Whether you’re picking up your first Audemars Piguet timepiece, or if you’re a seasoned collector of this particular Swiss watchmaker’s iconic horological models, 2025 is a great year to make the purchase. As the haute horlogerie maison celebrates its 150^th anniversary, there is much excitement for this year’s releases as it promises to mark the historic occasion with innovation.

Over the past few months, Audemars Piguet (AP) have unveiled all the watches that have joined the line-up for the first half of the year – and already there have been stand-outs that are sure to catch your eye on first look or first try. We’ve gone through the releases, and even got the chance to try most of them, and here are the highlights to know.

Perpetually beautiful perpetual calendars

A new generation of perpetual calendars comes to the Swiss watchmaker’s line up, marking the start of its 150^th anniversary celebrations. At the heart of this achievement is the new selfwinding perpetual calendar movement, the Calibre 7138, which allows for corrections to be made with the “all-in-one” crown. Revolutionary is the light way to put it, as this new calibre allows the wearer to adjust the time, date, and moon phase without having to drop in at AP’s service centres, creating an intuitive wear experience.

How it works is that the crown can be set in four different positions, felt by a noticeable step when pulling out and pushing in the crown. The first position with the crown unpulled allows for winding the watch. Pulling out the crown one step allows for adjustment of date when turned clockwise, and month and leap year setting when turned anticlockwise.

When the crown is pulled out one more step, the user can set the time bidirectionally. While the final position, unlocked by pushing the crown back in one step, opens up day and week adjustment in the clockwise turn, and the moon phases correction when spun counterclockwise.

A stunningly complex mechanism of gears, wheels and levers make this possible, all hidden under the seemingly simple and easy to read dial design. The Calibre 7138 debuts in several models, first in the Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar, and then in two models of the Royal Oak Selfwinding Perpetual Calendar in stainless steel and in sand gold, as well as within three 150-piece limited edition models of the above watches featuring exclusive, subtle design details to mark the maison’s 150-year anniversary.

Blue ceramic is the new black

Ceramic has overtaken the horology world ever since the discovery of it as a lightweight, tough as nails, and scratch-resistant material. It’s been key to the expansion of the sporty watch designs in the market, and especially so for Audemars Piguet.

This year, the Le Brassus manufacture continues to bring more dimension to the material, introducing a brand-new shade of blue ceramic to its existing line-up of coloured ceramic pieces. Blue ceramic has been a trend in recent months, but this rendition is something entirely unique to the brand and delivered in a colour inspired by its signature and iconic Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 colour, which first appeared on the dial of the first Royal Oak watch in 1972.

Inspired by the night sky of the Vallée de Joux, AP’s blue ceramic presents a depth of colour we’re seeing for the first time in this material. A feat of design that took the manufacture’s artisans several years to develop, the ceramic is able to maintain a uniform colour throughout all components. The material makes its debut in three new models in the Royal Oak family, continuing the long legacy that the collection has with ceramic.

The first two models to receive the blue ceramic touch hail from the Royal Oak Offshore range, starting with the new 42MM Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph. A true monochromatic piece that fully allows the ceramic to do the talking, a material which runs across the case (including the pushers and crown) right down to the brand-new ceramic bracelet. Its neat and sporty aesthetic is punctuated by design accents in stainless steel and white gold along the bezel, hands and sub-dials.

Second on the roster is the new 43MM Royal Oak Offshore Selfwinding Chronograph which boasts a two-toned design that integrates stainless steel into the design. The Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 blue ceramic appears on the bezel, push-pieces, and crown to create a powerful contrast of colours. The 43MM model employs a texture calfskin leather strap instead of the full ceramic bracelet, as well as an additional choice of rubber strap, leaning fully into the sporty, two-toned colour scheme.

Finally, our favourite piece, the 41MM Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked. Featuring the same case and full ceramic bracelet as the 42MM chronograph, the Openworked calibre 3132 rhodium-toned movement works nicely against the deep blue. Pink gold detailing on the movement, hour markers and hands adds a subtle warmth to complement the unique shade of blue as well.

Aside from these three blue ceramic models, the Royal Oak Offshore also gets a black ceramic and green ceramic addition to the chronograph lines, thus offering a well-rounded roster of ceramic models in shades that range from the classic black and white across to blue, grey, and green choices too.

Code 11.59 wins with flying tourbillon and new colours

Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet, known for offering a minimal and elegant design against the sportiness of Royal Oak, marks a new first with the unveiling of the 38MM Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding Flying Tourbillon. To date, it is the first ever selfwinding flying tourbillon to be offered in 38MM, powered by the ultra-thin Calibre 2968 (RD#3) movement. The flying tourbillon sits at 6 o’clock, beating steadily and in perfect proportion to the smaller case size.

Housed in sand gold, a unique 18 carat alloy that shifts in tone between white gold and pink gold depending on the light, it adds to the timepiece’s visual attraction and play of light, alongside the beating complication and the Code 11.59 signature double curved sapphire crystal glass. 235 diamonds adorn the sand gold case and lugs, finishing the silhouette with an unmistakeable flash of bright white diamonds.

Aside from this flying tourbillon piece, Code 11.59 also welcomes two new models in stainless steel that originate a new shade of grey dial. The 41MM Code 11.59 by Audemars Piguet Selfwinding and Selfwinding Chronograph pieces present a new slate grey dial against accents of Bleu Nuit, Nuage 50 on the inner bezel and sub-dials for the chronograph model.

The slate grey shade brings a subtle elegance that is enhanced by AP’s signature embossed pattern of concentric circle that bring to mind ripples in water. Combined with the blue inner bezels and white gold hour markers and hands, both these 41MM models embody the refinement of Code 11.59. Complete with a grey textured rubber strap, these watches are made to sit on your wrist as an everyday practical and stylish choice.

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