The new perpetual calendar configuration looks exceptionally handsome in the Code 11.59 (All photos: Audemars Piguet)
The perpetual calendar, often abbreviated as QP from the French term “quantième perpétuel”, is a complex system. This intricate complication can mechanically track and display the day, date, month, year, leap year as well as moon phase without any intervention until the year 2100. At that point, a leap year is skipped due to a unique calculation quirk in the Gregorian calendar. Brands that venture into QP territory are few and far between, and often most exclusively from the upper echelons of horology.
In the past decade, Audemars Piguet’s perpetual calendars were powered by its Calibre 5134, an extra-thin movement based on the legendary 1967 Calibre 2120 architecture born of a triumphant collaboration between the maison, LeCoultre & Cie (renamed Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1979) and Vacheron Constantin. Last year, we bid the Calibre 5134 farewell in the stunning Crystal Sky perpetual calendar in partnership with John Mayer. Now, Audemars Piguet is blazing a new trail by launching Calibre 7138 to mark the beginning of its 150th anniversary celebrations.
Ergonomics was the key focus of the research and development that went into this new movement, which took five years to develop. For the uninitiated, adjusting the functions of a perpetual calendar (most, not all) can be a rather vexing task as a stylus — and the patience of a saint — is required to engage the corrector buttons for all of the functions. To enhance user experience, the maison’s engineers have developed an easier and more intuitive system entirely controlled via the crown to make this high complication adjustable anywhere sans tools and risk of damage.
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This “all-in-one” crown allows four positions. The first (all the way in) is for winding. This is done by turning it clockwise. Pull the crown out a step (position 2) and you will be able to set the date, also clockwise. Going anticlockwise adjusts the month and leap year. By pulling the crown out again (position 3 and the furthest out), you can set the time bidirectionally. Finally, the last involves pushing the crown back a step to position 2’ (two prime), turning it clockwise to set the day and week and counterclockwise for the moon phase.
Sounds easy enough. But the road to simplicity is almost always the most arduous. A series of patents have been developed to ensure the timepiece runs smoothly. This includes a complex mechanism driven by an innovative lever and wandering wheels system that meshes with the different calendar wheels in position 2 and 2’.
Take a closer look at the displays on the dial. They have all been rearranged to enhance legibility, symmetry and aesthetic harmony. It now follows a European format, where the day is at 9 o’clock, the date at 12 o’clock and month at 3 o’clock. The week numbers remain on the inner bezel, but now the first week of the year appears at 12 o’clock instead of week 52. By that same logic, “Monday” and “1” are also aligned at 12 o’clock in their respective subdials to mark the start of the week and first day of the month. This applies to the moon phase too, with the full moon centred along the same axis.
There is also a 24-hour indicator in the 9 o’clock sundial with a “no-correction zone” marked in red. This is to remind the wearer that the watch cannot be set between 9pm and 3am. However, due to technical improvements, if the user attempts to do so, the date might not change and there is also no risk of damaging the movement.
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Calibre 7138 debuts in two Royal Oaks and one Code 11.59 model, all available in 41mm. The absence of correctors on the side of the case allows for increased water resistance to 50m for the former and 30m for the latter.
The first Royal Oak model offers a two-tone aesthetic, combining a stainless steel case and bracelet with a blue PVD Grande Tapisserie dial with the subdials and inner bezel in the same hazy hue. It is endowed with 18-carat white gold hands and hour markers, all filled with luminescent material. White calendar indications on the inner bezel and subdials add a nice touch of refinement.
We were more than delighted to see Audemars Piguet once again making use of its shade shifting 18-carat sand gold — an alloy combining gold, copper and palladium that veers from beige to white to rose depending on the light — which debuted last year in the second Royal Oak. The manufacture’s satin-finishing and polished chamfers on the bracelet and case accentuate this monochromatic iteration while the same 18-carat white gold hands and hour markers against the indicators in black provide a subtle contrast.
While the Royal Oaks are usually the star of the show, this new perpetual calendar configuration looks exceptionally handsome in the Code 11.59 in white gold too. The collection’s signature embossed dial in smoked blue PVD shades is made up of concentric circles that ripple outwards from the centre, subtly drawing the eye to the symmetry and harmony of the various indications. This ripple motif made its debut in the collection in 2023 and was created in collaboration with Swiss guilloché artisan Yann von Kaenel, who hand-engraved the basic stamps.
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In line with the cool tones, 18-carat white gold luminescent hands, hour markers and white calendar indications contribute to the elegant two-tone design. It is fitted on a rubber-coated strap in the same blue hue and decorated with a textile motif.
All three models feature a sapphire caseback, revealing the mechanics of Calibre 7138, animated by an openworked oscillating weight in 22-carat pink gold.
Lastly, to celebrate the manufacture’s founding in 1875, all three models are available in a limited anniversary edition of 150 pieces each. These feature subtle design changes specially conceived for the occasion, such as a vintage “Audemars Piguet” signature inspired by historical documents on the moon phase. The timepieces also incorporate the “150” logo on the sapphire caseback alongside a “1 of 150 pieces” engraving.
This article first appeared on Mar 10, 2025 in The Edge Malaysia.
