Lot Essay
The Jules Audemars collection pays tribute to one of the manufacture's founders and is a refined line embodying a legacy of intricate knowledge inherited from traditional horology.
Offered in superb condition, the present pink gold minute repeater tourbillon chronograph reference 260500R is an immensely fine grand complication from one of the greatest watchmaking houses - Audemars Piguet.
This exceptional and attractive horological masterwork brings together three of the greatest watch complications, the minute repeater, the tourbillon and the chronograph. The extraordinary calibre 2874 consists of 504 parts including a compensation balance for the one-minute tourbillon and column wheel chronograph.
The Chronograph
For timing one or more events is the most important and popular wristwatch complication and one which has many practical applications. Patented in 1862, the chronograph has been successfully miniaturized so that wristwatches can be used to time events (or two simultaneous events with a split-seconds chronograph) and times recorded up to 12 hours in some cases. Where a tachymeter scale is present on the dial, calculations of speed over a distance can be made.
Striking and Repeating
Striking and repeating mechanisms are some of the most challenging and expensive for modern watchmakers to create, not only in the miniaturization of the mechanism but also in its acoustic qualities and tone. When the slide is activated on the side of the case of a minute repeater, it strikes the hours, quarter-hours and minutes on at least two finely tuned coiled gongs.
The Tourbillon
Invented and patented by the genius Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1801, is one of the most enduring technical improvements to timekeeping precision and has been continually improved to extreme degrees. In a tourbillon, the entire escapement revolves so that any adverse effects on timekeeping caused by the watch’s position – up, down, sideways etc, is equalized. The tourbillon is also a very visually appealing complication and it has become an important feature of many of the great modern complicated wristwatches.
Offered in superb condition, the present pink gold minute repeater tourbillon chronograph reference 260500R is an immensely fine grand complication from one of the greatest watchmaking houses - Audemars Piguet.
This exceptional and attractive horological masterwork brings together three of the greatest watch complications, the minute repeater, the tourbillon and the chronograph. The extraordinary calibre 2874 consists of 504 parts including a compensation balance for the one-minute tourbillon and column wheel chronograph.
The Chronograph
For timing one or more events is the most important and popular wristwatch complication and one which has many practical applications. Patented in 1862, the chronograph has been successfully miniaturized so that wristwatches can be used to time events (or two simultaneous events with a split-seconds chronograph) and times recorded up to 12 hours in some cases. Where a tachymeter scale is present on the dial, calculations of speed over a distance can be made.
Striking and Repeating
Striking and repeating mechanisms are some of the most challenging and expensive for modern watchmakers to create, not only in the miniaturization of the mechanism but also in its acoustic qualities and tone. When the slide is activated on the side of the case of a minute repeater, it strikes the hours, quarter-hours and minutes on at least two finely tuned coiled gongs.
The Tourbillon
Invented and patented by the genius Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1801, is one of the most enduring technical improvements to timekeeping precision and has been continually improved to extreme degrees. In a tourbillon, the entire escapement revolves so that any adverse effects on timekeeping caused by the watch’s position – up, down, sideways etc, is equalized. The tourbillon is also a very visually appealing complication and it has become an important feature of many of the great modern complicated wristwatches.