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The Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet watch family, whose name refers to the minute before the birth of a new day, was not complete. It offered a wide variety of complications (chronographs, perpetual calendars, tourbillons) and many colors to choose from (burgundy, green, gray…). But only two sizes were available to choose from. The collection was born in 2019 with 13 references whose diameter measured 41 mm, and its subsequent additions had not varied those proportions. Earlier this year, Audemars Piguet launched the Universelle, the most complicated wristwatch in its history, at 42 mm. But something was still missing.
That something has now arrived: a Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet 38 mm in diameter and 9.6 mm thick, designed both for a woman’s wrist and for men who, following trends (and comfort), opt for contained watches.
The independent firm based in Le Brassus (Switzerland) has brought out two versions of the Code 11.59 three-hand automatic. Made in 18K rose gold, they are presented in eggplant or ivory, with the same engraving on the dial that began to be used in early 2023 in the new steel specimens of the collection. It is a motif of concentric circles in gradient developed by Audemars Piguet and Swiss craftsman Yann von Kaenel, specialized in guilloché. And we also find other changes that has adopted the design of the Code 11.59, such as elongated applied indexes instead of Arabic numerals and a crown with shallower indentations.
Its case with brushed and polished surfaces, although smaller, is the same as always: a complex three-part structure formed by an octagonal caseband that is framed between a very thin bezel and a round bottom. The upper part of the skeletonized lugs is welded to the bezel, and the lower part rests on the case back.
This architecture, which is attached to the wrist with the help of an alligator leather strap in eggplant or ivory, protects the movement: the Audemars Piguet Caliber 5900, which the brand included in 2022 in some 37 mm automatic Royal Oak. Visible through the sapphire crystal case back, it provides the hours, minutes, seconds and date functions. Its frequency is high (4 Hz or 28,800 vibrations/hour), and the power reserve amounts to 60 hours. The new Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet are sold at a price of 34,400 euros each.
