Swiss time bandits Audemars Piguet reimagine a past classic with the new [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph.
“I have great respect for the past. If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going. I have respect for the past, but I’m a person of the moment.” The words of civil rights activist and poet Maya Angelou, someone who knew a thing or two about the impact of time, just might have been echoing through the hallways of Swiss Haute Horlogerie manufacturer Audemars Piguet’s workshops when the brand decided to reinterpret its rarest chronograph wristwatches with the manufacture’s latest technology and a dial design increasing legibility for today’s savvy gentlemen.
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The newly crafted [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph brings the aesthetics of the past – in this case the highly distinctive design attributes of the original chronograph wristwatch from 1943, with its two-tone steel and pink gold case enhanced with a champagne dial – into the present with a limited run of just 500 watches.
This first remastering project brings forward the manufacture’s creativity during the tumultuous and transitional World War II era. By uniting mid-20th century design with contemporary horological technology, [Re]master01 speaks directly to the blend of heritage and forward-thinking which continues to infuse Audemars Piguet’s timepieces.
Faithful to the original design language of pre-model 1533 from 1943, [Re]master01 features a round case and lugs in stainless steel, enhanced by a bezel, olive-shaped pushers and a chamfered crown in 18-carat pink gold. The teardrops lugs highlight the two-tone hand-polished case’s harmonious curve, while the very thin bezel provides an unobstructed view on the dial’s detailed work.
The case’s two-tone polished aesthetics is complemented by a satin-brushed gold-toned dial enriched with black transferred hour-markers, pink gold hour, minute and seconds hands, blue chronograph hands and a blue transferred tachymetric scale.
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Although the dial design has retained the original timepiece’s classic features and Art Deco-inspired numerals, the watch’s enlarged 40 mm diameter ensures better legibility fit for a contemporary use.
While the chronograph counters have also been rearranged for improved readability, [Re]master01 has subtly kept the original watch’s 4/5 indication above the 15 minutes mark inside the 30-minutes counter at 9 o’clock to allow the wearer to record up to 45 minutes. This indication was requested by Audemars Piguet’s third-generation family-founder Jacques-Louis Audemars (1910 – 2003) to satisfy his taste for soccer and indicate his favourite sport’s half time.
Bringing the past into the present, [Re]master01 is equipped with the manufacture’s newest generation of selfwinding chronograph mechanism: an integrated chronograph with column wheel and flyback function. Contrary to the original wristwatch of 1943, [Re]master01 features a glare-proofed sapphire crystal caseback which reveals the beauty of the chronograph mechanism and the dedicated 22-carat pink gold oscillating weight matching the bezel. The oscillating weight is satin-brushed and decorated with “Clous de Paris” — a traditional decoration technique used since the 1950s at Audemars Piguet.
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The light brown hand-stitched calfskin strap adds an elegant touch and the watch also comes with an additional dark brown alligator strap.
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