and things will keep on changing. We can in the same idea underline the work done with the 4101. The 4101 is not "a mere 3120" with which AP decided to put dial side the escapement. The balance wheel has a stronger performance than with the 3120 and we consider that the 4101 is a step-ahead caliber compared to the 3120.

The Millenary 4101 (see below a pic I took at the SIHH) is the first example of what would be the design of all the future Millenary. So expect in the future other complications with this type of design with 3D dials. There is a true ambition now for the Millenary collection and these are good news for AP.



What is the big strength at Renaud&Papi? Of course, we all know their ability in developping complicated calibers with very classic or original layout. But maybe there is an unknown point: it is their ability to measure and to control the energy consuming of the different parts of the caliber. This ability helped them a lot to  put an end to the long quest to make the Opus 3 caliber working and reliable. I will come back to this in the Harry Winston forum.

As you can imagine it, it was a great pleasure for all the attendees to discuss with him !

Giulio Papi with Arnaud Vidal, head of Audemars Piguet France:

I would like to thank a lot Audemars Piguet France, Mr Vidal and Alexandra, the staff of the Paris Boutique and his director, Mr Laurent Drimille, Giulio Papi for this great event and the perfect organization.

Fr.Xavier

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