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Moss Agate & Rutilated Quartz Tourbillons
The Edward Piguet Moss Agate Tourbillon ref. 26049OR.OO.D088CR.01 features a unique skeleton movement mounted on a mainplate made of “moss agate”.
The Edward Piguet Moss Agate Tourbillon is also distinguished by its two bridges with original geometry.
The geometry of the bridges is inspired by Galileo's pendulum.
credit: The Keystone & Science Museum Group
Moss agate is a semi-translucent mineral, commonly found in limestone & granite, which has natural greenish veining pattern inclusions.
The Edward Piguet Moss Agate Tourbillon is also distinguished by its two bridges with original geometry.
Echoing the green or brown marbles of the stone, Audemars Piguet has chosen plant-inspired forms.
These small sculptures carved from solid gold are decorated with high relief foliage made by hand.
The center bridge, it represents the stylized silhouette of a tree.
As for the tourbillon bridge, it unrolls a garland of interlacing with baroque accents.
Dimensions of the rose gold case: 28 x 41 mm
Manual winding Caliber 2862
Because of the irregular structure of moss agate, each “dial” or watch is completely unique.
credit: Breguetcamera (1-4 & 10-11), Antiquorum (5-8), Prestige Time (9) & Hong Kong Sheyao Group Co.,Limited (12-17)
As for the tourbillon bridge, it unrolls a garland of interlacing with baroque accents.
Dimensions of the rose gold case: 28 x 41 mm
Manual winding Caliber 2862
Because of the irregular structure of moss agate, each “dial” or watch is completely unique.
credit: Breguetcamera (1-4 & 10-11), Antiquorum (5-8), Prestige Time (9) & Hong Kong Sheyao Group Co.,Limited (12-17)
In the same spirit, Audemars Piguet also made a platinum variant with a rutilated quartz dial/plate, ref. 25924PT.OO.D002CR.01.
Rutilated quartz is a variety of quartz which contains acicular (needle-like) inclusions of rutile.
The geometry of the bridges is inspired by Galileo's pendulum.
credit: The Keystone & Science Museum Group
The readability of these dials doesn't seem to be optimal, but I find these timepieces quite fascinating.
What about you?
Best, Emmanuel
There's simply too much going on in a fairly small amount of dial space for my eyes :)
I understand your feeling. I've added a second version, but you might feel exactly the same about it
despite the scientific inspiration (Galileo).
What the meaning of putting a tourbillon in it if it is almost completely concealed by leaves?!
Good point.
But the tourbillon, after all, is a complication focused on accuracy, not on aesthetic pleasure... 🤷🏽♂️
What I mean is that I still like the look of the watch, even if I understand your criticism.
Best, Emmanuel
What I mean is that I still like the look of the watch, even if I understand your criticism.
Best, Emmanuel
Tourbillon and pocket watch can increase accuracy
in a wristwatch it the duo often hampers it.
That's exactly why I like it !
A mustache inspired by the feet of Galileo's pendulum: I mean, how cool is that?
Best, Emmanuel
Best, Emmanuel
That’s exactly the kind of mustache that comes to mind.
But, as I said, I personally like this mustache-like bridge on the watch.
Both beautiful but if I had to pick one it would be the moss agate. But both are much nicer than the neo frame to be honest.
I like them too, and also have a preference for the moss agate,
even if I find the moustache-galileo-pendulum bridge appealing too.
Best, Emmanuel
Best, Emmanuel
Thanks for the thread, Emmanuel. I think the platinum version looks a bit like a moustache/original version of Galileo's escapement, whereas the gold version looks more refined. There's another interesting story behind these pieces too. AP developed a special method to treat those hard minerals, which unfortunately kept the yield rate very low and made each piece incredibly time-consuming to manufacture. I suspect that's why the collection was discontinued after such as a short run - it was not financially viable, making it a true passion project by APRP.
Thanks for your insight.
I had read that working with these minerals was very difficult.
It makes these pieces all the more valuable.
Best, Emmanuel
It makes these pieces all the more valuable.
Best, Emmanuel
I totally agree. In fact, I made that same choice long time ago when I had the chance. Honestly, the photo don't do it justice. It looks even better in person.
AP
AP
Oh, thank you so much for sharing yours!
I really like it a lot. If you have other photos, don't hesitate to share them with us: it will be a great pleasure.
Such a valuable hidden gem...
Best, Emmanuel
Such a valuable hidden gem...
Best, Emmanuel
To my surprise, the moss agate version is available on eBay right now.
The asking price is about 82K CHF, but as the watch has been listed for a year I’m sure some negotiations can be had. Given that the list price of the Neo Frame to be 62K CHF, this price seems not unreasonable for a watch that is, and will always be in the future, much more special than the Neo frame.