[RE]Master 02: Looking Sharp!

When you're a 150-year-old brand and you’re looking to reissue a rare reference from yesteryear, the challenge is not so much about trying to find a model from the past; rather it’s about choosing the right one. Among the thousands of archives lying around in watch workshop drawers, it's not an easy task. How do you find that rare gem? Which design will hit the bull's eye? And what’s the forgotten complication that collectors have been waiting for?

The answer is simple: You can't. What was popular back in the day might be completely tasteless nowadays. Conversely, a total flop from the 1970s could be a roaring success in 2024. The sociology of the watch community is far too complex to be able to predict how collectors will react.

But let's get back to those archives left in watch workshop drawers, specifically those in Audemars Piguet’s manufacture. Between 1875 and 2024, we find 149 years of sometimes very daring designs, including the Royal Oak and the late Millenary, which was unfairly overlooked despite its disruptive irreverence. 

But beyond these icons, it's a safe bet that even the brand's most discerning connoisseurs won't have thought of the “5159BA Model”, released in 1960. And you can’t blame them: Audemars Piguet only made seven of them in total. The brand's museum in Le Brassus owns one of them. And in this fantastic showcase of fine complications, it’s easy to skip over this little 27.5mm piece of brutalist design.

Today, Audemars Piguet has decided that this model should be included in its [RE]Master series, a capsule collection launched in 2020 that periodically brings forgotten references out of the limbo of watchmaking memory. As the second timepiece to have been brought out of hibernation, it’s called [RE]Master 02, a moniker that has a little more panache to it than a numerical designation like “5159BA”.

From its original 27.5mm, the piece has now grown to 41mm. From seven examples of the original reference, we now have a limited edition of 250 pieces. And from a case material that was once in yellow gold, we now find it in sand gold, the latest in-house gold alloy. 

Almost all the surfaces are satin-finished, and that’s no mean feat given the case of [RE]Master 02 has more than 30 particularly sharp corners, which are a challenge to satin-finish where the surfaces meet one another. These abrupt, sharp junctions must be perfect, and Audemars Piguet has proven here that it is more than up to the task.

The same level of finishing is found on the dial too. It’s composed of 12 blue triangles, each satin-finished and delineated by a gold line. It's a fine, ingenious effect and it blends perfectly with the subtle hue of the sand gold. At the same time, it softens and balances out the taut, nervous lines of the case.

The case features a horizontal axis of symmetry, stretching from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock. This is a rare design. Very few brands offer rectangular cases with this axis, with the exception of Hautlence – which has made it its trademark – MB&F's HM2 and the Otturatore by the fallen de Grisogono. Audemars Piguet has taken up a concept close to that of the Millenary, which also stretched along the same axis, but with gentler curves compared to the more radical [RE]Master 02.

The Brutalist movement that inspired the 5159BA Model and now [RE]Master 02 has long died out. As far as architectural elegance is concerned, this is, for many, a good thing: From London to Boston, via Paris and Berlin, this style produced some of the most flagrant monumental horrors of the post-war period. In watchmaking, the trend went almost unnoticed. Audemars Piguet has rightly resurrected it, giving its watchmaking what architecture lacked in finesse, subtlety and personality. 

And from now on, the obscure “5159BA Model” in the brand’s Le Brassus museum will definitely give the grand complications that have so far been the centre of attention a run for their money.