Thin Size, Thick Style: Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars Extra-Thin Watch

Jules, have you lost weight? Looks that way as this Audemars Piguet Jules Audemars timepiece sports a very slim case that is just 6.7-mm in thickness. Few things feel as liberating on the wrist as a mysterious slim mechanical timepiece. I use the term mysterious in this case for a very good reason. The sensible good looks of the Jules Audemars Extra-Thin watch are a bit beguiling. On the outside the detailing is subtle, but extremely tasteful, and the dial is a minimalistic testament to easily telling the time. Ah, but here especially is what you can’t see (from the front) that is on the inside that counts.

The Audemars Piguet calibre 2120 automatic mechanical movement is simply gorgeous. Being one of the best looking basic automatic movements in the industry, it is also among the thinnest. Just 2.45-mm is all it takes for the entire movement, which includes the solid gold automatic rotor. Looking through the back of the case you can easily admire the finishing and décor on the movement, as well as the “AP” initials that have been engraved into the rotor. Swiss mechanical watch design doesn’t get much better than this.

You might be thinking that only a connoisseur pays close attention to the back of a watch — even if it is enhanced with a sapphire crystal caseback window. This is true, but you undermine how easily you can become a connoisseur after acquiring a watch like this. The simple act of putting your watch on and taking it off allows you to enjoy the ‘rear view.’ A timepiece like the Jules Audemars Extra-Thin provides a meaningful contrast between the simplicity of the dial and the complexity of the caseback. You are offered a not-so-subtle reminder of what takes place inside the watch to display something as simple as the time on the front.

Returning to the face of the watch, you have an optional black or silvered dial in the 18-karat pink gold case. The dial is a testament of calm legibility. Audemars Piguet uses applied baton style hour markers that are angular and meaningful in appearance. This is contrasted with ‘gentle’ tapering thin leaf-style hands that indicate the time in an elegant manner. Pardon the use of what appear to be hyperbolistic terms, but when a dial design is extremely deliberate and effective, use of such language is applicable.

Appealing to modern tastes — although the watch is classic in demeanor — the case width is 41 mm, and is attached to a fitted alligator strap that is shaped to fit the contours of the watch case. The Jules Audemars style watch case features what I call a “double circle.” The first circle applies to the polished bezel, and the second is seen in the protruding brushed gold sides of the case that give it a plump, round shape.

The most romantic model for me is this black dialed version. Black and rose gold mix together gracefully offering a deeply mysterious dial, while the addition of the color white for the Audemars Piguet logo adds sophistication with the inclusion of a third color. The Audemars PIguet Jules Audemars Extra-Thin is priced at $19,400. www.audemarspiguet.com.

1. 41mm pink gold case
2. Dial available in black or silvered
3. Hand-stitched black alligator strap with gold buckle
4. Ultra thin automatic movement inside

Ariel Adams is the Haute Living Watch Editor and also publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.