Never ceasing to impress the world of Haute Horlogerie with always more audacious and refined timepieces, Audemars Piguet unveiled one of its ultimate timepieces in the late 1990s: the quarter repeater Grande & Petite Sonnerie. Extremely complex, this wristwatch is comprised of more than 500 parts and includes both Grande and Petite Sonnerie as well as an on-demand quarter repeating function.

Considered as the “King of complications”, the Grande Sonnerie is seen by most connoisseurs as the ultimate display of watchmaking mastery and a complication extremely few manufacturers have managed to master in wristwatch format. This feature enables the automatic indication of the passage of hours and quarters by an intricate system of gongs tuned as musical instruments. Unlike the Petite Sonnerie, the Grande Sonnerie chimes the hours and quarters at each quarter of an hour, whereas the Petite Sonnerie only indicates the quarter hour.

The present watch is housed in a delicate streamlined case with satin finish lugs and band contrasting with a polished bezel. The equilibrium of the dial is extremely appealing and its simplicity is in stark contrast with the complexity of the movement.

On the case side, one may find two special features: a quarter repeater button placed near 11 o’clock to activate the on-demand quarter repeating function and a slide placed near 2 o’clock featuring a three-gradient scale which allows the owner to change the watch mode from silent, to Petite Sonnerie, to Grande Sonnerie. Considering the charm and refinement of the chimes there is little reason to believe that the “Silent” mode would ever be activated.

Part of a limited edition of 50 pieces in yellow gold, this model is without a doubt among the most refined, elegant and collectible wristwatches made by the house of Le Brassus and a superb opportunity for the collector to own one of the very few Grande & Petite Sonnerie wristwatches ever made.