Audemars Piguet [RE]Master02 Limited Edition in Sand Gold 15240SG.OO.A347CR.01
Audemars Piguet ReMaster 2 15240SG.OO.A347CR.01
From the minute I laid eyes on the newly released AP ReMaster 2, I’ve been excited about it.
If you’re expecting my usual balance and perspective plus an occasional gripe about 30m water resistance on a perfectly reasonable watch - I am going to disappoint you so I apologise in advance.
That said, I do have a grizzle but I’m saving it for much, much later.
Everything about this watch is my idea of horological heaven as it blends my two favourite things - mechanical watches and brutalist architecture.
Before we even begin to settle in and go on a poke around, I’m going to tell you that the ReMaster 2 is easily my choice AP of a lifetime.
I say this fairly safe in the knowledge that I was not on the planet in 1972, but even then, it’s a close run race between this and the original Royal Oak for me.
A bit of background first.
The original watch that the ReMaster is based on was a model released in yellow gold in 1960/61. It was reference 5159BA of which only 7 were made.
It had a silver dial, and was a diminutively sized 27.5mm.
During this late fifties and early sixties Audemars released a number of asymmetrical pieces, over 30 different models, which were completely innovative as they strayed far away from the “round watch, square watch” designs that predated them.
They were a homage to brutalism which was a beloved architectural style of the era, and also a celebration of optimism after decades of war and unrest.
Notably, it was during this point in AP’s history they began to introduce reference numbers and model ranges, as prior to the boom of the post war years, they were producing individual pieces rather than multiples of the same design.
It is fascinating, to me, to put these pieces into historical context as they are so immediately identifiable as “Mid Century Modern” designs.
They are brutalist, simple, sleek, and much like the interiors and exteriors of the time, absolutely aligned with modernism and the rejection of frills, flourishes and fancy bits that detract from the purity of form.
Im going to stop there because I realise I’m beginning to sound like a certain famous American watch related web presence so before I condemn myself to wearing too much tweed, I would say take a look at the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, and the buildings coming out of Bauhaus in the 50s and 60s and these strangely shaped AP’s make perfect, and timeless, sense.
As the ReMaster is exactly what it says on the tin, it is a modern recreation from the history books rather than an exact replica. It has been re-sized and re-worked to suit 21st century wearers.
The biggest difference here is the size, as the Remaster of 2024 has increased in stature to 41mm with a very palatable thickness of just under 10mm.
It’s big enough to have incredible presence but not so large that you notice its angular shape on the wrist. This is not a Ploprof situation, and the watch is just as comfortable as anything more conventionally shaped.
The case is an absolute masterstroke of precision machining.
Its angles, lines and edges are completely sharp and refined, even under exceptionally close scrutiny.
The satin brush finish which runs from left to right gives a wonderfully 3d effect thanks to the natural shading that such defined faceting brings to the table.
A polished bevel around the dial and crystal acts as both a frame and the only source of glint and glimmer on display.
AP’s new kid on the block metal “Sand Gold” is the perfect choice for this watch.
It is an 18 carat gold alloy made by mixing gold, palladium, and copper to create a metal that is nothing short of spectacular, while at the same time being quite tricky to describe.
It’s almost like somebody tipped champagne over something distinctly titanium to give a warm tinted grey that is subtle, and not remotely overpowering in the same way as “other” gold can sometimes be.
Audemars describes it as hovering between white and rose gold, and while that’s an exceptionally close description, it doesn’t really do the alloy full justice as in the metal it is both very strange, and very attractive indeed.
It changes colour in different lights and on some occasions looks virtually identical to steel, while at other times it appears almost to take on the iridescence of a golden south sea pearl.
The use of sand gold for the case works to soften the potentially aggressive styling of the watch into something infinitely refined.
A matching midnight blue matte alligator strap ices the cake on this one.
The rectangular dial is not a solid piece.
It is made from 12 individual radially sunburst brushed slivers set into 12 triangular frame compartments.
For those of you in my age range, it fits together like Trivial Pursuit cheeses, although that description does an absolute disservice to a dial this complex.
Its colour is described by AP as Bleu Nuit Nuage 50 which translates as blue night cloud 50.
Let us once again avoid the tweediness and call it midnight blue which has infinitely less pizzaz but describes the colour perfectly.
There is no lume, which for once I think is a good thing because it would jar with the dial design by adding something unnecessary, which is not what brutalism is about.
The radial brushwork does enough without any additional lighting required and creates a really interesting texture and display when viewed from under what I reckon must be “la piece de resistance” of the watch - its faceted sapphire crystal.
This took AP two years of research and development and is faceted to mirror, precisely, the angles and shape of the case so that the design flows completely uninterrupted.
More to the point it is completely transparent and free from distortion regardless of the viewing angle, which is a feat in itself so definitely chapeau to AP on that one.
The movement which can be viewed through the sapphire caseback is calibre 7129 and has essentially been lifted straight out of the beloved Royal Oak Jumbo.
It is an extra-thin tried and tested workhorse that gives a 52 hour power reserve and at under 3mm thick is partially responsible for the slim nature of the watch. All well and good.
That said, its presence does bring me quite neatly to my one and only complaint about the watch.
The movement doesn’t fit the case. It is a round calibre in a rectangular hole and as a result, the crown stem is long as it has to traverse the internal open space on the of the right side watch in order to engage with the movement.
Still works perfectly well and feels sturdy for sure, but when you’ve gone so far and spent so long in researching and developing a drop dead gorgeous and completely unique watch - I feel like the inside should have been designed with as much diligence and attention to as the outside, particularly given that AP is very busy advertising “cutting edge performance”, which leads me to darkly mutter about cutting corners more like.
That said, I do concede that this would probably have driven the cost up quite significantly as perfection on every level comes with a usually significant price hike.
Case in point - the last watch I reviewed that had a “purpose built movement which was designed to fill the case” had 6 times the retail price of the ReMaster 2 so I suppose there is that to consider.
All in though, my gripe doesn’t detract from my absolutely coveting this watch.
I love it, I want it, it is absolutely spectacular and I want AP to revisit more of its asymmetrical models from the mid century.
MORE PLEASE THANK YOU.