When a tradition as intricate as Swiss watchmaking meets the momentum of robotics and artificial intelligence, something rare happens. The launch of Audemars Piguet’s new intelligent setting device marks one of those moments. Revealed during Dubai Watch Week, this innovation is more than a technical companion for the 41 mm Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. It is a statement about how high horology can evolve when collaboration becomes a central part of its creative process.
The device arrives two years after Audemars Piguet began its partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation. Their goal was clear. If the maison could continue improving the ergonomics of its complications, it could redefine the relationship collectors have with their watches. The recent generation of Royal Oak Perpetual Calendars already took a significant step in that direction. The introduction of the intuitive crown-based setting system made one of the most sophisticated complications far easier to adjust. For many enthusiasts, that alone represented a quiet revolution in usability.
Yet the new intelligent setting device pushes that vision further. Developed with Dubai Future Labs, the applied research arm of the Foundation, the standalone tool transforms a historically delicate process into a seamless one. Perpetual calendars have always represented mechanical mastery. They keep track of leap years, variable month lengths and moon phases with remarkable grace. At the same time, they traditionally require careful manipulation and a deep understanding of the mechanism. This device resolves that tension by offering precision, safety and simplicity in a single object.
The operation reflects the blend of disciplines behind it. Once the Perpetual Calendar is placed inside the device, an internal camera captures the dial configuration and identifies which indications require adjustment. Robotics, computer vision and artificial intelligence work together to set the watch accurately, respecting the natural limits and sequencing of the movement. The full procedure takes about five minutes and completes with the confidence and consistency expected from the Manufacture.
Rather than diminishing the craft, the device enhances the experience of owning a complex timepiece. It invites enthusiasts to enjoy the Perpetual Calendar without the anxiety that often comes with handling such a sophisticated mechanism. By building on the progress already made through the new crown system, Audemars Piguet ensures that both manual and automated approaches serve the same purpose: to deepen the appreciation of the complication itself.
This project also reflects a broader philosophy within the Manufacture. Audemars Piguet has long been interested in how advanced technology can improve interaction without altering the soul of the mechanical movement. The development of Caliber 7138 created the conditions for this new device to exist. The partnership with Dubai Future Foundation transformed those conditions into a forward-looking achievement. As Chief Industrial Officer Lucas Raggi points out, the idea of an automatic setting tool had lived within the company for years. It simply needed the right collaboration to take shape.
Design plays an equally important role. Created with Italian designer Max Terio and AP’s in-house design teams, the device extends the visual language of the brand beyond the wrist. It carries the familiar sharpness and sculptural geometry associated with Audemars Piguet, while asserting itself as an entirely new category of object. The result sits somewhere between instrument and artwork, capable of standing on its own alongside the watch it supports.
With this unveiling, Audemars Piguet shows how tradition and innovation can move together rather than apart. The intelligent setting device signals a future where complexity remains noble but no longer intimidating. It demonstrates that when expertise meets imaginative collaboration, even the most established aspects of watchmaking can be experienced in a fresh and accessible way.
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