audemars piguet quartz 18k

Audemars Piguet Millenary 4101 AutomaticThe new Audemars Piguet Millenary 4101 automatic watch was officially presented a couple of weeks ago at the SIHH 2011 and immediately became a new icon of the Swiss brand.Just like it was done with the recently presented Piaget Emperador Coussin Tourbillon Ultra-Thin and the gorgeous De Bethune DB28 in titanium, the new Audemars Piguet Millenary 4101 takes the idea of a skeletonized watch and, literally, turns it inside out.The main idea behind the whole concept of skeletonization is to show off the inner workings of a mechanical movement.The result is a beautifully crafted (in most cases, but not always) display, which is a real pleasure to admire, but (again, in most cases, but not always) a real pain to look at when all you need is to find out what time it is now.Millenary’s signature off-centered main dial that takes less than half of the real estate of the huge 47 x 42 mm oval-shaped case, was the best candidate to make a skeleton watch, which is both beautiful and, at the same time, absolutely legible.As you can see on the pictures, AP’s engineers reworked the automatic movement in such a way, that its regulating organ that comprises the balance, lever and escapement is moved to the periphery of the caliber and, judging by the looks of it, is positioned right in the F1 focus of the oval.It is anchored to the movement with a massive-looking bridge, which (like the rest of the 12 visible bridges) is decorated with horizontal Cotes de Geneva stripes.The main hours and minutes display is done in two solid metal parts and, decorated with applied Roman numerals, is perfectly legible, although the leaf-shaped hands would look even better if they were not skeletonized, but simply covered with some Superluminova.As usual, the result is a finely crafted, well-balanced and, let me admit that, highly desirable watch that can prove a huge success, if Audemars Piguet will manage to find the point of intersection of the supply and demand curves.

Audemars Piguet Openworked Self-Winding Royal OakAs brutal as it is, the new Audemars Piguet Openworked Self-Winding Royal Oak watch leaves a somewhat peculiar impression. The first association that comes to mind when looking at a version in stainless steel, is a Terminator T-800 wearing lace and silk and keeping a straight face about it.The version in rose gold is, at the other hand, is more to the point since it brings in images of noble knights and their deceitful suzerains. The lace is still here, but so is gold and, hey, knights did wear plumes and jewelry and other stuff that was deemed luxurious during the Middle Ages!Also, the combination of rose gold, brown natural leather and anthracite-colored parts of the dial and movement helps the watch to show-off its beauty, which is hidden below the dull-gray plate mail armor of the stainless steel case and the chunky bracelet made of the same metal.As you can see on the photos, the timepiece’s transparent dial provides a perfect view at the meticulously crafted Calibre 3129 automatic movement with all its bridges and the mainplate straight satin-brushed and subjected to galvanic anthracite treatment.AP’s signature 22-carat rose gold winding rotor is also skeletonized in the shape of the corporate logo.The movement in question is based on the well-known Calibre 3120 base movement that also powers the last year’s Audemars Piguet Millenary Quincy Jones limited edition and the more brutal Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Diver.AP doesn’t go into details, but it looks like the only difference between the two is that the Caliber AP 3129 lacks the AP 3120’s date module. The power reserve of 60 hours is still here, though, as is the stop-seconds function, which makes it easier to set the time more precisely.