FROM THE BRINK
Thrusting the [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph into the limelight, AUDEMARS PIGUET gleans the fringe of its rich but little-known history of making chronographs, writes justin ng
Festooned with a medley of archival references from the ‘40s, Audemars Piguet’s novelty the [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph is a contemporary homage to the aesthetics of the decade best remembered for the ill-fated horrors brought upon by World War II. Preceded by the Art Deco movement and the gradual discontinuation of the mono-pusher chronograph, the watches of the ‘40s were often born out of necessity as military supplies. Naturally, the chronograph with its utilitarian ability to measure time and speed became increasingly popular.
However, not all were created for the war. There were those that were created for the sake of a spiritual escape. Audemars Piguet’s Ref 1533, of which the [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph is based on, was one of such rare examples of escapism. Among the most soughtafter, the manufacture’s vintage chronographs are scarcely found, with only 307 units produced between the ‘30s and ‘50s. At the time, Audemars Piguet was not a series watch producer that it is presently, counting 40,000 pieces as its annual production. Prior to 1951, every watch sold was a unique piece, which explains the reason information of these watches is hard to come by and more often than not, accompanied by beguiling tales of past owners to add an effulgent backstory to an otherwise little-known watch.
Detail of these vintage Audemars Piguet chronographs is so scant that to learn more about them, one awaits the sporadic examples that appear on Phillips auction house. On November 7, 2015, a pink gold and stainless steel encased Ref 1533 (in exceptional condition considering its age) made in 1941 with a rose champagne dial went under the hammer in Geneva for CHF305,000. It is said that only three Ref 1533 pieces boasting such stainless steel and gold case design were made in 1941, and subsequently sold in 1943. Only one had a rose champagne dial. Although the price of the winning bid is reasonable for a watch of such rarity and prestige, the tripling of its estimated fetching price of between CHF100,000 and CHF150,000 paints a telling story.
During World War II, when the Ref 1533 was made, chronograph wristwatches accounted for a little under one-tenth of the manufacture’s total output volume. The 36mm dual-tone case was considered larger than average especially when its peers were measuring between 31mm and 34mm. Today, however, 36mm is deemed too small a diameter for chronographs.
“There were many inspiring watches within our heritage collection that could have been the basis for this remastering project. The entire team unanimously decided on this chronograph wristwatch because of the specific aesthetic and emotional connections we all felt for this echo of the past,” says Michael Friedman, Audemars Piguet’s head of complications, revealing their collective decision to recapture the spirit of the Ref 1533.
Examining the Audemars Piguet [Re] master01 Selfwinding Chronograph’s exteriors, it is apparent that the DNA of the Ref 1533 is well preserved, despite it not being a “historic reissue.” Friedman asserts that the [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph “is a contemporary remastering of one of our past creations.” The new flyback chronograph features a round case and teardrop-like lugs in stainless steel, enhanced by a bezel, olive-shaped pushers and chamfered crown in 18k pink gold, not unlike that of the Ref 1533. The hand-polished case is further complemented by a satin-brushed gold-toned dial (a departure from the aforementioned Ref 1533 with a rose champagne dial) enriched with black transferred hour-markers, pink gold hour, minute and seconds hands, blue chronograph hands and a blue transferred tachymetre scale.
Furthermore, the new watch has inherited the Ref 1533’s 4/5 indication, which sits above the 15-minute marker inside the 30-minute counter at 9 o’clock, allowing the wearer to record up to 45 minutes. This idiosyncrasy can be attributed to Audemars Piguet’s third-generation familyfounder Jacques-louis Audemars (1910-2003), whose favourite sport was football and the 45th minute points towards half-time.
While the original dial design such as the Art Deco-inspired fonts and the signature Audemars Piguet & Co Genève has been retained, the layout of the sub-dials has been altered and the case enlarged to 40mm to improve legibility, as well as to house an automatic in-house integrated chronograph movement with column wheel, flyback function and 70 hours of power reserve. The Ref 1533’s movement is decidedly manualwound as the automatic chronograph movement wasn’t invented until 1969.
The [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph’s calibre 4409 is revealed through a transparent caseback – unlike the Ref 1533 which has a closed caseback. The movement is fitted with a 22k pink gold rotor with a Clous de Paris motif. Paired with a light-brown hand-stitched calfskin strap to accentuate the soft, elegant colours of the watch, the [Re]master01 Selfwinding Chronograph is also shipped with an additional dark brown alligator strap for a stately presence and limited to 500 pieces.