Audemars Piguet Launched a New Line of Watches. This Is the Best One
The Code 11.59 chronograph pays homage to the last minute of the day.
Audemars Piguet 11.59 Selfwinding Chronograph in 18K pink gold and blue alligator strap.
Photographer: Robin Stein for Bloomberg Businessweek; Prop Stylist: Margaret MacMillan Jones
Most luxury watch brands have certain signatures, like the Omega Speedmaster or Rolex Submariner, that serve as aesthetic entry points for collectors. The icon from Audemars Piguet is the octagonal Royal Oak, designed by Gérald Genta and introduced in 1972 as a defiant riposte to a swelling tide of quartz watches. Hoping lightning strikes twice, the brand’s Chief Executive Officer François-Henry Bennahmias led half a decade’s development on Code 11.59, a range of timepieces named after the minute before the clock strikes 12.
• Also making a splash this year is IWC Schaffhausen’s Spitfire collection, the backbone of which is the $6,250 Pilot’s Watch Chronograph in bronze.