AUDEMARS PIGUET – Code 11.59 Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon

 

AUDEMARS PIGUET – Code 11.59 Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon White Gold 41 mm Black Onyx Dial 50th Anniversary 2022

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AUDEMARS PIGUET RELEASES ITS FIRST
EVER Code 11.59 SELFWINDING FLYING
TOURBILLON

Swiss Haute Horlogerie manufacturer Audemars Piguet is happy to present its latest Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon enriched with a black onyx dial. The timepiece encompasses a stylised two-tone case design interweaving black ceramic with 18-carat white gold for a powerful contrast. 

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The watch’s blend of natural stone, precious metal and high-tech ceramic furthers the collection’s creative expression.

BLACK ONYX PURE ELEGANCE

The new Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet gives pride of place to the black onyx dial, whose purity is highlighted by the absence of hour-markers. This stone dial has been crafted in collaboration with long-term partner Someco, a company specialised in dial manufacturing since 1966 and located in La Chaux-de-Fonds. 

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Carved out of a single black onyx stone, the dial has then been cut into a thin disc, ground, sanded and polished to perfection before being inserted into the dial’s pink-gold-toned brass base plate. Its polished finishing confers it an elegant shine, magnified by the watch’s double curved sapphire crystal. Each dial is unique, as each stone has its own natural composition, texture and colour and reacts differently to the manufacturing and finishing operations.

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The overall minimalist design is enriched with pink gold accents, including pink gold hands and a discreet pink-gold-toned minute track printed on the black lacquered inner bezel. The polished laser-cut pink gold “Audemars Piguet” signature has been applied onto the dial with dedicated legs specifically adapted to the stone’s thickness. 

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Lastly, the flying tourbillon cage, encircled by a delicate pink-gold-toned thread, matching with the balance wheel pulsating within, makes its rotations at 6 o’clock. For the first time, the top bridge of the flying tourbillon cage has been finished with black PVD in an echo to the dial’s colour. The black rubber-coated strap, finished with a textured motif, enhances the watch’s contemporary look.

TWO-TONE CASE AESTHETIC

BLENDING BLACK CERAMIC AND WHITE GOLD
The Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon is endowed with a contemporary two-tone case design. While the bezel, lugs and caseback are crafted in 18-carat white gold, the octagonal case middle is honed from black ceramic. First introduced on the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Chronograph in 2021, this two-tone case aesthetic makes its debut this year on some of the collection’s complicated models.  

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Blending advanced technology and time-honoured tradition, the case required complex programming, dedicated tools and highly specialised human talents for its industrialisation and the hand finishing of its components. Similarly to the 2021 Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Chronograph, the ceramic case middle has been crafted in collaboration with Bangerter, a Swiss family-owned company specialised in the manufacturing of precision components made of advanced ceramics, tungsten carbide and other super hard materials.

The manufacturing of the case middle follows a complex industrial flow. Zirconium Oxide (ZrO₂) powder is combined with binder content, the composition of which remains the secret of the company. This feedstock is given preliminary shape on latest generation 5-axis CNC machine technology. After this first machining process, the binder is removed. The watch component obtains its hardness and final colour by sintering at approximately 1,400° C. 

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The component is then hard machined with high-precision diamond tools before being pre-polished and pre-satin-brushed. Ultimately, like the gold components, the ceramic case middle is meticulously hand-finished with the Manufacture’s trademark alternation of satin brushing and polished chamfers, endowing the timepiece with a rich play of light. The artisans’ final challenge is to reach perfect alignment between the rounded and angular surfaces of the ceramic and gold elements, a task that can only be achieved by hand.

“Born in Le Brassus, raised around the world.”

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TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Model:  CODE 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon / 41mm

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Ref. 26396NB.OO.D002KB.01

Movement 
Hand-wound Manufacture calibre 2950
Total diameter: 31.50 mm (13 ¾ lignes)
Total thickness: 6.19 mm
Number of jewels: 27
Number of parts: 270
Minimal guaranteed power reserve: 65 h
Frequency of balance wheel: 3 Hz (= 21,600 vibrations/hour)

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Functions

• Tourbillon
• Hours
• Minutes

Case
Diameter 41 mm
Black ceramic case middle, 18-carat white gold bezel, lugs, caseback and crown, 

double curved glareproofed sapphire crystal, glareproofed sapphire caseback.
Thickness: 11.8 mm
Water-resistant to 20 m
Dial
Black onyx dial

Black lacquered inner bezel.
Openworked
18-carat pink gold hands 
Bracelet
Black rubber-coated strap with 18-carat white gold AP folding clasp.


Price: CHF 175,000

  New Product Overview 2022

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Press Release - 2022
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Audemars Piguet (Marketing) SA
Route de France 16 - Case postale 16
1348 Le Brassus - Switzerland
Phone : + 41 21 642 39 00
Fax : + 41 21 642 34 02
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Grand Seiko – KODO Constant-force Tourbillon Unique Piece

  

SEIKO – Grand Seiko KODO Constant-force Tourbillon Brilliant Hard Titanium - Unique Piece 2022

 

 A Unique Heartbeat: The Piece-Unique Grand Seiko 
Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon SLGT001

Grand Seiko reached a new milestone in its sixty-two-year history with the introduction of the brand’s first mechanical complication watch, the Grand Seiko Kodo Constant-force Tourbillon. At its heart is a uniquely innovative movement that delivers a level of stable accuracy unprecedented for Grand Seiko by combining a tourbillon and a constant-force mechanism as one unit on a single axis for the very first time in horological history. 

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The watch is named Kodo, the Japanese word for heartbeat. With its unique appearance when in motion and with its carefully designed sound, this revolutionary watch reveals its vitality both audibly and visually, thanks to the open-work design and the sapphire case back. Most remarkable of all is the way that the constant-force mechanism and the tourbillon have been integrated together to allow the creation of an overall design that is perfectly in harmony with the values of Grand Seiko and whose technical ingenuity is encased in a watch of great elegance and wearability.

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In 2020, Grand Seiko introduced the “T0 Constant-force Tourbillon”, a concept movement incorporating a constant-force mechanism and a tourbillon as one unit on a single axis. To bring the concept to life in a finished watch required the complete dedication of a team comprising designers, engineers, and craftsmen and women entrusted with the assembly and finishing of the movement and the case. Each of the 340 components of the caliber was re-examined and, where necessary, re-designed and re-engineered for production. The result is Caliber 9ST1. 

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Not only is Caliber 9ST1 smaller than its concept movement predecessor, but its high accuracy remains stable for longer thanks to the constant-force mechanism. Furthermore, Caliber 9ST1 sets a new standard of accuracy, verified in a testing procedure during which each movement is tested for a full 48 hours in each of six positions and at three temperatures. This is twice as long as the Grand Seiko Standard.

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Each movement is assessed over 34 days to verify its accuracy. When the tests are completed and this new standard has been met or exceeded, the performance characteristics of each movement are defined in the individual certificate provided with every watch.

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For the Kodo model unique piece to be sold exclusively by Phillips Auction, SLGT001, the concept was based on musō 無双. Musō roughly translates to “one and only” or “second to none,” a fitting term for the unique piece exclusive to the auction. This unparalleled model is unique in several ways compared to the global model limited to 20 pieces, reference 👉 SLGT003.

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First, the multi-component case structure is made entirely of Grand Seiko’s proprietary alloy, Brilliant Hard Titanium. This material, which is used on only the outer case and outer construction of the bezel of SLGT003, is used for both the inner and exterior case components to thoroughly reduce weight and achieve a comfortable feel unique to this model. Brilliant Hard Titanium is as light as pure titanium but twice as hard as stainless steel and, therefore, highly resistant to scratches. Its color is brighter than the other forms of titanium used for Grand Seiko, allowing the Zaratsu polished surfaces to stand out more prominently.

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The bridges, mainplate, and many of the components of the movement are plated in a silver color to create an entirely new aesthetic for the Kodo. A yellow-gold accent for the power reserve and seconds track of the carriage inherits the aesthetic of the T0 concept movement.

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The design of the screws for the Kodo model has the appearance of the six arms of the carriages, a trait that cleverly enhances the design but also is pleasant for assembly. The special screwdriver and screws used have an even application of torque, which the designer of T0 and Kodo, Mr. Takuma Kawauchiya, enjoys greatly. For the unique piece SLGT001, the screws are tempered blue by hand instead of being mirror polished as they are on reference SLGT003. 

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The carriages for the constant-force tourbillon mechanism are titanium to help reduce weight and improve efficiency. They are blue as well, which is executed through anodic oxidation. Anodic Oxidation is a surface treatment in which the titanium carriages are subjected to electrolysis to generate an oxide film artificially. Titanium oxide film produces color according to the light refraction index, enabling the production of different colors by varying the thickness of the oxide film. This once again emulates the styling of the original concept T0.

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The GS letters are specially engraved by hand on the Brilliant Hard Titanium clasp by Grand Seiko’s very best engravers. The watch is offered with a calf strap specially treated in the same traditional way as was used to create the high-durability material once used in the armor of the Samurai. The strap’s surface is painted by hand with Urushi lacquer in a multi-coating process that gives the strap a delicate sheen. It is in a brown color specially for this unique piece.  

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Accompanying the unique piece Kodo SLGT001, will be an exclusive trip to Japan to meet its creators, the Grand Seiko team, a visit to Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi in the lovely Iwate prefecture.

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A portion of the sale will be donated to the Children’s Heart Foundation. The Children’s Heart Foundation is the leading organization dedicated to funding congenital heart defect research. 

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 

Model:   Grand Seiko Kodo Constant-force Tourbillon Unique Piece

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 Ref. SLGT001

Movement
Caliber 9ST1
Driving system: manual-winding
Vibrations: 28,800 vibrations per hour (8 beats per second)
Accuracy: +5 to -3 seconds per day (when static for 48 hours)
Power reserve: 72 hours
Number of jewels: 44
Constant-force Tourbillon
(Constant-force: 50 Hours)
Diameter: 35.0mm, Thickness: 7.98mm

Functions
    Water resistance :    10 bar
    Magnetic resistance :    4,800 A/m
    Other details / Features :    
        ・Case back with 6 screws
        ・Unique Piece on the case back
        ・Power reserve indicator
        ・See-through case back
        ・Serial number engraved on the case back

 Exterior
    Case Material :  Brilliant Hard Titanium
    Glass Material : Box shaped sapphire crystal
    Glass Coating :  Anti-reflective coating on inner surface
    Case size : Diameter 43.8mm  Lug-to-lug 50.6mm  Thickness 12.9mm
    Clasp type : Platinum 950 three-fold clasp with push button release

Option strap
XGL00122
Band width：22mm
Clasp width：18mm
Color：Brown
Material：Crocodile
It will be available from 2022.11

The Grand Seiko Kodo Constant-Force Tourbillon SLGT001 Unique Piece will be auctioned in the upcoming Phillips The New York Watch Auction: SEVEN on December 10-11, 2022 in New York City.

Edition - Unique Piece

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Press releases - 2022
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SEIKO WATCH CORPORATION
Mr­­ Noboru­­ Miyadera
2-8-10, Toranomon, Minato-ku,
Tokyo­­ 105-8467
Japan
Telephone +81 3 6739 2150
Telefax +81 3 6739 2071
seiko-pr@seiko-watch.co.jp
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