When Watchmaking Becomes Art - Dear Brands: Take Notes from AP

Hey everybody my name is Carlos Laap, watchmaker from the Netherlands and I want to show you this exceptional watch. Not just the concept or the execution, which is pretty darn good, but the time it was made, the era. It's the Audemars Piguet and it is so clever. Simple but clever and what elegance. Here it is. Why it is so important as a timepiece? Because it was in a period when quartz ruled the world. Quartz was cheaper to make, so much more accurate. That was really the way to go and still is probably the perfect movement. But at that time Audemars Piguet said well we're going to do something exciting and we're going to show our excellence and that is exactly what they did with this star wheel automatic. The guilloche, the machining there which is beautiful, but then the simplest mechanic. But the execution and how it works, it's so elegant, it really is. I'll show you under the microscope. I'm not even sure if you can call it a complication, but it is so well done here. The star wheel, three wheels, translucent with a print 14710 and it is a beautiful, beautiful concept. First the guilloche, the machining. Look at this. There the two different types, Audemars Piguet of course, and then because it is quite simple here the minutes 0 to 60. So that is pointing at the minutes and these are the hours. And it is so simple. This wheel is just an hour wheel revolving and that tiny post and that tiny post makes sure it moves twice. Otherwise it doesn't work. Here there are eight spaces in between the points. So far so good. So this wheel is simply revolving as an hour wheel. So in this point it sets one motion and then on the other side it sets another motion. Because otherwise you get in here somewhere. So then one and then the second one is two and then three isn't there yet because it has to pass this post for another movement. Don't you think it's just beautiful? And look at the execution. These springs are tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny. And do you see this slope here with less gradient? So when it is moving it is having less friction in the movement itself. If it was more steep it would take more effort for the movement. So the amplitude will drop, the watch will run less accurate. So just the gradient of that line is essential. Don't you think just the execution is beautiful? Basically the concept isn't that groundbreaking. But the execution, the time when it takes place and the beautiful elegant design of the three star wheels revolving and telling the time digitally. Because an analog watch has got hands. And this is another way of telling the time, reading the time. And that is a digital, it is a digital watch. And here on the back there's the rotor of course for the automatic winding. And as always with the Piquet, the 21 karat gold. Because you need the weight way on the end to make the swing to wind the movement. So again gold, not because it's expensive, because it's heavy. And the heavy weight right at the end of the rotor is just for automatic winding to make it even more practical and useful. Just a lovely, lovely piece. It is elegant, it is beautiful. And at the time when they said well mechanical watches are done and over with. Well Audemars Piquet thought well we'll show you something. Don't you just love this piece? I know I do. I see you. Bye-bye.