Great piece, Jack. I was excited to find your substack. It is wonderful to read your thoughts again. I hope life is going well. I'm curious on a bigger scale what role you believe the 11.59 has in AP collection and how this Starwheel fits within that idea. The 11.59 was not well received when it was launched, for many of the reason that you highlighted in reference to the Starwheel--if I can paraphrase what I remember at the time, a little too modern in all the wrong places. Your post got me to thinking about whether or not AP has embraced that idea and is using the 11.59 as a place to play with "a modern take on a classic idea". Their concept watches have been a "out in left field where the rules don't apply" safe place for them to experiment, and I wonder if the 11.59 has also provided a safe place for them to do more subtle experiments on modernization within a collection that is not so beloved that the design language is sacrosanct.
Hi Eric and thank you for the comment – you know I'm on the fence about the Starwheel 11.59 but then again as you know I'm on the fence about the entire collection although I think it's definitely true that some of the designs work much better than others. I think in general the Code collection seems to work better the more complicated it is, but I also wonder if that is not an argument for some fundamental issues in the design language?
The Code 11.59 Starwheel is a welcome release, even if it's a bit flawed as a design. You've made an excellent point concerning the absence of the star wheels, but I am not in the dogmatic Star Wheel camp either. However, I am a bit bothered by the short seconds hand. To my eye, the Code 11.59 Star Wheel owes as much to the past Star Wheels as it does to the Gorilla Fastback Drift.
The old Star Wheel is one of my favourite watches.
I remember being in an upscale pawn shop in 2000, looking at an El Primero Chronomaster and the guy behind the counter said something like "you like complicated watches, here's something" and pulled out a platinum star wheel. I was smitten. It hasn't left my mind since. At the time the 6000 was more than I could spend but I've thought about that watch for years.
There's something about the juxtaposition of the old-timey engraved portion at the bottom of the face against the industrial look of the workings that appeals to me. Everything about this watch was beautiful (except perhaps for the STAR WHEEL etched into the side of the case). IMO there is something about the magic of the clear sapphire disks, that is missing from the 11.59 version, though the solid disks definitely fit the overall 11.59 esthetic better. I can't imagine an 11.59 with clear sapphire disks.
Like everyone else I think the 11.59 looks best with a complicated dial (like this one) but unlike everyone else I think I'd pick a plain three hand 11.59 over a RO.
Great piece, Jack. I was excited to find your substack. It is wonderful to read your thoughts again. I hope life is going well. I'm curious on a bigger scale what role you believe the 11.59 has in AP collection and how this Starwheel fits within that idea. The 11.59 was not well received when it was launched, for many of the reason that you highlighted in reference to the Starwheel--if I can paraphrase what I remember at the time, a little too modern in all the wrong places. Your post got me to thinking about whether or not AP has embraced that idea and is using the 11.59 as a place to play with "a modern take on a classic idea". Their concept watches have been a "out in left field where the rules don't apply" safe place for them to experiment, and I wonder if the 11.59 has also provided a safe place for them to do more subtle experiments on modernization within a collection that is not so beloved that the design language is sacrosanct.
Hi Eric and thank you for the comment – you know I'm on the fence about the Starwheel 11.59 but then again as you know I'm on the fence about the entire collection although I think it's definitely true that some of the designs work much better than others. I think in general the Code collection seems to work better the more complicated it is, but I also wonder if that is not an argument for some fundamental issues in the design language?
The Code 11.59 Starwheel is a welcome release, even if it's a bit flawed as a design. You've made an excellent point concerning the absence of the star wheels, but I am not in the dogmatic Star Wheel camp either. However, I am a bit bothered by the short seconds hand. To my eye, the Code 11.59 Star Wheel owes as much to the past Star Wheels as it does to the Gorilla Fastback Drift.
The old Star Wheel is one of my favourite watches.
I remember being in an upscale pawn shop in 2000, looking at an El Primero Chronomaster and the guy behind the counter said something like "you like complicated watches, here's something" and pulled out a platinum star wheel. I was smitten. It hasn't left my mind since. At the time the 6000 was more than I could spend but I've thought about that watch for years.
There's something about the juxtaposition of the old-timey engraved portion at the bottom of the face against the industrial look of the workings that appeals to me. Everything about this watch was beautiful (except perhaps for the STAR WHEEL etched into the side of the case). IMO there is something about the magic of the clear sapphire disks, that is missing from the 11.59 version, though the solid disks definitely fit the overall 11.59 esthetic better. I can't imagine an 11.59 with clear sapphire disks.
Like everyone else I think the 11.59 looks best with a complicated dial (like this one) but unlike everyone else I think I'd pick a plain three hand 11.59 over a RO.