The Mind-Blowing Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage Pocket Watch

August 09, 2013

We have seen quite a lot of news from Le Brassus this week, havent we? If you thought we were done, think again! In fact, were barely getting warmed up. Today, I get to introduce you to possibly the most impressive of all the new releases, the Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage pocket watch.Now, before you hit Command-Q or Alt-F4, because pocket watches arent your jam, hear me out. This one comes with a mind-blowing 47 functions, at least 22 of which are traditional complications. This platinum beauty features a mechanical computer on its case back, with the ambition of bringing cultures together. Trust me, it is worth a few minutes of your time, even if you are sure you will never own one. Lets have a closer look!A culture-crossing, celestial source of inspirationTimekeeping and astrology emerged in virtually all great civilizations. Whether for religious, scientific, or practical purposes, such as planning agricultural activities, humankind has always been fascinated by the skies above.This results in a host of different calendars based on the Sun, the Moon, or both. They all share the aim of marking specific events through astronomical observations. The Gregorian solar calendar, for instance, uses Earths revolution around the Sun, with solstices and equinoxes marking seasons. By contrast, the Hebrew, Hindu, and Chinese Lunisolar calendars use the Moon for months and the Sun for yearly cycles. Lunar calendars, like the Islamic calendar, rely solely on the Moon.The Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage pocket watchs case back features a mechanical computer based on the Gregorian calendar. It features eight complications, unifying the solar, lunisolar, and lunar cycles on a single circular display. It offers 18 displays, including years, leap years, months, dates, weeks, moon phases, and seasonal markers, such as solstices and equinoxes. Lastly, it displays nine celebrations from different cultures, including Christmas, Diwali, Pesach, Ramadan, and the Chinese New Year. You can display all of this information for any year between 1900 and 2099 by turning a bidirectional wheel. The mechanism is otherwise passive and not connected to the pocket watchs caliber.The Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage Pocket Watch lineageSo, technically, all of that doesnt even go into the Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage Pocket Watch itself yet. Admittedly, thats a semantic discussion I will steer clear of, but the main housing of the watch hides even more Haute Horlogerie goodness.We should see this new pocket watch in its proper historical perspective. The line traces back to 1899, when AP created the most complicated pocket watch at that time. The LUniverselle was produced for Union Glashtte. AP followed up in 1921 with another ultra-complicated pocket watch, aptly named La Grosse Piece (The Big Piece) for S. Smith & Sons. Next, we jump to 2023, and the introduction of caliber 1000 in a wristwatch called RD#4. For the first time, an Audemars Piguet Ultra-Complication caliber found its way into a wrist-worn form factor.Code 11:59 by Audemars Piguet Ultra-Complication Universelle RD#4Todays release builds on that caliber 1000 while putting it back into a pocket watch. Caliber 1150 takes the base of caliber 1000 and removes the automatic winding system. Next, AP reworked the pushers for optimal use in a pocket watch. The crown-pusher at 2 oclock starts and stops the chronograph, selects the chiming mode (silence, petite sonnerie, or grande sonnerie), and activates the minute repeater via a new pull function. At 3 oclock, the main crown-pusher manages winding, bidirectional date correction, time setting, and the split-seconds hand during chronograph operation. The pusher at 4 oclock resets the flyback chronograph and adjusts the month forward or backward, returning to neutral after each activation for greater precision and ease of use. So, while the basic architecture remains, the new caliber 1150 took plenty of watchmaking prowess to bring to life.Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage Pocket Watch complicationsNow, I dont usually copy information straight from a press release, but forgive me for making an exception for the Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage. AP divides the complications into two categories - complications and intuitive mechanized ergonomics. Now, the total number depends on definitions, so AP conservatively lists 22 of these as complications. Still, here is the full list of functions within each category.Complications:TourbillonDay indicationDate indicationLarge date displayMonth indicationYear indication, units and tens discs (semi?Gregorian calendar)Mechanical leap-year calculation (semi-Gregorian calendar, with indication)Mechanical calculation of the centennial leap-year exception (100 / 400 years, with indication)Moonphase mechanismMoon displayChronograph seconds indicationChronograph minutes indicationChronograph hours indicationSplit secondsHour-strike repeater mechanismQuarter-strike repeater mechanismGrande sonneriePetite sonnerieMinute repeaterYear indication, units and tens discs (universal calendar)Mechanical leap-year calculation (universal calendar, with indication)Centuries and millennia discIndication of the year (common or leap year)Mobile leap-year annual calendar discMobile lunar calendar discMobile week discMobile pointer for cultural celebrationsNew moon pointers following the Hijri systemIntuitive mechanized ergonomics:High-amplitude escapementHours and minutes display (legibility/reading ergonomics)Bidirectional time settingShock protectionQuick date correctionBidirectional date correctionBidirectional quick month correctionIndirect quick year correctionUnidirectional quick day correctionUnidirectional quick moon correctionStart/stop chronograph mechanism (non-jumping hand)Chronograph reset mechanism (controlled force)Flyback mechanismActivation/deactivation mechanism for the split secondsChiming silent modeChiming/display synchronization mechanismLow-consumption vertical chiming clutchDelay mechanismLow-consumption lifting piecesHigh-tone hammer with elastic anti-rebound stopLow-tone hammer with elastic anti-rebound stopChiming lock in case of barrel depletionChiming isolation during time settingSafety disengaging crown for chiming mechanismsUnidirectional manual winding for the chiming mechanismQuarter-silence functionSilent regulatorResonance tableBidirectional quick correction of the universal calendarCrown control mechanismMultifunction pusher at 2 oclockMultifunction pusher at 4 oclockMetiers dart and exteriorTwo Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage Pocket Watches will be built in platinum. AP will also produce a further eight in 18K white gold. Rest assured, both options will feel plenty hefty since the case measures 50mm wide by 23.4mm thick. The critical reader might feel that a 50mm case with a roughly 34.3mm movement is pushing it. I would counter that AP needs all of this real estate to properly display the overload of information presented. Just have a look at that lovely mechanical computer on the case back; you wouldnt want that to be compressed any further. Inside the case also lies a dial rendered in translucent blue enamel with white gold Roman numerals. The backdrop is manually engraved, as is the entire case band. It features a vivid display of APs founders, the Vallee de Joux, and a 150th-anniversary logo. The watch comes on a handmade platinum chain.The decorated inner case back with the bidirectional wheel for changing the year and the see-through soundboard under the sapphire displayOne final detail I wish to highlight is the Supersonnerie sapphire soundboard, hardly visible (because transparent) through the case back. It acoustically enhances the chime while still offering an unobstructed view of the caliber below.Closing thoughts on the Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage pocket watchThere you have it - a platinum or white gold pocket watch with a movement comprising 1,099 components, a mechanical computer, 22 complications (arguably even 60 under the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry standard), a hand-engraved case and dial, translucent enamel work, and the lofty ambition of bringing cultures together.Hand-crafting the platinum chainIt is easy to be cynical when speaking of luxury products costing more than CHF 2,000,000. You are right to wonder whether the world needs this. Still, I am happy there is a tiny little corner of the planet where this can exist. It is a place where humankind explores the boundaries of what we can make with our hands, tools, and machines, and budgets are quickly abandoned in favor of uncompromising ambition. And while this objet dart wont bring us world peace, I also love seeing those celebrations united on a single calendar.What do you think of the new Audemars Piguet 150 Heritage pocket watch? Let us know in the comments section below!Watch specifications Brand Audemars Piguet Model 150 Heritage Reference 75150PT.OO.01Dial Translucent blue enamel over hand-engraved white goldCase Material Platinum or 18K white goldCase Dimensions 50mm (diameter) 23.4mm (thickness)Crystal SapphireCase Back Hunter style, opens to 180 degrees, featuring a mechanical computer displaying a unified calendar Movement Audemars Piguet 1150: manual winding, 21,600vph (3Hz) frequency, 60-hour power reserve, 1,099 components Strap Hand-made platinum chainFunctions 22 complications (see article for the full list)Price On request (over CHF 2,000,000) Special Note(s) Limited to two pieces in platinum and eight in white gold