Audemars piguet Genève, “Jules Audemars –Grande Sonnerie Carillon” 2002 limited edition

Audemars Piguet Jules Grande Sonnerie Watch.

The minute repeater carillon is a mechanism of great complexity that strikes the hours, quarters and minutes on request. These indications are obtained by 3 hammer strokes on different gongs: a low pitched one for the hours; a high pitched one for the minutes and one intermediate pitch (the one that allows for a carillon effect on the quarter hours). Striking power is calculated to achieve subtle balance and, if this balance gets to be too strong, it would muffle the sound. But in case of being too weak, the sound would be inaudible. Audemars Piguet developed the first minute repeating mechanism for a wristwatch in 1985.
Repeater movements consist of tiny parts manufactured to extremely fine tolerances. During movement assembly, the watchmaker has to hand-finish many of these components to arrive at the desired result.
While minute repeaters chime hours, quarters and minutes on 2 gongs with 2 hammers, the present watch, part of  “Jules Audemars” series, will chime the quarters with 3 hammers on 3 gongs, adding a further tone to the “dingdong” enchanted connoisseurs are so familiar with.

[Source: Audemars Piguet and Antiquorum’s Magazine]

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Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Audemars Piguet Royal Oak “End of Days” Offshore Wristwatch

The End of Days is the king of the Royal Oak Offshore Audemars Piguet Chronographs. Arnold Schwarzenegger wore it in the movie “End of Days” and made of the wristwatch the collectible timepiece it is.
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger was born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian American bodybuilder, actor, businessman, and politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of the state of California.

Schwarzenegger began weight-training at fifteen. He was awarded the title of Mr. Universe at age 22 and went on to win the Mr. Olympia contest a total of seven times. Schwarzenegger has remained a prominent face in the bodybuilding sport long after his retirement, and has written several books and numerous articles on the sport.

Schwarzenegger gained worldwide fame as a Hollywood action film icon, noted for his lead role in such films as Conan the Barbarian and The Terminator. He was nicknamed the “Austrian Oak” and the “Styrian Oak” in his bodybuilding days, “Arnold Strong” and “Arnie” during his acting career, and more recently the “Governator” (a portmanteau of Governor and the Terminator, one of his film roles).

As a Republican, he was first elected on October 7, 2003, in a special recall election to replace then-Governor Gray Davis. Schwarzenegger was sworn in on November 17, 2003, to serve the remainder of Davis’s term. Schwarzenegger was then re-elected on November 7, 2006, in California’s 2006 gubernatorial election, to serve a full term as governor, defeating Democrat Phil Angelides, who was California State Treasurer at the time. Schwarzenegger was sworn in for a second term on January 5, 2007. In May 2004 and 2007, he was named as one of the Time 100 people who help shape the world.

In 1998 Arnold Schwarzenegger, long time collector of watches, visited Audemars Piguet’s headquarters in Le Brassus (Switzerland) in Vallée de Joux. It was then that the collaboration between the legendary watch manufacturer and Schwarzenegger began. One year later, the film “End of Days” was introduced with the Royal Oak Offshore timepiece being worn by Arnold. The collaboration continued and the establishment of an on-going charitable partnership between Audemars Piguet and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is now the 38th Governor of the State of California, begun.

In 2007, Audemars Piguet and Governor Schwarzenegger introduced no less than three timepieces to their collection of limited-editions. Arnold’s After-School All-Stars, the charity founded by the Governor in 1993, includes a Royal Oak Offshore “Arnold’s All-Stars” Chronograph with date and small seconds, a Jules Audemars Chronograph & Perpetual Calendar and a Jules Audemars Dual Time power reserve. The proceeds from the sales of just these three timepieces are expected to raise nearly $1.5 million for the charity.

After-School All-Stars provides comprehensive after school programs that are fun for kids and also keeps them safe and helps them achieve success in school and life by improving kids’ lives by nurturing their minds, bodies and spirits through programs that incorporate independent learning, academics and enrichment activities. After-School All-Star serves 35,000 youth annually through after school and summer programs in 15 cities across the country.

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Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak Offshore Collection Brazilian Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello Limited Edition

(Brazilian Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello)

The Audemars Piguet’s popular Royal Oak Offshore collection was produced as a limited edition tribute to celebrated Brazilian Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello with only 1,650 pieces. It maintains the Royal Oak Offshore’s durable design with an anti-shock ceramic bezel, engraved case, push button operation and is water resistant to 100m. It’s available in titanium, platinum or 18k pink gold cases.
Rubens Gonçalves “Rubinho” Barrichello was born on May 23, 1972 in São Paulo. He is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. Following the management buy-out of the Honda racing team, with whom Barrichello competed during the 2008 season, he was confirmed for 2009 as Jenson Button’s team mate in the new Brawn GP team. Barrichello came in third in the 2009 championship, and will leave Brawn to race for WilliamsF1 in 2010.
Barrichello has scored the fourth highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from 2000 to 2005, as Michael Schumacher’s team-mate, enjoying considerable success including finishing as championship runner-up in 2002 and 2004. Schumacher’s retirement at the end of 2006 made Barrichello the most experienced driver on the grid, and at the 2008 Turkish Grand Prix he became the most experienced driver in F1 history.
As a young, aspiring driver, Barrichello looked up to the late Ayrton Senna, and when he joined Formula One, Senna in return considered him his protégé. As of the 2009 Formula One season Barrichello is the only driver left competing in Formula One to have raced against Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

References:
26286RO.OO.D002CR.01

Movement: Calibre: 2326/2840, self-winding

Case: 18-carat pink gold with titanium pushpieces and crown protector; ceramic medallion bearing the inscription

“Royal Oak Offshore Limited Edition Rubens Barrichello”, “R. Barrichello – 257 – New Grand Prix Record” and adorned with the Rubens Barrichello logo;

Water resistant to 100m

Bezel, push pieces: Ceramic

Crown: Titanium with ceramic insert

Dial: White, partially open-worked, with exclusive “Méga Tapisserie Racing” motif

Strap: Crocodile leather with exclusive AP folding clasp; titanium attachments

Functions: Hours and minutes; small seconds at 6 o’clock; central chronograph with sweep seconds hand, 30- minute and 12-hour counters; tachometric ring; date

[Source: Audemars Piguet]

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Audemars Piguet: The Royal Oak Carbon Concept

Carbon fibre has been the preferred material for high-performance applications that demand sturdiness. Formula 1 race cars, America’s Cup yachts and, even aerospace vehicles, have fully leveraged the material’s technical properties: strength and lightness.
Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet is a pioneer according to the use of carbon fibre for function as well as form. The Royal Oak Carbon Concept is surprisingly light thanks to materials such as forged carbon, amorphous carbon coatings, ceramics, titanium, and anodized aluminium, which forms the watch’s green central bridge. The absence of a dial provides a full view of the hand-wound Caliber 2895 movement’s key components: the tourbillon carriage—comprising more than 70 parts yet weighing a mere 0.45 grams—and the column wheel, which is the chronograph’s nerve centre. Audemars presents a novel twist on the 30-minute chronograph with a linear minute counter consisting of two columnar scales, with tens of minutes on the left and single minutes on the right. Tiny windows that correspond to each numeral mark elapsed time by changing from white to black. The wearer shifts from winding to time-setting by adjusting the stem.

Technical data:
Movement
Calibre: 2895, hand-wound with tourbillion
Total diameter: 151/3 lignes (34.60 mm)
Casing-diameter: 33.80 mm
Thickness: 12.01 mm
34 jewels
384 parts
Power reserve: 237 hours
Cadence of the balance:
21,600 vibrations per hour
Finishing: hand-polished bevelling, sides hand-drawn with a file, matt surface, sapphire-blasted
Carbon mainplate, eloxed aluminium bridges
Case
Forged carbon
Ceramic bezel
Caseback ring in black PVD-coated titanium
Diameter: 44 mm
Total thickness: 15.85 mm
Sapphire crystal caseback
Water-resistance: 100 m
Display
Integrated onto the movement
Graduated dial ring with luminescent hour-markers and white minute markers
Openworked luminescent hour and minute hands
Strap
Hand-sewn alligator leather with large square scales,
AP folding clasp in titanium
Functions
Hours and minutes
Linear chronograph minute counter with central sweep seconds hand
Power-reserve indication
Selection indicator

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Watches in Series: Entourage, Burn Notice, Bizarre Foods, Biography and The X-Files

The X-Files (1993-2002)

The X-Files is an American cult science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. It first aired in September 1993 and ended in May 2002. The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans (e.g., “The Truth Is Out There”, “Trust No One”, “I Want to Believe”) became pop culture touchstones in the 1990s.

Vintage Omega
This vintage Omega was seen in the season six episode “Arcadia”.

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Biography (1987-)

Popular Arts and Entertainment Network series which profiles the lives of notable figures in the history of entertainment, sports, arts, science, politics and warfare. The show is notable for its in-depth research, which often provides viewers with little-known information about well-known people.

TAG Heuer Super Professional
Hunter S. Thompson wears two watches in his episode of Biography. Even though the upper one is unidentified, the second one is a TAG Heuer Super Professional with a gold bezel.

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Bizarre Foods (2007)

Andrew Zimmern hosts a program on The Travel Channel called “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern” in which he claim that he will apparently eat any creature that can be captured and served up for him, alive or dead.

TAG HEuer Formula 1
Andrew Zimmern wears a Tag Heuer Formula 1 with red dial and red rubber band

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Burn Notice (2007)

Burn Notice is an American television series broadcasted on the cable television channel USA Network since June 28, 2007. The show follows the life of protagonist Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan), a covert operative who has been “burned” and tries to find out why.

Panerai Ferrari Chronograph
Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) wore a Panerai Ferrari Chronograph.

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Entourage (2004-)

Entourage is an American comedy-drama that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 created by Doug Ellin and chronicles the rise of Vincent Chase, a young A-list movie star, and his childhood friends from Queens, New York City, as they navigate the unfamiliar terrain of Hollywood, California. The show completed its sixth season and is renewed for a seventh.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) receives an Audemars Piguet as a gift.

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Audemars Piguet Case Dating and Identification

Model identification

Every Audemars Piguet watch has a movement number engraved on the mainplate, generally next to the balance, and a case number which is engraved on the outside of the case-back. In the example picture: Number 25 is the sequential number of these particular model/reference. D67746 is the case number, sequential across all watches manufactured by Audemars Piguet. There is no certain way to tell the age of an Audemars Piguet , but certain estimates can be made with the case number: there are 100,000 watches with the same letter, and AP manufactures 20,000 watches a year (VERY aproximately) so that the letter of the serial number changes aproximately every 5 years. A known fact is that production of the F series started sometime in 2004. In the example watch with case number D67746: D started in 1994, plus 1 year per 20,000 on the case number will make this watch a 1997-98.

Filed under: Audemars Piguet, Audemars Piguet Ladies Collection, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet Watches, luxury watches, Mens, Watch, Watches, Water resistant, Womens

Audemars Piguet Case Dating and Identification

Model identification

Every Audemars Piguet watch has a movement number engraved on the mainplate, generally next to the balance, and a case number which is engraved on the outside of the case-back. In the example picture: Number 25 is the sequential number of these particular model/reference. D67746 is the case number, sequential across all watches manufactured by Audemars Piguet. There is no certain way to tell the age of an Audemars Piguet , but certain estimates can be made with the case number: there are 100,000 watches with the same letter, and AP manufactures 20,000 watches a year (VERY aproximately) so that the letter of the serial number changes aproximately every 5 years. A known fact is that production of the F series started sometime in 2004. In the example watch with case number D67746: D started in 1994, plus 1 year per 20,000 on the case number will make this watch a 1997-98.

Filed under: Audemars Piguet, Audemars Piguet Ladies Collection, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, Audemars Piguet Watches, luxury watches, Mens, Watch, Watches, Water resistant, Womens

Audemars Piguet Sports Collection

By introducing in 1972 the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, first luxury sports watch in stainless steel, the manifattura forever shifted the parameters by which Haute Horlogerie is measured. Since then, the great history of this watch, combination of audacity, craftsmanship and experience, keeps going forward with new interpretations of the classic, using revolutionary new materials like carbon, titanium or alacrity and with the introduction of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Off Shore venturing into extreme sports. For it’s 30th anniversary in 2002 the Royal Oak collection was augmented with the Royal Oak Offshore Concept, a watch that pushes the limit of innovation. In 2004, Audemars Piguet created the Lady Royal Oak, worthy companion of the legendary octagon.

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