An exclusive look at the new Audemars Piguet [RE]Master02 Selfwinding

Best known for its iconic Royal Oak wristwatch, first launched in 1972, Audemars Piguet has also made its mark in the industry as an innovator and pioneer with numerous achievements throughout its rich history, including the world’s first minute-repeating wristwatch in 1892 and an ultra-thin automatic tourbillon in 1986. While these are just some of its accolades, there is a lot more to the Swiss luxury watch manufacture and its storied past that many may not know.

Even so, the manufacturer has been doing a great job at telling its own story, especially with the opening of the Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet in 2020. Located in Le Brassus, the heart of the Vallée de Joux in Switzerland—where the manufacture is still headquartered today since it was founded in 1875 by the visionary duo of Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet—the museum allows everyone, regardless of age or knowledge of watches, the opportunity to immerse in the universe of Audemars Piguet.

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(Photo: Audemars Piguet)

Within and beyond the growing collection of the museum, the manufacture’s archives run deep, encompassing many rare and hidden gems that Audemars Piguet seems to have been slowly and carefully sharing over time, revealing facets of its history as well as illustrating its evolution and influence on the world of haute horlogerie. One particularly special way it is doing so is through the [RE]Master collection, where it has reinterpreted some of its most significant creations thus far.

The brand likens the idea of the [RE]Master collection to the remastering of music recordings; these timepieces are modern and creative interpretations of the aesthetic codes of some of its rarest creations, which are representative of their eras. For the inaugural watch, which was launched in 2020 to celebrate the opening of Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet, the manufacture revisited a unique 1943 chronograph to inspire a contemporary interpretation: the [RE]Master01 Selfwinding Chronograph, which is limited to 500 pieces.

Audemars Piguet Model 5159BA (Photo: Audemars Piguet)

Now, Audemars Piguet is adding a second timepiece to the highly coveted collection, once again looking to its past to inform its present with the exceptional [RE]Master02 Selfwinding. Before its launch in May, Tatler Singapore was invited to Le Brassus for an exclusive first look at the new timepiece and meet its muse, which is referred to as Model 5159BA, a rare asymmetrical watch created by the manufacture in 1960. Audemars Piguet chose this watch to remaster and represent the period of the 1960s, during which the manufacture produced several models inspired by brutalism, a style of modernist architecture, with angular geometric shapes and minimal ornamentation.

The era also represents the golden age of asymmetrical watches for the manufacture, and saw the creation of more than 30 models between 1959 and 1963, most of which were produced in fewer than 10 pieces. Model 5159BA was one such notable watch, of which only seven units were made, with one on display at the Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet. This vintage watch features an asymmetrical 27.5 mm rectangular case in 18K yellow gold and a dial that eschews the codes of classic watchmaking.

: Audemars Piguet [RE]Master02 Selfwinding (Photo: Audemars Piguet)

“When we decided to make a remaster from that period of time, we had many options because we made so many different watches that have interesting designs,” says Raphaël Balestra, the heritage and archives manager at Audemars Piguet. “But we wanted an example that would stand out. That’s why we chose this one from 1960. The reason is quite obvious: For it’s very brutal shape with sharp angles. It’s not exactly brutalist [which mainly uses concrete] because it’s made of gold. The gold is also treated, it’s satin-brush polished, because we always want to play with the light, and the shape also plays with the symmetry of the watch.”

While creating a modern iteration of a vintage watch seems straightforward enough, the process is not as simple as adding, refining or removing a few details from the original. An Audemars Piguet [RE]Master requires starting from square one to redesign and develop new tools, movements, materials, methods and much more, for what is essentially a completely new watch—upgraded with the technology and know-how of today without straying too far from its inspiration.

The bevelled sapphire crystal and sharp corners highlight the [RE]Master02’s asymmetrical rectangular-shaped case (Photo: Audemars Piguet)

Going for Gold

Compared to its muse, the new [RE]Master02 Selfwinding watch features a larger 41mm asymmetrical case crafted in sand gold, a proprietary 18K gold alloy that the manufacture unveiled earlier this year on a Royal Oak Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon Openworked reference. The unique colour of sand gold, which lies somewhere between white and pink gold, is achieved by using less copper and silver in the gold alloy, and more palladium. The result is a slightly darker, cooler‑toned metallic taupe material with a colour shift effect, which, depending on the light and angle, can toggle between hues similar to white gold and pink gold.

The choice of sand gold for the [RE]Master02, in place of the original, more vintage-looking yellow gold, might seem surprising but it is very much in line with Audemars Piguet’s spirit of innovation. “Nowadays, the colours of gold are standardised from 2N to 3-, 4-, and 5N and so on. But there was a period of time when there was no standardisation, so you could have a lot of different coloured golds according to the alloy,” says Lucas Raggi, Audemars Piguet’s director of research and development.

“We found this very interesting and thought it would be cool to kind of break the rules and go back to those non‑standardised colours; bringing this new material on an old watch in our notion of a remaster.”

As he observes us trying to take photos of the[RE]Master02 at the presentation, Thibaut Le Loarer, who heads research at Audemars Piguet, quips, “[The] sand gold’s colour shift effect makes it a nightmare to take pictures of. But it’s fun also because you have a watch that’s never the same depending on the light and the angle you look at it with.”

With its many facets and sharp edges, the watch’s asymmetrical satin-brushed case comes in a larger 41mm size, which sits comfortably on the wrist. It houses the extra-thin 2.8mm self-winding calibre 7129, which is specially developed for the[RE]Master02. The movement is based on the calibre 7121 featured in the Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra‑Thin watch launched in 2022, but without a date indication to preserve the minimal dial aesthetic of the 1960s inspiration.

The dial is composed of 12 triangles in different shapes and sizes separated by galvanised sand gold partitions (Photo: Audemars Piguet)

Beyond the Surface

One of the biggest challenges in the making of the [RE]Master02 Selfwinding watch, according to Raggi and Le Loarer, was developing the bevelled sapphire crystal on its case. It took the team over two years as not only does the sapphire crystal have a unique shape to fit the case, which has never been done before, it also had to guarantee water-resistance and meet Audemars Piguet’s strict quality requirements. These are the new constraints of modern watchmaking that the Model 5159BA, which featured the mineral glass instead of the more resistant sapphire crystal, did not face.

“With normal glass, we would just have to heat a flat plate and fold it. But sapphire is a stone that you cannot fold,” explains Le Loarer. “That means we had to mill it from a big block of sapphire in four steps to obtain this final shape, which is completely new in the watch industry.” New tools also had to be developed to carry out this milling process and to achieve the precise 15.8 degree angle of the bevel.

This painstakingly produced sapphire crystal protects an important feature of the watch: its dial in Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50, Audemars Piguet’s distinctive, rich blue hue often used on the Royal Oak timepieces. It is composed of 12 brass triangles in various shapes and sizes, applied with physical vapour deposition (PVD) to achieve the signature blue shade, which are then individually satin-finished before being placed onto the brass main plate. The triangles are separated by galvanised sand-gold-toned partitions that meet at the centre.

The self-winding calibre 7129 was made specially for the [RE]Master02. (Photo: Audemars Piguet)

Thanks to the geometry of the design as well as the linear satin finish on the triangles, the resulting effect is a mesmerising and dynamic one that interacts with the light, creating the illusion of different shades of blue on the dial.

To complement the case and diagonal lines on the dial, the hour and minute hands are also crafted in sand gold, while the Audemars Piguet logo at 3 o’clock is first made in yellow gold by galvanic growth (a process not yet achievable with sand gold) before being coated in sand gold PVD.

Finally, the [RE]Master02 Selfwinding watch, limited to 250 pieces, is paired with a matte alligator leather strap in contrasting shades of blue that match the hues of the dial, and affixed with a sand gold pin buckle.

Specifications

Case: 41mm sand gold; Movement: Selfwinding calibre 7129; Dial: Parted “Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50” dial with linear satin finishing; Strap: Alligator leather strap in contrasting shades of blue with matt finishing and sand gold pin buckle

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