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Drawing their inspiration from the clear night skies of the Vallée de Joux, generations of Audemars Piguet watchmakers have crafted prestigious timepieces capturing the astronomical cycles of days, months, years and the phases of the moon. Today, to complete these indications, some perpetual calendars also offer the practical function of displaying the week.
A perpetual calendar is endowed with a mechanical memory which maps time cycles of 48 months. It automatically factors the varying number of days per each month (30 or 31), while adjusting the number of days in February, whether 28 or 29, during leap years. This complicated mechanism only needs manual adjustment every 100 years!
Lunar cycle lasts 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 2.8 seconds.
The number of parts in calibre 5133, whose perpetual calendar functions are rearranged on one single level.
The number of parts in calibre 5134.
The perpetual calendar will not require any adjusting before 2100.
Moon Phase
The moon phase indication provides an opportunity to admire the waxing and waning phases of the earth's satellite. For instance, the Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar Ultra-thin, powered by calibre 5133, will run without any need for further adjustment for 122 years and 158 days.
Equation of time
The equation of time is an additional function added to the perpetual calendar that indicates on the dial the difference between horological time (regular time set by watchmakers) and the real solar time based on the daily motion of the sun. A day, based on the sun at its highest point in the sky, varies in terms of length. Only 4 days a year are 24 hours long (April 15, June 14, September 15 and December 24). The other days are either longer or shorter of about 14 to 16 minutes.
Sunset & Sunrise
Calibre 2120/2808, launched in 2000, is the world's first perpetual calendar movement to include the sunrise and sunset times, a function taking into account both longitude and latitude. It is calibrated according to the place determined by its owner. The sunrise and sunset times are effective at sea level and correspond to the universal concept of winter time.
Day & Date
The simplest complication on a watch is the date display. Day & Date adds the day of the week to the date complication.
CHIMING
Over the centuries, watchmakers have followed their dream to create refined chiming watches with the sound quality of musical instruments.
Read moreTOURBILLON AND SPECIAL ESCAPEMENTS
Building on traditions, Audemars Piguet watchmakers have crafted mechanisms with new functionality, greater reliability and optimal efficiency with each generation.
Read moreOUR CHRONOGRAPHS
Chronographs were developed in the 19th century with the increasing necessity to measure short periods of time and performances, such as horse races.
Read moreGRANDES COMPLICATIONS
To be considered a Grande Complication, a watch must include a minute repeater, a split-seconds chronograph and a perpetual calendar.
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