The 70s were good, happy times, rosy and hopeful. No wonder many watchmakers now look back on the era with nostalgia. Few of them, though, are as defined by the 70s as Audemars Piguet. The Royal Oak is the watch that defines the Le Brassus brand, a child of the 70s so famous that it’s hard to think of an AP before it.
But Audemars Piguet didn’t get its start when Gerald Genta designed his creation. The manufacture was founded in 1875, giving it plenty of warm-up time before the Royal Oak took off. Enough that, in this age of archive scouting, it was only a matter of time before Audemars Piguet delved into its own vintage catalogue.
Don’t worry, though, this isn’t the usual re-creation, re-edit or re-release; it’s a re-master. In fact, a [Re]master01 chronograph. Still, it’s not a throwback to the 1800s that AP has already passed. Instead, they’ve taken inspiration from the turbulent 1940s and one of their rarest pieces ever: their 1943 chronograph.
There’s a good chance you didn’t even know the manufacturer made chronographs back then. Honestly, I don’t think they did either. That’s because they only made 307 of them between 1930 and 1950. They’re among the rarest watches in existence, with the last one sold by Phillips going for CHF 384,500. You can see why Audemars Piguet would want to bring their own vintage chronograph back into the spotlight.
The specific base watch in question is the former model 1533, a sports chronograph with a tachymeter – from a time when sports watches were still classy – and one that retains many vintage features.
That means a two-tone case, with the case and funky teardrop-shaped lugs in stainless steel. The slim bezel, chamfered crown and unusual olive-shaped chronograph pushers are all in rose gold. We’ve seen more two-tones in recent vintage releases, and as far as I’m concerned, we should see more. Steel’s boring; gold’s too much. Two-tones are quirky vintage fun. The yellow gold dial (rather than the more subtle champagne color of the original 1533) leans more toward luxury than imbalance.
To keep things tight, the markings on the dial are transferred rather than applied, making it flat. To make the chronograph hands stand out, they—and the tachymeter scale—are all blue, while the local time hand is rose gold. It’s a separation many chronographs could use.
On a side note, if you look closely, you’ll see an odd 4/5 written in red above the 30-minute chronograph counter. That’s because Jacques-Louis Edmars, the third generation of the founding family, loved football. The markings are there to denote the 45-minute half-time. If only the mystery of extra time wasn’t beyond mortal comprehension.
The final archival flourish is the signature. Audemars Piguet was founded and remains in the Vallée de Joux, but the dial says Audemars Piguet & Co Genève, referring to a time when AP still had a workshop in the central Swiss watchmaking hub. It closed in the 70s, in case you were wondering.
There are some differences in design though. For one, the case size has increased from the original 36.5mm to 40mm. Ostensibly to make the dial more legible, but it’s also just a more modern size. The chronograph layout is different too. Before, it had the chronograph minutes and hours at 3 and 6 o’clock respectively, and the running seconds at 9 o’clock. The [Re]master01 has the chronograph minutes and chronograph hours at 9 and 6 o’clock respectively.
The change comes down to the movement, which is anything but retro. This won’t be surprising to anyone who has seen a “vintage-style” release, like a modified Porsche, but what’s under the hood is pure modern machinery.
The calibre 4409 is Audemars Piguet’s latest automatic movement, with a column wheel flyback chronograph and a 70-hour power reserve. Their current range is all very much up to spec; functionally far superior to anything from the 1940s. Through the sapphire crystal caseback you can see the whole thing, including the rose gold-decorated Clous de Paris rotor, another thing the original sorely lacks.
The [Re]master 01 promises to be the first of a new wave of Audemars Piguet pieces with historical roots, and it’s a nice change from the shiny new 11.59s and rich Royal Oaks. However, there’s one thing it doesn’t do as well as the original watch – depending on how you look at it.
Price and specifications:
Model name: Audemars Piguet [re]master01 automatic chronograph
Ref: 26595SR.OO.A032VE.01
Case/dial: 40mm diameter, stainless steel and rose gold
Water resistance: 20m
Movement: Manufactured Calibre 4409, automatic
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph with 12-hour and 30-minute totalizers
Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 70 hours
Strap: Light brown calfskin and dark brown alligator
Price: 49,500 Swiss francs (excl. taxes), limited to 500 pieces
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