Audemars Piguet New Releases 2025

Words by Tony Wilkes

“Astronomy is the mother of watchmaking,” says Sébastian Vivas, heritage and museum director at Audemars Piguet. “The history of time measurement began with the observation of the sky.” It was the sun, stars and phases of the moon that formed the basis of timekeeping instruments, evolving from ancient sundials to the perpetual calendar of today: a watch that can tell the correct date and week by mapping the different lengths of months and even leap years. As the most complex calendar watch in existence, they remain the gold standard of watchmaking, inspiring manufactures to innovate new mechanisms of ever greater intricacy.

That’s precisely what Audemars Piguet has done. Kicking off its 150th anniversary celebrations, the Swiss haute horlogerie mainstay has completely revolutionised a selfwinding perpetual calendar movement, Calibre 7138, allowing the wearer to correct all functions by using only the crown – a mechanical breakthrough of five years in the making, and protected by five different patents. The one-of-a-kind movement makes its debut on a 41mm Code 11.59 in 18-carat white gold, two 41mm Royal Oaks in stainless steel and 18-carat sand gold, and on three limited anniversary editions. To discover more from the Code 11.59 and Royal Oak collections, visit Audemars Piguet in Fine Watches on the Ground Floor.

The theme continues with new dials, now rearranged for greater legibility and aesthetic harmony. A highlight is the latest date display, positioned at nine o’clock and featuring a patented progressive step with 31 custom-made teeth, the size of which varies to adapt to the width of the digits to enhance readability. For the same reason, the first week of the year (‘1’) is marked at 12 o’clock on the inner bezel, as are ‘Monday’ and ‘1’ on their respective subdials. Another focal note is the moon phase, based on a NASA photograph, with the full moon centred on the 12 o’clock axis to strengthen the balance of the design.

It is the dial that steals the show on the new 41mm Code 11.59, defined by its pattern of rippling circles laced with hundreds of tiny holes for greater brightness and depth – a motif created in collaboration with Swiss guilloché artisan Yann von Kaenel, who hand-engraved the basic stamps. The 18-karat white gold case also dazzles, thanks to its alternating satin-brushed and polished chamfers, designed to catch the light. The effect is completed by its 18-karat white gold luminescent hands, with white gold hour markers and white calendar indications, serving as the perfect contrast to a signature smoked blue dial and rubber-coated strap.

This two-tone aesthetic is also found on the first of two new Royal Oaks. Launched in 1972 – brainchild of the inimitable Gérald Genta – the Royal Oak was the first luxury sports watch to be made of stainless steel (a norm today but then utterly unthinkable), and still stands as one of the most groundbreaking timepieces of all time. This latest addition combines its stainless steel case and bracelet with a blue PVD Grande Tapisserie dial – a distinctive feature of Royal Oak watches – characterised by a large, square-shaped guilloché pattern for greater depth. In this iteration, it’s clear why the Royal Oak is Audemars Piguet’s best-known and most collectable watch.

But an icon must keep moving forward. The second Royal Oak shakes things up with a contemporary model of 18-carat sand gold – a precious alloy of gold, copper and palladium introduced in Audemars Piguet’s Royal Collection only last year. Despite its modern monochrome look, it’s defined by captivating changes of colour. Depending on the light, the watch shifts between white, pink and gold, accentuated by the satin-finished and polished chamfers on the bracelet and case. All three new models feature a sapphire case back, allowing their wearer to marvel at the inner workings – like a 22-carat pink gold oscillating weight.

Despite an astounding development of the perpetual calendar, plus a new Code 11.59 and two Royal Oaks, Audemars Piguet does not stop there. To celebrate the manufacture’s 150th anniversary, each model is also available in a limited anniversary run of 150 pieces each. Numbered on the frame of their sapphire case backs, each features a vintage Audemars Piguet signature – inspired by the writing on historical documents – inserted in the moon phase subdial at six o’clock. A subtle addition that makes these masterpieces even more desirable.