Audemars Piguet Supersonnerie Royal Oak and Code 11.59

Audemars Piguet has added three watches to its Supersonnerie line: two Royal Oaks, in titanium and in 18-carat pink gold, and a Code 11.59 in 18-carat white gold. Prices are on request, and the maker says to expect figures above $424,500. All three run on the manually wound calibre 2953.

The problem Supersonnerie addresses is mechanical, not decorative. A minute repeater's chime is made by hammers striking gongs, and in a normal wristwatch case that sound gets absorbed by the movement and the caseback before it reaches the air. Audemars Piguet spent eight years on the fix, working with watchmakers, musicians and researchers at EPFL in Lausanne. The result is a soundboard mounted between the movement and the caseback, carrying specially designed gongs, with a regulator added to cut the mechanical noise of the repeater itself.

The two Royal Oak references share a 42mm titanium or pink gold case, 14mm thick, with the Grande Tapisserie dial treatment the model is known for. The titanium version has a smoked green dial; the pink gold version a brown dial to match its case. Both have integrated bracelets, locking crowns, sealed casebacks, and water resistance to 20 metres.

The Code 11.59 takes a different approach to the same movement. Its 41mm white gold case is 13.6mm thick, with a polished case middle, and the dial is a smoked sapphire disc that exposes part of the calibre 2953 beneath it, including the soundboard's fine openings on the caseback. It comes on a grey alligator strap.

Calibre 2953 is 30mm across and 6mm thick, built from 362 components, running at 21,600 vibrations per hour with a 72-hour power reserve. The repeater is set off by a slider on the case's left side.