Remember Las Vegas? Audemars Piguet sure does. The important city to the brand (due to the many watch stores) now gets and important watch collection from the brand. In black and red tones, the new collection of Royal Oak model based watches are suitable wrist companions for nights of luxury and excess in the hottest city in the desert. The popularity of Vegas comes and goes, but you can't deny the importance of a fantastic watch while spending time on the Strip.

Most most exclusive of the watches in the collection is the pictured Audemars Piguet Las Vegas Strip Manual Wind Tourbillon with Chronograph watch. It is limited to 35 pieces and comes in a blackened steel case. Other models include two diamond studded automatic chronograph versions (for men or women each limited to 60 pieces), and a more standard automatic chronograph without all the decoration (limited to 400 pieces). Each has that signature look meant to match your casino attire. Sure it is a bit silly, but in Las Vegas you feel the need to go all out.

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Those people familiar with the shops at Bal Harbour knows how each luxury brand situated there feels the need to one up each other. This makes sense given the locations ability to attract the wealthiest Floridian buyers, as well as those who travel to the shopping center from around the world. Over the last few year Audemars Piguet has been playing with a new type of marketing campaign dedicated to enhancing the artisan-like feel of the brand. This essentially means that they want you thinking that watch makers time traveled from 1875 to the present day, and are hand-making Audemars Piguet watches in candle light somewhere in the heart of Switzerland. Most of this is true - save for the candle light.

Selling ultra luxury watches is as much about selling the final product as it is about selling how they were made. For this purpose, the Audemars Piguet Bal Harbour boutique has been temporarily transformed to include watch movement sketches, work tables, tools, and other items of traditional watch making construction. The good news is, that if you visit an actual Swiss watch making factory, all of these same tools are pretty much used - though maybe modernized a bit. Audemars Piguet does take much pride in the fact that they practice "traditional watch making" techniques. The display is a good idea , because it attempts to show a manufacture made mechanical watch in its natural element. If you are in the area, check it out. The window display will be up through the end of the year at the Audemars Piguet store at the Bal Harbour stores in Miami, Florida.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Audemars Piguet will release a watch soon to celebrate Mexico's 200 years of independence (1810 - 2010). Using the standard Royal Oak Offshore case and style, the watch will have a few cues to the country it celebrates. The dial is white, with green hour markers and a red hand. The colors are used to mimic those on the Mexican flag. The 42mm wide case will be have 100 pieces available in 18k rose gold, and 200 pieces available in titanium.

Flip the watch over and you'll find the major design element of the watch that is a shout-out to Mexico. Nicely engraved is an image of the Angel of Independence that is located in Mexico City. It is constant reminder for the citizens of the large city of the country's 200 year history, and now it can realized again on your wrist. Mexico City contains a significant wealthy class who will no doubt enjoy the timepiece's sentiments and luxury nature.

Inside the watch is an in-house made Audemars Piguet Calibre 2326/2804 automatic chronograph movement with a 38 hour power reserve and Cotes de Geneve finishing (though you'll have to remove the caseback to enjoy any of it). The case itself is water resistant to 100 meters and is matched with a hornback crocodile strap. Available soon, with likely most pieces available in or near Mexico.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Another timepiece not in-line with the times, but perhaps it is. Sure ultra luxury watches are not en vogue given the economy, but then again at least they are straight forward with why they are expensive. People feel more comfortable paying luxury prices for clear luxury items. The alternative are $100,000 sport watches that most people would never notice as being so "valuable."

This is the Audemars Piguet Millenary Calcedoine (Chalcedony) watch and it serves up some of the most popular luxury features in a watch. You have an 18k pink gold case that is 45mm wide by 40mm tall. You have a stunning array of 395 brilliant-cut diamonds placed all over the case and in the dial was well. You have a beautifully decorated and designed open-work in-house made Audemars Piguet Calibre 2861 manually-wound tourbillon movement - with a chalcedony mainplate. And you have a galuchat (stingray) strap. It just oozes "my Tahitian vacation home is more expensive than you primary south Florida residence plus four children's Ivy league educations combined!"

Aside from diamonds, arabesque engravings decorate the movement while the tourbillon escapement is visible to the left of the watch face itself ( that is surprisingly legible). I am sure that Audemars Piguet will not be making too many of these watches for men - no, maybe they are for women - but contact them and I am sure they will put your name on an arbitrarily long waiting list as well as inform you of "what the damage" will be.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

What interests me is that this watch is not a limited edition. In fact, it appears as though very few non-limited editions watches come out of the house of Audemars Piguet. This is not the first time forged carbon has been used on a watch for Audemars Piguet, who themselves were not the first watch maker to use carbon as a case material for watches. In fact various military spec watches such as Traser have been using carbon watch cases for years. They aren't exactly as fancy looking as the complex-to-make Audemars Piguet forged carbon cases, but they are equally light, and also very strong. What Audemars Piguet has brought to the table is likely their fanatical desire to "make things perfect" - having a carbon case look as though it was milled like metal. The bezel and caseback of the watch are not carbon. The bezel is a brushed and polished ceramic, while the caseback is blackened steel. You have ceramic again used as the strap connector links.

The "non initiated" who aren't watch enthusiasts won't be able to appreciate all that goes into this watch as it appears merely "nice." There are no visual clues that the case is so hard to make in this instance, and you have no idea that inside the watch a brand new Audemars Piguet in-house made caliber 3126/3840 automatic mechanical chronograph movement. The movement even has a solid gold rotor, also hidden from view. Watches like this are meant to impress the owner, and the few people they encounter who are aware of what the watch really is all about. The dial of the watch is Yellow-Jacket chic with the typical "Mega Tapestry" pattern on the dial that most Royal Oak Offshore watches receive. The tachymeter scale on the chapter ring is in yellow with black numerals while the strong looking Arabic hour numerals also enjoy the pleasant yellow hue. The crown and pushers are covered with natural rubber. Last is the sculpted alligator strap with deployment clasp and yellow contrast stitching. Certainly not love at first site for all watch lovers, but I have a feeling a few of you out there are taken by the bold looks of this watch - especially to match your yellow shoes. Price for the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Forged Carbon watch is probably in the $35,000 - $50,000 range.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

I've never before seen a luxury timepiece made in honor of a road. Scratch that, there was a Route 66 edition Hamilton watch, but that pales in comparison to the luxury of Audemars Piguet. If there was a luxury-themed road to honor, it would be the Montauk Highway that runs from New York City to the Hamptons in New York. The 100 mile stretch of highway is the popular getaway path for people wanting to enter the decadent lifestyle of the Hamptons. In addition to parties and beachfront properties, the luxury lifestyle of the Hamptons makes it an ideal place for watch lovers. This limited edition of 300 pieces watch is the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Montauk Highway watch.

The steel-cased watch has some unique colorings that include the off-white dial with lots of aquamarine trim against some chocolate brown. The avant garde colors look nice against the handsome classic watch. Inside is an in-house made Audemars Piguet automatic chronograph movement that is in most of the Royal Oak Offshore chronograph watches. The watch comes in a special box for the limited edition also meant to celebrate the famous highway. In opposition to the title of the article, no money (as far as I know) is going to the highway itself, but you get the symbolic connection. The Montauk Highway watch will be available in New York City, Long Island, and Bal Harbour Florida for $20,500.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

This unique watch with an engraved picture and autograph of musician John Legend is part of a limited edition itself, but is a one-of-a-kind piece. The Audemars Piguet Millenary Pianoforte line of watches is limited to 500 pieces and is itself musically themed to have the representation of piano keys on the dial of the watch. The watch face base is mother of pearl. The Millenary line of watches is stunning with a trick face that looks asymmetrical but actually is not, with the dial being right in the center. The 45mm x 40mm wide watch is in solid 18k white gold housing the in-house made Audemars Piguet Calibre 3120 automatic mechanical movement with about 55 hours of power reserve.

The John Legend special edition version of the Millenary Pianoforte watch is currently up for auction to raise money for John's "Show Me" Organization. The estimated auction value of the watch is about $32,000 but the price is far lower than that at this time. The auction closes on June 4th. For more information or to bid, see the auction page here on CharityBuzz.com.

Ariel Adams publishes the popular watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Team-based elephant polo doesn't just sound like a weird sport, it is a real weird sport. First I heard about it was today when learning that luxury watch maker Audemars Piguet is one of the sponsors. Like the equestrian based polo we all know (and some love), elephant based polo utilizes the same concept - just longer mallets, more jockeys, and bigger animals.

The specific event I am talking about is known as the 2009 King's Cup Elephant Polo game, held annually in the Golden Triangle region of Thailand at the Anantara Resort. We are talking about a lifestyle and world where the term "trumpet" is still used as a noun, and the sport, is still a local high-society favorite. Elephant polo is like a big pachyderm free for all - 12 teams compete for the coveted King's Cup (video after the jump). One of the 12 teams will of course be the Audemars Piguet team, complete with elephant and two riders. One for the controls (elephant) and one with the mallet (mostly bamboo). In addition to having a team, Audemars Piguet is a co-sponsor of the event. So, 'hear ye, hear ye, at the end of March, Audermars Piguet and Anantara Resorts trumpet the 2009 King's Cup Elephant Polo challenge in Thailand.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Each year's new releases from Audemars Piguet reveal how dynamic the watch maker is. From ultra modern, to ultra subdued, there is no limit to how varied their timepieces can be. In stark contrast to some of the more bold offerings this year, the Audemars Piguet Tradition line - with its attractive 39.5mm wide cushion case - adds a new level of ' complication smoothness' to the classically-styled line.

Greatest in this year's Audemars Piguet Tradition line is this Perpetual Calendar with Minute Repeater watch that is actually a very complex timepiece given the sheer number complications inside. The hand-wound Calibre AP 2855 movement powers the perpetual calendar with a moonphase. There is also the lever on the left side of the case for the gongs of the minute repeater. Pull it down, then active it, and you get a little harmony of gongs and bells that tell you the time if read (listened to) properly.

The case is done in either 18k white gold or platinum, with a variety of finishes on the case. The sides are polished, while the bezel is brushed and the dial is satin finished. The cathedral style hands and hour markers are in rose gold. One of the best features is the font style of the number markers which looks classic at first, but has a unique modern flair if you observe them carefully. Nice to know Audemars Piguet is not exclusively about the Royal Oak line, nice work AP.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Like fellow watchmaker Jaeger Le Coultre, Audemars Piguet has come out with some showstopper jewelry pieces. There are two sets of matching 18K white gold and diamond watches and necklaces for women, the Coup de Theatre and Carnet de Bal. Both watches use the AP calibre 2046 movement with manual winding (18 jewels) that beats at a frequency of 21 600 vph and provides 42 hours power reserve. The Coup de Theatre pieces are shown on the left and features a brick like arrangement of diamonds punctuated by an exuberant spray of bezel set diamonds. The Carnet de Bal pieces are more of a floral comet with brilliant, marquise, pear and baguette diamonds including bezel set stones mounted on trailing strands of white gold accented with gold beads. Larger pictures are in the gallery below.

Audemars Piguet has introduced the new Ladies' Jules Audemars collection, an elegant collection of white or pink gold models with a 29 mm case,silver-colored or white mother-of-pearl dials and moiré satin straps. Each has an hour circle punctuated with Roman numerals and the centers feature either a spiral flinqué or diamond-pavé motif and small seconds at 6 o'clock. The pink gold watches have chocolate brown straps while the white gold watches have satin straps in black or midnight blue. The watches also have a sapphire crystal caseback. Explore the classic beauties in the gallery below.

The latest watch from Audemars Piguet is the Royal Oak Offshore Alinghi Team Chronograph. The watches showcase carbon, taking their inspiration from the Class America boats which use carbon fiber for lightness. The watches use a selfwinding movement with a power reserve of up to 60 hours. Nautically inspired details include a red-rimmed six-hour counter at 6 o'clock, the twenty-minute counter at 9 o'clock that has an openworked hand shaped like a ship's prow and the Alinghi logo that takes the place usually reserved for the 3 o'clock numeral. The countdown aperture in the upper right-hand part of the dial counts off the minutes prior to the start of a regatta and gradually becomes red as it nears the moment when the boats cross the start line. The 44mm case has a forged carbon bezel and is available with a case of forged carbon (a series of 1,300), 18K pink gold (a series of 600), or platinum (a series of 107). I haven't always been a fan off the Royal Oak watches before but I rather like the rugged carbon look here even if the watch does seem a bit bulky. More shots of the various versions after the jump.

Another watch turning heads in Geneva is this racing inspired Audemars Piguet Millenary MC12 Tourbillon and Chronograph. The watch takes its inspiration from the racing success of the Maserati MC12 in the 2005 FIA GT Manufacturers’ Cup. It uses the new AP caliber 2884 and has an oval hand-wound movement with a 10-day power reserve. The watch's blue and white color scheme mimics the colors of the race car. The watch will be produced in a limited series of 150.

Yesterday we took a look at how the numbers on the dial change the look of a watch, today's watch features two types of numbers on the same face. Time Zone has pictures of the Audemars Piguet Millenary Le Temps Ovale models that will be unveiled at the SIHH 2006 watch fair. The new oval dial is inspired by the Colosseum in Rome. It has a 45mm case in rose or white gold with a sapphire crystal and a display back. Audemars Piguet will unveil its newest addition to its Millenary Collection, the Ref. 15320. Its oval dial is inspired by the famous Colosseum in Rome. It uses the automatic Audemars caliber AP 3120 movement which has 40 jewels and a power reserve of 60 hours. After the jump, a beautiful rose gold version with turquoise numerals that count seconds.