— timepieces

For the launch of its Code 11.59 collection, Audemars Piguet celebrated in Taipei and Shanghai – and this new collection of watches, having been in the works for more than half a decade, deserves all the fanfare it’s been receiving

Audemars Piguet celebrates the Code 11.59 collection and we talk to its Hong Kong ambassadors

THERE’S NO DOUBT that the unisex watch has caused a great deal of commotion within the high-end watchmaking industry – and the new Code 11.59 collection addresses that issue head-on. “At Audemars Piguet, we constantly challenge ourselves to push the limits of craftsmanship,” explains Jasmine Audemars, the watchmaker’s chairwoman of the board of directors. “Endowed with a strong spirit of independence, we proudly own our roots and territory, daring to combine precision and creativity. Faithful to our legacy, we continue to evolve by preserving and rewriting traditions. Code 11.59 is ahead of the game, constantly on the brink of tomorrow.”

This new collection blends a contemporary and a classic look, staying true to the classic round face, but with a twist. There are 13 references in Code 11.59, including five complications and six calibres from the latest generation. The spirit of the collection is represented in the name “Code” – an acronym for challenge, own, dare and evolve.

At the Taipei New Horizon shopping complex on April 11, a celebratory event showcased the 13 references alongside historical pieces from the brand’s museum. Seeing both the old, historical pieces alongside the new collection allowed for attendees to truly see the history of Audemars Piguet and how far it has come since being founded in 1875. Seeing the range of watches also shows how versatile the brand is, having produced collections that include sporty models, classic and traditional timepieces, ladies’ jewellery watches and oneof-a-kind creations.

Two weeks later, the second celebration for the launch of the

Code 11.59 collection happened on April 25 in Shanghai at the Expo-I Pavilion. At the event, guests were taken through an “immersive journey” to the birthplace of Audemars Piguet – the forest of the Vallée de Joux. To reveal the collection, a troupe of dancers put on a show “embodying the encounter of present and future,” with esteemed attendees including Chinese actress Song Jia and actor Yo Yang.

Audemars Piguet invited three prominent Hong Kong figures to attend the event in Taipei. Artist Michael Lau is widely known for his illustrations and designer toy figurines; Olympic swimmer Yvette Kong represented Hong Kong in the 2016 Summer Olympics; and May Chow, named Asia’s best female chef in 2017, is the creator of the Little Bao, Second Draft and Happy Paradise restaurants. We caught up with these three impressive individuals in Taipei and got some insight into why the watchmaker selected them as the embodiments of the Code 11.59 collection’s spirit.

MICHAEL LAU Audemars Piguet has recognised you for your ability to own and evolve. How would you interpret these words?

I really like how the brand interprets “own” because it comes from family values. Audemars Piguet is not just a big conglomerate and I can really relate to that, since as an artist, I have always been on my own – like a one-man band. So everything I do belongs to me. The human side of the brand has become something that I really treasure. In terms of “evolve”, in my creative career, I have always tried to break away from what I have done before. But at the same time, when I do something new, there’s always something carried over from the past, which is how I believe the brand is interpreting “evolve” in terms of this new collection.

Do you see a similarity between your work and the brand’s spirit?

First, the values such as “own” and “evolve” are something that we have in common. More importantly, the art Audemars Piguet produces is what we have in common. The watches are art pieces – just like what I make. Whenever you create something at the highest level of quality, it becomes art. The watches, for men or ladies, like my artwork to my collectors, are pieces of art, but also toys – something you can enjoy and have fun with.

To those seeing your work for the first time, your pieces might be misinterpreted as toys for children. What would you say to those people to allow them to fully appreciate your art form?

With the kind of work I do – specifically figurines – I never think of them as toys when creating them, but as art. Figurines are just one of the mediums through which I express my creativity and art, and I leave it to the audience to decide whether it is a piece of art or a toy. It’s up to the audience to create their own definition, because art is supposed to make you think and ask questions. I don’t want to force the audience to define what I do.

YVETTE KONG Audemars Piguet has recognised your ability to challenge and dare. How would you interpret these two words?

To challenge the limits for me is just an endless quest for perfection. And to dare is to have firm convictions and to stick to it, no matter what. I very much identify with those two words.

Do you see a similarity between your profession and the Audemars Piguet spirit?

Yes, I think being a professional swimmer has a lot of similarities with the brand’s spirit. When I was seven and I watched the Sydney Olympics, I set the goal and challenge of going to the Olympics one day. I was so mesmerised by the swimmers on TV. I started out on the school team and then moved up, increasing my training hours year by year. I was doing quite well, with a pretty perfect trajectory, and beginning to break Hong Kong records at 13 years old. Then at 16, I climbed up to the top 30 in the world. After all this success, I ultimately had a six-year plateau. During those six years, I trained every day and even increased my training hours, but unfortunately, I didn’t improve at all. I sort of went slower. I was very frustrated and retired.

So you actually retired?

Yes, I did. I missed the Olympics in 2012 by 0.1 second and then in 2013 I was done, so I told my coach that I was going to try a normal life in college and take some spare time to do other hobbies. After a while, though, I missed swimming. I realised that going to the Olympics was an unfinished dream that I needed to complete. I also realised that I had been running away from my problems. I sought out professionals to talk through my problems, as well as friends and teammates. I am really grateful to have them. I slowly came back to the pool with better well-being and more focus. I did some reflecting and learned that in the past, I was overlooking what made swimming so enjoyable – like hanging out with friends, life lessons and all that – and was too fixated on the results. Once I came back with a new mentality, I was so much happier at training. I graduated from UC Berkeley and then I went to Edinburgh for a new start, with a new coach and a new diet, and made the Olympics. I even reached the A- cut, which only about 40 to 50 people in the world make.

MAY CHOW Audemars Piguet has recognised your ability to evolve. How would you interpret this word?

I would interpret “evolve” as constantly challenging myself as a person in what I am doing, in my passions and my career. You can see this when we were doing

Little Bao. It was really successful right away, gaining international awareness, so that by the time we were going into our second and third year, people kept asking if we wanted to do another Little Bao or a hundred Little Baos. As much as that was a compliment, that wasn’t what I wanted to continue to pursue. My passion was to constantly revisit the idea of Hong Kong culture, Chinese cuisine and its history, and then evolve it into something new with a personal interpretation.

When I finally opened Happy Paradise, I did move forward to open a hundred Little Baos because it was a personal challenge to see how I could reinvent the story without losing the traditions, pushing the different angles. It’s not about doing something new, but thinking about what it came from. I was able to evolve as a person once I understood Chinese traditions and what it represented in the Chinese culinary world. I think that’s what Audemars Piguet and I have in common.

They could have continued with their Royal Oak range, but instead chose to reinvent themselves and challenge themselves, continuing to deliver excellence throughout the past 144 years.

Do you see a similarity in your work when compared to the Audemars Piguet spirit?

I think so. When you’re in your own space, you have the very great privilege of having your own history of excellence – and at some point, you’re just competing with yourself. It’s not whether someone required you to do it; it’s not that society doesn’t accept you for who you are today, but it’s about a personal need to progress. It’s not about how great we were yesterday – it’s about how great we will be tomorrow. I’m not impressed by myself today because I’m always looking at something tomorrow.

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