A newcomer is taking its place within the prestigious Audemars Piguet classic collections: the Jules Audemars self-winding chronograph. Its dial design strongly evokes the 1920s, lending it a discreetly vintage note while radiating an array of casual and chic touches blending classic and contemporary aesthetics. While extremely evocative by nature, this chronograph does not merely offer a new take on history. It can also lay claim to pioneering status as the very first self-winding chronograph in the Jules Audemars collection, beating to the rhythm of an exclusive state-of-the-art Audemars Piguet movement.

The very first chronographs were equipped with a hand that actually placed a drop of ink on the dial, thus providing a material indication of the measured time. Later on, daring drivers and bold athletes adopted them as indispensable instruments for measuring their accomplishments. Today, the chronograph represents far more than just a valuable professional tool. If people were asked to quote just one single complication among mechanical watches, the chronograph would doubtless be mentioned. This function is riding an unbroken wave of enthusiasm. Whether for calculating a 100-metre sprint or a Formula 1 race, it expresses sporting excellence imbued with passion and precision. What if it also served to “give” us time instead of taking it away from us? And if it enabled us to fully appreciate each second of the time at our disposal.

This wishful thinking springs to vivid life in the Jules Audemars self-winding chronograph, an eloquent symbol of time regained. Pervaded by the characteristic free-spirited attitude of contemporary design, the style of the dial is inspired by the past and allows us to relive an entire era. The numerals conducive to optimal readability; the elegant leaf-shaped hands; the chronograph seconds hand featuring a hollowed counterweight, the minute track with its red indications surrounded by a tachometric scale; the presence of two horizontally aligned small seconds and thirty-minute counters: the entire range of details are arranged with infinite subtlety and elegance. Instead of the white dial matched with a pink gold case and brown crocodile leather strap, retro enthusiasts will be tempted to opt for the model combining an eggshell-coloured dial with a white gold case and black crocodile leather strap. In both cases, the sapphire crystal serves to admire both the movement and the finishing, including the particular care lavished on the gold oscillating weight. Proudly bearing the family crests of the Audemars Piguet families, the latter adds a truly distinguished signature touch to this exclusive movement.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Jules Audemars self-winding chronograph

References
26100OR.OO.D088CR.01
18-carat pink gold case
26100BC.OO.D002CR.01
18-carat white gold case

Movement
Calibre: exclusive AP 3124/3841, self-winding
Total diameter: 29.92 mm (13 lignes)
Casing diameter: 26.00 mm
Thickness: 7.16 mm
59 jewels
400 parts
Over 60-hour power reserve
Cadence of the balance: 21,600 vibrations per hour
Variable inertia balance with eight inertia-blocks and flat balance-spring
Geneva-type mobile balance-spring stud-holder
Two-position winding crown
Finishing: all parts decorated by hand; rhodium-plated, bevelled, circular-grained mainplate, bridges adorned with a Côtes de Genève motif 

Case
18-carat white or pink gold
Diameter: 41 mm
Thickness: 12.60 mm
Water resistance: 20 m
Sapphire crystal case-back

Dial
White-lacquered or offwhite-lacquered dial with black transferred Arabic numerals
Black leaf hands

Strap
“Large square-scale” hand-sewn brown crocodile leather with 18-carat pink gold folding clasp; or black with 18-carat white gold AP folding clasp


Functions
Hours and minutes
Small seconds
Chronograph with central chronograph seconds hand, 30-minute counter
Tachometric scale
 

Source: Audemars Piguet