Lot Essay
With Audemars Piguet wooden presentation box and later certificate.
It is from the very first series of the Edward Piguet tourbillon model fitted with a mineral crystal plate, introduced at the SIHH in Geneva in 2001. Only three examples were expected to be completed and available for 2002, each one slightly different, due to the unique patterns and structure of the crystal plate. In a way, each watch is thus a unique piece.
Tourbillons are universally recognized as a classical grand complication, and the sheer difficulty of cutting and shaping the rutilated mineral crystal for this watch's plates required the adaptation of a cutting process likely unique in the watchmaking field.
Rutilated quartz is a quartz stone with rutile enclosures, appearing in long, thin shots of colours ranging from deep red to brown and grey tones, sometimes even resembling gold fibres. It has been used as gemstones and other ornamental and religious objects for thousands of years.
The Edward Piguet 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. The models are distinguished by their elegantly curved rectangular cases, subtly reminiscent of understated Art Deco sophistication. In keeping with these fundamental principles, Audemars Piguet has created a magnificent synthesis of noble characteristics: mechanical hand-wound movements featuring hand-crafted and decorated parts, ranging from "time only" to highly complicated wristwatches, such as the present watch.
It is from the very first series of the Edward Piguet tourbillon model fitted with a mineral crystal plate, introduced at the SIHH in Geneva in 2001. Only three examples were expected to be completed and available for 2002, each one slightly different, due to the unique patterns and structure of the crystal plate. In a way, each watch is thus a unique piece.
Tourbillons are universally recognized as a classical grand complication, and the sheer difficulty of cutting and shaping the rutilated mineral crystal for this watch's plates required the adaptation of a cutting process likely unique in the watchmaking field.
Rutilated quartz is a quartz stone with rutile enclosures, appearing in long, thin shots of colours ranging from deep red to brown and grey tones, sometimes even resembling gold fibres. It has been used as gemstones and other ornamental and religious objects for thousands of years.
The Edward Piguet 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. The models are distinguished by their elegantly curved rectangular cases, subtly reminiscent of understated Art Deco sophistication. In keeping with these fundamental principles, Audemars Piguet has created a magnificent synthesis of noble characteristics: mechanical hand-wound movements featuring hand-crafted and decorated parts, ranging from "time only" to highly complicated wristwatches, such as the present watch.