The Replica Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Tourbillon Onyx does not receive the recognition of the watch world as a gift. The start of the Code 11.59 line was slow at the beginning. But with the new models with onyx dials, AP shows that they know what to add to a luxurious watch.

Line extension

With the Audemars Piguet Code 11.59 Tourbillon Onyx, AP is emphatically showing that the second line to the Royal Oak series, which is over-dominant in terms of sales, is also gaining in shape. The Code 11.59 model with white gold case, black onyx dial and tourbillon visible from the front is as simple as it is beautiful when viewed from the front – even if the watch is not exactly a bargain. However, AP has left the sometimes controversial housing shape of the Code 11.59 unchanged.

However, in contrast to the classic Code 11.59 model, the housing has a modular structure. While the bezel, the lugs and the back of the watch are made of white gold, the case is made of black ceramic. To produce the scratch-resistant, ultra-hard zirconium dioxide (ZrO²) housings, AP works with the Swiss company Bangerter from Aarberg, which specializes in ceramic components.

Onyx dials

The same high level of effort goes into the wafer-thin dials cut from black onyx. After cutting, they are smoothed and polished until the stone onyx surface develops a soft black shine. The onyx dials are then carefully applied to the brass base plate.

After fixing it on the circuit board, the rose gold-colored minute scale is printed onto the onyx surface and the lasered Audemars Piguet lettering made of rose gold is applied to the onyx dial. For aesthetic reasons, AP does not show the hour indices; instead, the Code 11.59 Tourbillon Onyx draws the viewer’s full attention to the rose gold of the hands and the flying tourbillon at 6 o’clock (we explain the different tourbillon designs here).

AP caliber 2950

The centrally located, openwork flying tourbillon of the automatic caliber 2950 is correspondingly interestingly designed. Its upper bridge has a black PVD coating. This automatically directs the view to the balance wheel, as well as the escapement behind it and other movement components.

If you turn the watch over, you can get an even better view of the 2950 caliber, which was launched in 2019 and is also used in the new Audemars Piguet Royal Oak tourbillons. The sapphire crystal base, set in white gold and fixed by 5 solid screws, then provides a view of the 31.5 mm large and 6.19 mm high movement, which has 27 stones and consists of 270 individual parts. It operates at a moderate 3 Hz and delivers a power reserve of 65 hours.