wt_2004_03: test: audemars piguet jules audemars 3120 classic

TEST: AUDEMARS PIGUET JULES AUDEMARS 3120 CLASSIC 

The 

Golden Se 

62 WatchTime June 2004

All photos by Christian Schörg 

ction 

With its new Caliber 3120, Audemars 

Piguet has achieved something like the 

fabled "Golden Section." The two classic 

Calibers, 2120 and 2121, served simultaneously 

as inspirations and reference 

points. models. BY ALEXANDER LINZ 

June 2004 WatchTime 63


Advantages 

+ The house of Audemars Piguet’s own 

exclusive mechanism 

+ Interesting technology 

+ Modern, trumpery-free design 

+ Appealing dial 

Disadvantages 

- The minute hand is a bit too short 

- Runs significantly fast in some positions 

- High price 

God is in the details: The Caliber 

3120 is a perfect example of 

classical proportion 

and handcraftsmanship. 

In the mathematical abstraction know as 

the "Golden Section," a line is divided into 

segments so that the relationship between 

the lengths of the longer segment and the entire 

line is equal to the relationship between 

the lengths of the shorter segment and the 

longer segment. When this rather abstruse 

idea is applied to the concrete example of the 

Caliber 3120 from Audemars Piguet, it means 

that the company's watchmakers and technicians 

approached the task of constructing this 

new caliber with great care and sensitivity. 

Whether or not they actually found the Golden 

Section is a question to which we'll devote 

this first comprehensive discussion of the new 

self-winding caliber. 

High-quality movements have been designed 

by Audemars Piguet in Le Brassus, 

Switzerland in the Vallée de Joux for many 

years. The family-owned business stands atop 

a solid financial foundation and in terms of 

technical expertise, the successors to the 

founding families (Audemars and Piguet) command 

plenty of know-how. Annual turnover 

of 210 million Swiss francs and the several 

hundred million Swiss francs realized from the 

sale of its 40% share in Jaeger-LeCoultre to the 

Richemont concern form the basis for the 

firm's policy of financial independence. 

Time never stands still, especially when the 

development of complications is concerned. 

As early as 1992, Audemars Piguet had already 

bought into Renaud & Papi, the high-tech 

watch smithy in Le Locle. After learning their 

craft at Audemars Piguet, both Renaud and 

Until recently, Audemars Piguet 

lacked a simple manufacture 

base caliber that they could produce 

in large numbers. 

Papi decided to go into business on their own, 

founding Renaud & Papi SA in 1986. Somewhat 

later, when the two watchmakers were 

searching for a partner who could guarantee 

their firm's continued existence; their former 

employer was instantly amenable to the idea. 

Audemars Piguet became majority shareholder, 

and Renaud & Papi SA was renamed Audemars 

Piguet (Renaud et Papi) S.A., or "APRP" 

for short. Their savoir-faire is impressive, and 

the commissions don't come only from the 

majority shareholder, but also from a whole 

slew of the most renowned luxury watchmakers 

in Germany and Switzerland. Audemars Piguet 

invested heavily in new APRP facilities 

when it opened an ultramodern industrial 

building in Le Locle on September 24, 2003. 

The new wing that was added to the APRP's 

original house offers three times more space. 

This was a qualitative and intelligent investment 

in the future. Approximately 100 special- 



ists from 15 nations work there under optimal 

conditions, and we can expect them to give 

the world additional masterpieces of the 

watchmaker's craft in the coming years. 

Most manufacturers have one or more base 

calibers, but seldom does a brand have much 

experience in the construction of complicated 

mechanisms. This wasn't the situation at Audemars 

Piguet; the company had plenty of 

complications, but the firm lacked a base caliber 

of its own that could be created in large 

numbers. For many years, AP had relied on 

Jaeger-LeCoultre's (JLC) Caliber JLC 889/2 for 

many of its models. But with the takeover by 

Richemont and the sale of its shares in JLC, 

AP's access to that coveted caliber gradually 

came to an end. AP seized the initiative, and 

introduced the hand-wound Caliber 3090 in 

1999. Caliber 3120 followed four years later. It 

combines automatic winding, a sweep seconds-hand, 

and a numerical window-type 

The caseback 

is securely held 

in place with 

five screws. 

The 22-karat gold rotor is engraved 

with the coats-of-arms of 

the Audemars and Piguet families. 

date display. Both of these calibers now serve 

as the new motors in simple watches from the 

house of Audemars Piguet. 

The new Caliber 3120 unmistakably reveals 

the manufacture's signatures: a harmoniously 

arranged series of bridges, with assembly bespeaking 

the utmost in skilled craftsmanship 

and elaborate decorations on the individual 

components. The rotor is truly a wonderful 

sight: Crafted from 22-karat gold, it's beautifully 

engraved with the coats-of-arms of the 

Audemars and Piguet families. A connoisseur's 

discriminating gaze feasts on a picture of elegantly 

well-balanced proportions, further enhanced 

by the crosswise orientation of the balance-bridge. 

The legendary Calibers 2120 and 

2121 form the technical basis. The automatic 

Caliber 2120 was first built in 1968. Slightly 

modified and renamed Caliber 2121, it attracted 

considerable attention in 1972 when it 

was encased within the Royal Oak, to which it 

offered a date display and a sweep secondshand. 

Ever since, it has remained a reliable 

power source for several models in the AP collection. 

The best features of these ticking timekeepers 

were integrated into the new Caliber 3120. 

Some of its characteristics are mentioned in 

the following list. (Information in parentheses 

refers to the corresponding details in the older 

Caliber 2120.) Here are the specs: The ballborne 

rotor winds the mainspring in both its 

DATA PAGE 

Jules Audemars 3120 Classic 

Manufacturer: SA de la Manufacture 

d'Horlogerie Audemars Piguet & Cie, 

CH-1248 Le Brassus 

Model: Jules Audemars 3120 Classic 

Reference number: 15120BC.0.A002CR.01 

Case number: F 0217 

Movement number: 589981 

Functions: Hours, minutes, sweep 

seconds-hand, and date. 

Movement: Audemars Piguet Caliber 3120; 

diameter = 26.6 mm (12.5 lignes); interior 

diameter of the movement-holder 

ring = 26 mm; height = 4.25 mm; 40 jewels; 

21,600 beats per hour A/h (3 hertz); Swiss lever 

escapement; Nivarox-I flat balance-spring; 

Gyromax balance; ball-borne, 22-karat gold 

rotor winds the Nivaflex 1 mainspring in both 

its directions of rotation; one barrel; 60-hour 

(± 5%) power reserve; Kif-Elastor shock 

absorption for the balance; stop-seconds 

function; 278 individual components 

Case: Massive, tripartite gold case; sapphire 

crystal in back; five screws hold back in place; 

crown is not screw-down; sapphire crystal above 

dial; water-resistant to 20 meters 

Wristband and claps: Leather strap with 

pronged buckle made of 18 karat gold 

Rate test and amplitude (when tully wound; 

deviations in seconds per 24 hours 

Dial up: +6 261° 

Dial down: +9 302° 

Crown left: +1 255° 

Crown up: -1 254° 

Crown down: +8 261° 

Greatest difference of rate: 10 50° 

Average deviation: +5 275° 

Dimensions: diameter = 38.7 mm, 

height = 9.5 mm 

Price: $14,800 in white gold with leather strap 

and pronged buckle. 



directions of rotation. The rotor has a centrally 

arranged alternator that needs no springs and 

thus loses no energy. The date display jumps 

ahead precisely at midnight. The balance is 

made of Gyromax. A new feature of the Caliber 

3120 is the double balance-bridge. This 

component not only looks pretty, it also significantly 

improves the stability of the watch's 

rate. The balance oscillates at a pace of 21,600 

beats per hour (19,800). Fine adjustment is accomplished 

by means of eight tiny screws. The 

new caliber preserves the single-plane architecture 

for the gear trains that support both 

the time display and the winding mechanism. 

This single-stratum solution makes it possible 

to construct a relatively slim caliber. The overall 

height measures 4.25 millimeters (2.45 mm); 

the total diameter is 12.5 lignes or 26.6 millimeters 

(28 mm). 

When the movement plates are manufactured, 

the milled holes, which will later accept 

the screws that hold the dial in place, are 

beveled. The plate receives circular graining on 

both its sides. All of the holes in the plate are 

counter-pierced. The date display has an instantaneous 

trigger and can be rapidly adjusted. 

The large dimensions of the transmission 

The Roman numerals give it 

a formal elegance, but some 

would argue that the minute 

hand is a tad too short. 

and winding wheel, combined with the integrated 

unclicking system of the automatic 

winding mechanism, guarantee that manual 

winding will be problem-free and won't cause 

a lot of wear and tear. 

The barrel, the center-pinion, the centerwheel 

pinion, the third-wheel pinion, the thirdwheel, 

the fourth-wheel pinion, and the 

fourth-wheel are all made in the style of the 

good old days. The pinions are polished; all of 

the edges are beveled; the pivots and the tips 

of the pivots are rolled under pressure; the 

non-functional surface of the wheels is goldplated 

and decorated with a radial pattern; the 

gears' teeth are gold-plated first, then milled 

afterwards to guarantee that the geometry of 

the surfaces of the teeth is perfectly functional. 

The bearings for the barrel are first gold-plated, 

then reworked; the outer throats and the inner 

surface of the barrel are diamond-polished, 

which produces the most beautiful surfaces 

and leaves those surfaces as smooth as possible. 

The result is a long-lasting 60-hour power 

reserve, compared to 40 hours for the previous 

version. Also, the task of fine adjustment becomes 

significantly easier because even after it 

has been running for 48 hours, the watch still 

has plenty of power at its disposal. 

Our tested watch ran quite well, but it posted 

somewhat less than optimal results on our 

electronic timing machine. This shortcoming 

could be due to the fact that the movement is 

Satin and polished: 

The entire impression 

is one of velvety 

softness. 

part of a preliminary manufacturing series 

made prior to regular serial production, which 

is scheduled to begin soon. The optimum as 

defined by Audemars Piguet is an average deviation 

of -1 to +8 seconds in all positions combined 

with good amplitude. Values in this ballpark 

were already achieved in all positions but 

one: with the dial down, the watch ran nine 

seconds too fast. The watch ran only about 

three seconds fast on the wrist, and that's a respectable 

result. 

The strength of this newcomer 

is its robustness, its accuracy 

and its loving details. 

The appeal of this newcomer is undoubtedly 

due to its fine mechanical qualities, its robustness 

and reliability, the accuracy of its rate, and 

the love for detail evident throughout. Features 

that have proved themselves in the past 

have been preserved and new details have 

been added to yield a very clever combination 

indeed. Movements of such superior quality 

have become rather rare in recent years, which 

is all the more reason for us to take this opportunity 

to praise Audemars Piguet's design engineers 

and watchmakers. The company has 

manufactured no more than 3,415 examples 

of the Calibers 2120 and 2121 during the past 

six years. Demand far exceeds the production 



The balance oscillates 

at a pace of 21,600 

beats per hour. 

capacity, so the debut of the 3120 may help to 

ease matters somewhat. The actual production 

capacity for the new caliber is a secret Audemars 

Piguet prefers not to divulge. 

We wanted to get an impression of how the 

new caliber works in practice, so we selected a 

wristwatch from the Jules Audemars collection 

to serve as an example. This watch is named 

after Jules-Louis Audemars (1851-1918), who 

was a pioneer in the construction of numerous 

excellent complications. Four models are currently 

available with the new Caliber 3120: 

two versions with "globe" decor and/or 

"globe" design on their dials, plus two classical 

three-handed watches with "côtes de 

Highly-precise 

finishing helps to 

create a 60-hour 

power reserve. 

Genéve" decorations. All four have a windowtype 

date display. The "Classic" model in white 

gold was the one that we chose to serve as our 

test candidate. This elegant men's model 

makes a very fetching first impression. Its proportions 

and appearance harmonize quite 

well. The watch is neither too large nor too 

small. The white dial with applied Roman numerals 

radiates an aura of noble serenity. The 

legibility of the time and date is good by day, 

although the date window is of traditional 

size. "Traditional" is the best adjective to use in 

this context because various "big date" displays 

have become so commonplace nowadays 

and we've become so accustomed to 

their dimensions that a date window of conventional 

size tends to look somewhat small. 

Flipping the Jules Audemars over to peruse 

its back, which is held in place by five screws, a 

connoisseur can peer through a pane of sapphire 

crystal and admire the beautifully decorated 

rotor and the distinctive double bridges 

for the barrel. The case is made of white gold, 

with satin finishing on the sides. Sharp edges 

are nowhere to be found. The entire impression 

is one of velvety softness. The sonorous 

sound of the winding mechanism is delightful. 

It can be heard when the rotor turns or when 

the crown is manually twisted. The Caliber 

3120 produces a pleasant rasping sound, not a 

tortured rattling of gears. 

As far as water-resistance goes, this watch 

could hardly be described as a deep diver. It's 

water-resistant to only 20 meters, so you'd be 

Setting the date 

is a pleasure with 

this impeccable 

caliber. 

TEST RESULTS 

Wristband and claps (max. 10 points): 8 

Appealing crocodile-skin strap with pronged 

buckle. The AP logo is engraved into the metal. 

Operation (5): 5 

Setting the hands and date is conveniently 

accomplished via the crown. 

Case (10): 9 

Beautiful, impeccably crafted, white gold case. 

Pane of sapphire crystal in back, which is held 

in place by five screws. 

Design (15): 12 

Appealing, contemporary design. Very 

beautiful, elaborately designed dial, but 

the minute hand is too short. 

Legibility (5): 4 

Good legibility of the time under normal conditions. 

The watch's face remains dark at night. 

Wearing comfort (10): 10 

Very good wearing comfort, pleasant size. 

Movement (20): 18 

AP Caliber 3120 with automatic winding and 

date window - a valuable and beautiful base 

caliber. 

Rate results (10): 7 

Ran too fast in some positions: +5 seconds fast 

per day on the timing machine, +3 seconds fast 

per day on the wrist. 

Overall value (15): 13 

A reasonably sized man's wristwatch with an 

unostentatious appearance on the outside and 

a high-quality mechanism on the inside. The 

fine quality, however, has its price. 

TOTAL: 86 points 

better advised to keep it and water more or 

less apart. A few extra meters of water-resistance 

wouldn't have hurt. Another minor cavil 

is that the minute hand is a wee bit too short. 

An unwritten law in the world of classical 

watchmaking specifies that its tip ought to be 

tangent to the minute-circle. 

Is this watch an example of the 

Golden Section In our opinion, Audemars 

Piguet has created a superlative 

new item with its Caliber 

3120. The people in Switzerland's 

Jura region haven't lost 

sight of tradition. They've succeeded 

in combining the best 

from the past with the best of the 

present. Old and new unite beautifully 

here. The existing line has 

been divided so that the relationship 

between the longer segment and the total 

stretch is equal to the relationship between the 

shorter segment and the longer segment. Any 

further questions

wt_2004_03: test: audemars piguet jules audemars 3120 classic

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