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Its rich Tuscan blue color, perfectly shaped lines and ultra slim design is simply dazzling. With grace and ease, the Quantième Perpétuel Jules Audemars 30e Anniversaire captures the essence of time and its inexorable pace. In 1978, the creation of the first ultra-slim automatic Perpetual Calendar by Audemars Piguet marked a turning point in the firm’s history. Today, master watchmakers at Le Brassus pay homage to this innovation by creating only 90 commemorative masterpieces. Only 4mm thick, the Quantième perpétuel Jules Audemars 30e Anniversaire is, truly, a remarkable example of the art of miniaturization.

How can a timepiece, merely by the meshing of its toothed wheels, levers and clicks, successfully indicate the day, the date, the month, the moon phases and leap-year cycle? The perpetual calendar device is an admirable mechanical reproduction of our calendar.

 

The irregularity of the 30- or 31-day months is controlled by a cam – which is itself connected to a wheel – on which the various lengths of the months are defined. On the same axis, a new wheel bearing a cam indicating standard months of February and a leap-year month of February performs one turn every four years and is thus able to take the leap-year cycle into account. The Quantième Perpétuel Jules Audemars 30e Anniversaire will need no correction whatsoever before the 1st of March, 2100.

The broad bezel’s diameter facilitates the reading of the time and the calendar subdials. The latter are surrounded by a polished decorated fillet that highlights their snailed décor making a pleasing contrast with the satin-brushed finish of the dial.

Nevertheless, it is the Tuscan blue that effectively makes this watch mesmerizing. These carefully selected color remind us of the angelic skies painted by the Florentine artists of the Quattroccento, in the 15th century. The Quantième Perpétuel Jules Audemars 30e Anniversaire successfully merges the nobility of its platinum case with the elegance of the white-gold hands and hour-markers, it vividly expresses the fresh take on classicism embodied.

 

Text: Amura ± Photo: Cortesía de las Marcas; Brands and Courtesy