Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi Reviewed by Time Mosso: the Blue Fired-Enamel Dial is a Game Changer

Any watch combining “Russia” and “Audemars Piguet Code 11.59” has an uphill battle on its arms. However – hold on! – I promise this will get higher. On each counts, there’s extra to suggest this watch than the premise suggests, and whereas the Code has had greater than its fair proportion of detractors, this one deserves a champion.

The unlikely combo succeeds past expectations, and this can be the most effective costume watch AP has inbuilt ages.

In 2019, the AP Jules Audemars costume watch collection was retired and changed with the Code 11.59 assortment. Nothing within the press releases portended the controversy that was to observe, and even the contrived backronym CODE (“Problem, Personal, Dare, Evolve”) was just about par for Swiss advertising and marketing departments as watch-biz eye-rollers go.

The issues regarded nice, and there was real curiosity within the distinctive case development. However… the “Chronograph” and “Selfwinding” fashions unleashed a stunning quantity of rancor.

Audemars Piguet Code 11.59

The issue was the dials – and solely on the fundamental fashions. The entire Code 11.59 issues obtained wealthy enamel, fumé fades, or aventurine glass. They regarded their worth. Maybe AP rushed to market, or possibly a C-suite command choice was made in opposition to higher recommendation, however the monotone blue, white, and black dials of the usual computerized and chronograph didn’t stay as much as their MSRP.

Actual cash was spent on these dials, however they regarded flat and featureless; pictures was even much less flattering. Social media comparisons to dumpster dives on AliExpress and Etsy proliferated. It wasn’t nuanced or fully honest, however that’s social media and – although we hate to confess it – watches are vogue merchandise.

AP in all probability knew even earlier than SIHH that it had a scenario on its arms. And to be honest, someone inside its Les Brassus labyrinth was engaged on an answer. By November, AP was prepared with a take a look at balloon; the Code 11.59 Bolshoi.

Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi

Ostensibly a commemoration of ten years’ partnership between the watchmaker and Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater, the 99-piece white gold version rebooted the usual Code 11.59 dial. By chopping and pasting the 11.59 Minute Repeater Supersonnerie’s blue gradient enamel dial, AP immediately rectified the deadly flaw of its primary costume watch.

With a little bit of nuance and bifurcated colour, the Code 11.59 Bolshoi comes alive. Apart from the extra assorted countenance, the precise blue chosen for this reboot is brighter and extra vivid than the muted tone drafted for the preliminary fashions’ blue lacquer.

Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi

Anybody who follows the métiers d’artwork of the watch {industry} is aware of that the darker the enamel, the extra flaws it reveals. White enamel is simple as a result of it hides the rifts and textures of fired vitreous paint; darkish blue and black betray each imperfection.

Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi enamel dial shut up

AP’s execution is as clean as nonetheless water, and the distinctive matrix of blended glass crystals doesn’t declare itself till excessive magnification is utilized.

Additional element and shifting shades additionally masks the Code 11.59’s different weak spot: measurement. The preliminary computerized and chronograph fashions regarded unfinished as a result of their monotone dials had been proportional to their immense circumstances.

Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi on the wrist

41 mm in diameter and practically 50 mm lug-to-lug is sports activities watch territory. The Code’s practically full absence of a bezel stretches the dial even additional.

A 38mm costume watch can get away with a monotone black dial, however the full dial of a primary Code 11.59 stretches to just about what may very well be anticipated of a 43mm watch. It was an excessive amount of empty house. The Bolshoi’s colour spectrum successfully fills the void.

From an exterior standpoint, the Code 11.59’s limiting issue is its measurement. Nothing this huge may straight change the classically proportioned Jules Audemars fashions, and the bodily footprint of the Bolshoi is that of a sports activities watch.

Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi on the creator’s smallish 16 cm wrist

Any wrist under 16 cm circumference in all probability can not keep any semblance of magnificence or match with this watch, and that’s an actual shortcoming for one thing billed as AP’s costume watch. No dial revision can tackle this, and it stays a limiting issue for these contemplating the Code’s 41mm fashions.

Dimension apart, exterior design of the Code 11.59 is uniformly glorious throughout the vary. The Bolshoi isn’t any exception. Its bezel is almost non-existent and maximizes the influence of this version’s very good dial. A uniquely cambered crystal produces energetic and beguiling refractory patterns when seen off-axis – notably when trying between the lugs.

Mid-case profiles are recessed and enhanced with polish and brushed metallic. The Code’s caseband is subtly formed like a rounded octagon as a result of… after all it’s. Even right here, AP gained’t allow you to overlook it’s the Royal Oak model. Lugs are joined to their strap by bars mounted by hexagonal screws as a result of AP MAKES THE ROYAL OAK. However I digress.

Caseband between the lugs of the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi

Lugs are open, ethereal, and akin to the flying buttresses of gothic cathedrals. Their evanescent grace is misplaced fully within the frontal pictures that dominates on-line watch portrayal. In each occasion I’ve skilled, folks encountering an 11.59 for the primary time are impressed by these lugs. Not solely are they elegantly profiled and fantastically beveled inside their confines, however they’re subtly separate from the caseback.

Solely the junction between the higher lug and the bezel secures these lugs to the case, and a small piece of paper will fill the hole between the decrease lugs and the caseback. The intricate inside profiling of the lugs and element end of the caseband possibly clarify this uncommon meeting methodology.

“White gold” at AP clearly means one thing very completely different from what you discover at Patek Philippe, Rolex, Jaeger-LeCoultre, De Bethune, and numerous others who use what’s referred to as “gray gold.” Gray gold is an 18-karat white gold alloy that isn’t rhodium plated and maintains its colour straight by means of.

The one compromise is that this sort of white gold, which now predominates in watchmaking, doesn’t have the blindingly white sparkle of platinum. AP nonetheless makes use of rhodium or the same platinum-group metallic to supercharge the shine of its white gold watches, “Bolshoi” included.

Pin buckle of the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi, the carpet doesn’t match the drapes

And, though this pin buckle clearly was designed for the Code 11.59 collection, it’s clearly not made from plated white gold. It’s visibly darker than the watch. Bizarre.

Out again, we revisit the Russian theme of this mannequin, and it’s a literalist salute to Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater. There it’s, resplendent in rose gold, engraved by hand, and flanked by cherubs.

Computerized winding caliber 4302 motion of the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi

Frankly, that is the most effective AP rotor for the reason that pre-2012 Royal Oak Jumbo’s winder was put out to pasture.

Intricately engraved winding rotor on the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi

Element in 22-karat gold is unbelievable, and even the hair on the miniscule heads seems believably comfortable and voluminous.

Engraved Bolshoi Theatre on the motion of the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi

There’s a tiny scratch above the roof of the theater, and I don’t care. Human arms aren’t excellent, and even the small flaws are endearingly lovely.

It’s a touching tribute to the house of the Bolshoi Opera and Bolshoi Ballet. The theater dates again to 1825 and all ages of Russian historical past for the reason that tsars. Though not resistant to the affect of politics, the Bolshoi has outlasted all of them. In an period when something Russian is at an understandably low ebb of recognition, this can be a reminder that everybody’s human, the worst will go, and the door to redemption is all the time open.

Computerized winding caliber 4302 motion of the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi

Mechanically, the Code was a launch platform for AP’s then-new computerized and computerized chronograph calibers. The mechanical significance of the gathering was buried underneath the landslide of aesthetic commentary. Caliber 4302 is, before everything, far bigger than its predecessor, caliber 3120.

The previous motion’s shriveled 26.6 mm span offers solution to a 32 mm machine clearly constructed for contemporary watches. Beat price rises from 3 Hz to 4 Hz, and the earlier 60-hour autonomy is supplanted by the quasi-industry normal 70 hours.

Motion end isn’t beautiful. As a substitute, it’s clear constant, and professionally utilized. The machined bevels are tidy however clearly the work of an automatic software; milling marks are clear underneath magnification. Opponents like Patek and Vacheron do a greater job of final-pass-buffing their machined bevels, however AP does little to this finish.

Machined Geneva stripes and bevels on the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi

Geneva stripes are current, however there’s little of the luminous high quality or depth impact of the most effective côtes de Genève. There’s little magnificence to its structure, however the symmetry of the steadiness bridge is appreciated. Frankly, this can be a motion you purchase for its strong technical specs and the chef-d’oeuvre rotor.

Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi

Russia. Audemars Piguet. The Code 11.59 . . . I do know, I do know. However nonetheless, there’s tons to like. As a watch this can be a nice one. As a Code 11.59, this may be the most interesting one. As a token of the most effective of Russian tradition, it additionally jogs my memory of Russian mates I’ve made in my journey by means of the watch {industry}.

They’re nonetheless my mates, and, if nothing else, I’ve discovered a good way to vary the topic subsequent time we meet in Geneva.

For extra data, please go to www.audemarspiguet.com/com/en/collections/code-11-59-collection.html

Fast Details: Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Bolshoi
Reference Code: 15210BC.OO.A321CR.99
Version: Launched in 2019 in 99 items
Features: Hours; minutes; deadbeat seconds; multifunction crown; energy reserve indicator
Case: White gold rhodium-plated; 41mm diameter; 10.8mm thick; 49.7mm lug-to-lug; 22mm between lug horns; buttress lugs; 30 meters of water resistance; push down crown; three-piece case
Dial: Blue gradient grand feu enamel with outboard black lacquer rehaut; white gold arms, numerals, indices, and model title; date at 4:30
Motion: caliber 4302; computerized; 70-hour energy reserve; cease seconds; quickset date; full steadiness bridge; free-sprung Gyromax-style steadiness; 32 jewels; 4hz; 32mm diameter; distinctive hand-engraved Bolshoi Theater 22-karat gold rotor; hybrid ceramic bearings
Strap: Darkish blue alligator leather-based; giant rectangular scale high and small spherical scale lining
Clasp: White gold pin buckle with AP branding
Limitation: 99 items
2025 Preowned Value: $27,000-$29,000

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