AP has just taken watch technology to a whole new level.
As much love as perpetual calendars may have, it was always a tedious process when it came time to create one. Collectors will never admit it out loud, but most have had at least one afternoon ruined by accidentally skipping February or moving the moon phase in the wrong direction. The idea that Audemars Piguet has just introduced a device that essentially makes this routine stress-free seems strangely overdue to me. Two years after partnering with the Dubai Future Foundation, AP is debuting a smart watch box at Dubai Watch Week that automatically sets and winds the 41mm Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar. It’s a mix of robotics, computer vision and AI wrapped in a watch case that still feels very AP and marks one of those small but significant shifts in the way the brand thinks about making life easier with complicated watches.
With the calibers 7138 and 7136, which finally made every correction possible using a single crown, AP took a big step in this future-oriented direction at the beginning of the year. The new setting box builds directly on this breakthrough. You put the watch in, close the lid, and the machine takes over, reading the dial, detecting which displays are out of sync, and setting everything up in about five minutes. There is a system at work inside the device. A mechanical module controls the movements, replicating the way a watchmaker would control the crown. A module ensures that all components communicate with each other, while a small camera records the dial layout and hand positions. This data is fed into a machine learning model trained on different Royal Oak QP configurations, allowing the device to adapt to each watch rather than forcing everything into a fixed routine.
The collaboration behind the box is a story in itself. AP’s partnership with the Dubai Future Foundation and in particular Dubai Future Labs has become a melting pot where traditional watchmaking meets advanced robotics and software. The finished product feels like something designed to make owning a perpetual calendar a little less intimidating and a lot more enjoyable.
Source: Audemars Piguet
