As it celebrates its 150th anniversary, Audemars Piguet has just announced one of the most significant innovations in the world of watch complications: a new generation of self-winding, perpetual calendar movement. Named the Calibre 7138, it allows for the first time access to all the functionality of a perpetual calendar watch through an all-in-one crown.
A perpetual calendar watch – also referred to in watch circles as QP, from the initials for the French term quantieme perpetuel – is a mechanical timepiece that tracks and displays an array of calendar information on its dial. This typically includes the day of the week, date of the month, leap years and moon phases.
They are some of the most complicated pieces in horology, making them also some of the most expensive. In these new watches from Audemars Piguet, the perpetual calendar, which mechanically reproduces the movement of celestial bodies, has been entirely rethought.
“Astronomy is the mother of watchmaking,” says Sebastian Vivas, heritage and museum director for Audemars Piguet. “Calendar watches have evolved over time to capture the cycles of celestial bodies with a combination of small cams and gears. Among them, the perpetual calendar, one of the most complex in this category, is like a small mechanical computer on the wrist, capable of keeping the date correct for an entire century.”
The brand has some pedigree in this area of watchmaking, creating what are referred to as complicated movements since its founding in Le Brassus, Switzerland, in 1875.
The new movement makes its debut on a 41mm Code 11.59 in 18-carat white gold, and on two 41mm Royal Oak models in stainless steel or 18-carat sand gold. Those models are also being offered in anniversary editions limited to 150 pieces each.
While at first glance the anniversary versions may look similar to the other pieces being released, they carry a few subtle design cues that mark them apart. Most notably, besides being numbered, they carry a vintage Audemars Piguet signature inspired by archival documents. These are particularly striking on the Royal Oak variations, as the cursive heritage logo contrasts nicely with the legendary model’s 1970s octagonal aesthetics.
To the uninitiated, it might seem that making control of a few dials through a single crown on the side of a watch is a simple enough task. They would be wrong. The development process took five years to perfect and is protected by five patents.
Traditional perpetual calendar watches are usually equipped with correctors inserted in the side of the case, which are activated by using a small tool to adjust the various subdials. This is an age-old system that is pretty cumbersome and fiddly. Watch owners have been known to damage their timepieces by trying to make these adjustments. Most end up taking them to their nearest dealership for maintenance.
When the announcement was made on stage in the media preview that all the dials would now be adjustable from a single crown, excited celebratory noises rippled in the auditorium. The watch press – and watch collectors – take things like this very seriously.
The new crown incorporates four different positions. The first enables the wearer to wind the watch clockwise. Pulling the crown out one step further allows you to set the date clockwise and to adjust the month and the leap year in the opposite direction. By pulling the crown out again to a third position, the user can set the time bidirectionally. The last position is reached by pushing the crown back one step to set the day and week clockwise and the moon phases counter-clockwise. Again, it sounds simple, but it took five years for the best minds in horology to figure out the mechanism.
In 1978, at the height of the quartz crisis, the brand broke a record with the world’s thinnest self-winding, perpetual calendar wristwatch of its time, Calibre 2120/2800. Quartz threatened the very survival of watchmaking, as it eliminated the need for complicated mechanics. Hundreds of watchmakers packed up their tools for good during this era in the area surrounding Le Brassus.
But Audemars Piguet endured, insisting on making its watches even more mechanical and more complicated. It is easy to think that mechanical watches serve no purpose – after all you can just stare at your phone for an accurate time – but they undeniably serve a deeper meaning.
To witness the launch of these watches and be walked through the intricate mechanisms that make up their components, we were invited to spend two nights in the Vallee de Joux. We spent them at Audemars Piguet’s own hotel, Hotel des Horlogers, which is alongside its museum and a few steps away from its new factory. Going out for an evening stroll and looking up at the sky, you get a sense of why generation after generation of watchmakers in this area became fascinated with the movement of celestial bodies.
On a clear night as you look up you can see what seems like every star in the universe. Living out here 150 years ago, the thought of taming that sky and the eternity it represents through the intricate mechanisms of a watch must have been too much to resist.
'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20profile
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The five pillars of Islam
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The five pillars of Islam
Ballon d’Or shortlists
Men
Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool), Sergio Aguero (Aregentina/Manchester City), Frenkie de Jong (Netherlans/Barcelona), Hugo Lloris (France/Tottenham), Dusan Tadic (Serbia/Ajax), Kylian Mbappe (France/PSG), Trent Alexander-Arnold (England/Liverpool), Donny van de Beek (Netherlands/Ajax), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon/Arsenal), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany/Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus), Alisson (Brazil/Liverpool), Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands/Juventus), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands/Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool), Bernardo Silva (Portugal/Manchester City), Son Heung-min (South Korea/Tottenham), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Roberto Firmino (Brazil/Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Manchester City), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal/Napoli), Antoine Griezmann (France/Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Eden Hazard (BEL/Real Madrid), Marquinhos (Brazil/Paris-SG), Raheem Sterling (Eengland/Manchester City), Joao Félix(Portugal/Atletico Madrid)
Women
Sam Kerr (Austria/Chelsea), Ellen White (England/Manchester City), Nilla Fischer (Sweden/Linkopings), Amandine Henry (France/Lyon), Lucy Bronze(England/Lyon), Alex Morgan (USA/Orlando Pride), Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands/Arsenal), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany/Lyon), Pernille Harder (Denmark/Wolfsburg), Sarah Bouhaddi (France/Lyon), Megan Rapinoe (USA/Reign FC), Lieke Martens (Netherlands/Barcelona), Sari van Veenendal (Netherlands/Atletico Madrid), Wendie Renard (France/Lyon), Rose Lavelle(USA/Washington Spirit), Marta (Brazil/Orlando Pride), Ada Hegerberg (Norway/Lyon), Kosovare Asllani (Sweden/CD Tacon), Sofia Jakobsson (Sweden/CD Tacon), Tobin Heath (USA/Portland Thorns)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Read more about the coronavirus
Awar Qalb
Director: Jamal Salem
Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman
Two stars
Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
The%20specs
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE
1. Liverpool 101 points
2. Manchester City 80
3. Leicester 67
4. Chelsea 63
5. Manchester United 61
6. Tottenham 58
7. Wolves 56
8. Arsenal 56
9. Sheffield United 55
10. Everton 50
11. Burnley 49
12. Crystal Palace 49
13. Newcastle 46
14. Southampton 44
15. West Ham 39
16. Brighton 37
17. Watford 36
18. Bournemouth 36
19. Aston Villa 32
20. Norwich City 29
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
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